Ian Lamming considers the vagaries of modern motoring after driving Mazda’s new plug-in hybrid SUV
CONFUSED? Well, not any more if you concentrate hard enough.
Modern motoring is in a state of flux with end-of-era combustion engines morphing into electrics as we strive to save the planet. So it’s probably timely to try and clear things up.
I think everyone agrees diesels are the spawn of Satan so that’s them ruled out – or is it as Mazda does a very nice six cylinder in its latest CX-60.
Then we have petrol engines, which can be small and turbocharged or larger capacity and naturally aspirated.
After that there are the hybrids in all their many forms. They include ‘mild’ ones, which just use the alternator but in reverse to power a variety of functions. Then there are the self-charging full hybrids, where the petrol engines and electric motors take it in turns – except when they work together – to drive the wheels, sometimes the front, sometimes the rear, sometimes all four. After that there are plug-in hybrids which have bigger batteries that you can charge up from the mains and can run on pure electricity for a longer distance. They tend to be more powerful too.
Phew! Thinking about it you are right to be confused and the latest model from Mazda adds a whole new dimension, just to complicate matters further.
MX-30 is Mazda’s only purely electric vehicle and it does a decent job of protecting polar the icecaps. But its range of around 130 miles doesn’t help with EV driver anxiety, which is probably why they have just released the MX-30 R-EV.
At a glance it looks just like MX-30 but the tiny badge on its rear tells a different story. R-EV also gets a petrol engine but not as we know it.
The 830cc motor is a Wankel rotary affair and it only acts as a generator. The drive to the front wheels comes courtesy of a battery-powered electric motor that will cover 53 miles unaided. Then the petrol engine is there to charge the battery and power the electric motor so you’ll never need worry about running out of charge. There’s an 11 gallon fuel tank which pushes the range up to over 300 miles.
What I can’t work out is the true miles per gallon figure. When the battery is full the electric and petrol motors must be working together and the trip computer read-out tells me I’m doing 60mpg, which is great. But after the electric power has gone the figure drops to 31mpg. And if you are sticking £50 of petrol and £20 of charge into the R-EV to cover just 350 miles or so I’m not sure how economical it works out. Maths never was my forte.
MX-30 R-EV, like its EV sibling, is great to drive. It’s not as quick as many full EVs but it is nippy enough and there’s plenty of mid-range for overtakes. Under power it is silky smooth with no vibes at all from the rotary engine and little noise from wind or tyres either.
Its quirky nature extends to the bodyshell. There are a couple of half doors in the rear that open the opposite way to normal leaving theentryway unobstructed by a pillar. The interior is well designed with a neat infotainment centre and central tunnel mounted control knob. It’s all very well-equipped and made beautifully from a host of eco products, whether that is cork or recycled plastic bottles.
Mazda’s MX-30 R-EV is very much a vehicle of its time reflecting the confusion the industry and consumers feel about their current modes of transport. It is recognition that full EVs aren’t for everyone, the range anxiety is always going to be too much, but whether it is the answer to global warming, I’m really not sure.
Fact File
Mazda MX-30 R-EV
Engine: Plug-in hybrid electric with petrol rotary engine
Power: 170PS, 260Nm torque
0-62mph: 9.1 secs
Top speed: 87mph
Range: 53 + 295 miles
Transmission: Auto
CO2 g/km: 21
Price: £38,000 (including extras)
