A lot of vehicles seem to be making sweeping changes to change capabilities, if not personalities, for the new model year. The Mazda CX-30, meanwhile, proves that a series of tiny and subtle alterations can make an enormous impact on buyer attractiveness.
In Mazda’s array of high-tech but compact SUVs, the group used to consist of the large and roomy CX-9, the very appealing compact CX-5 and the impressive but tight little CX-3.
A lot of young families, or single folks, might have gone after the CX-3, simply because it came loaded with features but was small enough to be a citified runabout, with the potential for being tough enough for country living, too.
But then you tried to stuff your adult kid, or, heaven forbid, some adult friends into the rear seat of the CX-3 and found it was, simply, too small. Many passengers prefer not to have their knees flush up against the front-seat backrests, and while the front buckets were comfortable enough, you couldn’t slide them far enough forward to make the back seat livable.

The new CX-30 replaces the CX-3, and it is an interesting piece of engineering from top to bottom, and front to rear.
As you approach the CX-30 from the outside, the fit of the headlights into the grille design seems more sleek, and other similar refinements are evident, but you don’t think that is represents a major change from the CX-3.
But then you climb inside and realize that Mazda’s attempt to move its whole SUV line upscale is a major success.
While dimensions seem close to the same, the CX-30 is just slightly larger on the outside, and somehow enormously larger on the inside in one of those mysterious collection of refinements that seem almost unique to Mazda.
The wheelbase is now only 2 inches shorter than the CX-5, but the interior space in the new CX-30 is enlarged enough that you might not feel the need to automatically move up to the next size.
The CX-30 fits. Sit in the rear seat and you realize the cramped fit of the CX-3 is no more. We took our older son, Jack, for a ride downtown and he gingerly climbed in back. My wife, Joan, said, “Do you have enough room back there?” Jack assured her he did, but Joan persisted. “Really, I can move my seat up a little more i you need more room.”

No, Jack assured her, pointing out that he not only had sufficient legroom without bumping not the front backrest, but also had surprising headroom. He also looked behind the 60/40 fold-down rear seat and noticed there was a surprising amount of storage room back there.
Without compromising its zoom-zoom motto or sporty stance, the CX-30 has become an adequate people-hauler for a small family or single type that carried friends around.
The CX-30’s ability to zip around town or accelerate on the freeway is also not compromised. 
Under the hood is Mazda’s new 2.5-liter Skyactive turbocharged 4-cylinder, with 227 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds of torque. The power comes on immediately and hurls the CX-30 down the road.
The usual Mazda engineering tricks prevail, also, to make the vehicle cut tightly around curves and corners, without ever prompting the driver to correct the steering wheel. That’s due to Mazda’s unique G-Vectoring-Plus, which the latest refinement of Mazda’s unique tehnical discovery that combines computer-controlled deceleration for a millisecond on the outside front wheel accompanied by a corresponding decrease in firmness.

That’s the opposite of my instincts, but it works for Mazda, and has expanded throughout the company’s full model array.
You pay for the technical advancements, which only proves that someone buying a Mazda in the last couple of years was getting more than should be expected for the modest price. It might also indicate that a two- or three-year old Mazda might be a bargain on a used-car lot.
The sticker on the test CX-30 was $36,340, which is not outrageously high, especially for all you get with the car. All the contemporary safety goodies are built in, things like parking aids front and rear, lane departure warning, lane-keep assist, blind-spot detection and warning, rear camera for cross-traffic alert in parking lots, and heated front buckets, with power driver-seat adjustment.

The 6-speed automatic is another Mazda trick, avoiding the trend to go to 8 or 9 or even 10-speed transmissions. Mazda chooses to build its own 6-speed, but to space the gear ratios out so that it encourages you to enjoy and appreciate the use of higher-revving shift points in hard driving.
When you think about it, as long as your transmission keeps you in an adequate power range, do you care if it shifts three times or would you rather it shifted 8 times?
The transmission also is easily overridden by paddles on the steering wheel, which, itself, has a nice grippy feel, and adds the wonderful winter asset of being electrically heated. Funny how quickly heated seats and heated steering wheel can make 10 degrees seem warm enough?
The visual attractiveness of the CX-30 is enhanced by the optional ($595) Soul Red Crystal Metallic paint job, which I continue to maintain is the most spectacular color on any car in the industry.
Mazda started out offering it only on the CX-5, but quickly expanded it to include everything from the CX-5 Miata to the large sedans and CX-9. The other colors are impressive enough, but the aptly-named Soul Red Crystal actually seems to penetrate your soul and make even a diehard blue-fan willing to make the changeover – and pay for it.

Inside, the trim has upgraded its materials and design, and the leather-trimmed bucket seats were striking in white.
From behind the steering wheel, looking out, you appreciate also what might be the best headlights in the industry. Extremely bright LED headlights, driving lights and taillights mean you can see and be seen easily, and the active headlights swivel just slightly to make sure they keep aiming where you’re heading before you complete your turn.

And while all LED headlights are a step up in brightness, many are not aimed precisely. The CX-30 aim is right on, with a sharp cutoff at the top of the bright-enough low beams, switching automatically to extremely bright deer-spotting brilliance on high beams.
It was our son, Jack, who mentioned that they must be the best headlights available, reinforcing my appreciation.
There are a couple other neat touches, too, such as the rain-sensing wipers that are heated for when the temperature might restrict their effectiveness.
And the Bose Premium sound system  also provides excellent cabin-filling sound – even if you might need more than my week-long test drive to figure out how to quickly change sound sources or frequencies.