On paper, it promises. This one Mazda CX-30 2.0 Skyactiv-G 150 hp , compared to 122 hp, it is 1000 euros more expensive, but it also comes with 28 hp more, better performance (about 1.5s less in 0 to 100 km, for example), and the best thing is that, at least on paper, consumption and CO2 emissions remain exactly the same.
How this all translates in practice is what we'll discover to answer the question raised in the title of this review: is this CX-30 really worth it? Or is it better to take advantage of the 1000 euros difference for something else, maybe even an unscheduled mini-vacation.
But first, some context. It was two months ago that this more powerful version of the 2.0 Skyactiv-G arrived in Portugal, for both the CX-30 and the Mazda3. And many see it as the answer to criticisms of the 122 hp engine being considered something “soft” when compared to the thousand three-cylinder turbochargers.
What are the differences between the two?
Surprising as it may seem, the only difference between the two versions of the 2.0 Skyactiv-G is, and that's all, their power — Mazda says that "all it took" was just a new engine management map. Nothing else differs between the two. Both get their maximum power at 6000 rpm and the maximum torque of 213 Nm is not only the same, it is also obtained at the same speed of 4000 rpm.
Non-differences continue at the transmission level.
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The benchmark manual gearbox — one of the best in the industry, short-stroke and with excellent mechanical feel and oiling; a real delight… — it still lacks the long staggering, perhaps too much from the 3rd relation onwards, being identical in both versions — but we'll be there soon…
Time to get going
Already very well seated at the controls of the Mazda CX-30 2.0 Skyactiv-G 150 hp, “we give the key” by pressing the button and start the march. And the first few kilometers are a non-event: riding normally, lightly loaded and changing gears early, there are no differences in the character of the engine.
It's easy to see why and there's no mystery. If the only variable is the increase in power with everything else remaining the same, the differences between the two versions become more evident the higher the engine rpm. No sooner said than done.
It's not the most digital or futuristic looking interior, but it's without a doubt one of the most elegant, pleasant and best resolved (design, ergonomics, materials, etc.) in the segment.
At the first opportunity I pulled neither a first nor a second, but a third to get an initial idea of the impact of the additional 28 hp. Why a third? It's a pretty long ratio on the CX-30 — you can go up to 160 km/h. In the 122 hp version this meant that it took a long time for the tachometer needle to reach 6000 rpm (maximum power regime).
Well, it didn't take a stopwatch to see the superior speed with which we climbed revs to the same regime in this 150 hp version — it's a lot faster… and interesting. It's as if the 2.0 Skyactiv-G has rediscovered the joy of living.
To underscore how refreshed the 150hp power unit is, I went to the same places I had driven the 122hp CX-30 when I tested it at the end of last year, which include some more pronounced and longer climbs — for whom know, IC22, IC16 or the climb of the Tunnel do Grilo on IC17.
The greatest vigor is confirmed. It is “palpable” the greater ease with which it gains speed, and even the greater ease in maintaining it, without having to resort to the box so often.
The best of everything? I can also confirm that the appetite of the 2.0 Skyactiv-G remains unchanged despite the increased number of horses to be fed. The consumptions recorded on the CX-30 150 hp seem to be a photocopy of those recorded on the CX-30 122 hp — very close to 5.0 l at stabilized speeds of 90 km/h, around 7.0-7.2 l on the motorway, and rising to values between 8.0-8.5 l/100 km in urban driving, with a lot of stop-starts.
Okay? Of course yes
Not only does 150 hp make the Mazda CX-30 a more cohesive whole, this in-line four-cylinder remains more refined than any three-cylinder, and more linear and immediate in response than any turbo engine.
And the sound? The engine starts to make itself heard beyond 3500 rpm and… thank goodness. The sound is genuinely appealing, something that no three-cylinder turbo engine at this level (to date) has been able to match.
This 150hp version isn't an overnight transformation, but it's definitely a significant shift in the right direction and should be the “standard” choice on the CX-30.
Is the CX-30 car right for me?
That said, the Mazda CX-30 2.0 Skyactiv-G 150 hp remains an acquired taste. Blame it on the forced diet we've been having of little thousand three-cylinder turbochargers. Today, they are the most common type of engine that virtually all brands use to motivate their SUVs, compacts and respective crossovers/SUV.
Whether we like these small engines or not, it is undeniable that they guarantee greater ease in accessing their performance. It's the advantage of having a turbo that not only allows torque values close to those of the 2.0 Skyactiv-G, as it usually makes it available 2000 rpm earlier.
The CX-30 loses to the SUV/crossover competition in internal quotas. However, there is enough space for two adults to travel in comfort.
In other words, the CX-30 2.0 Skyactiv-G makes us work harder on the engine and the gearbox, and on higher revs, to deal with various situations in the same way as the tiny turbo engines. In the case of the Japanese model, “work” is not even the most appropriate word, as the task at hand turns out to be a pleasure and the additional 28 hp reinforces the argument — the engine is really interesting to explore and that box…
The 2.0 Skyactiv-G 150 hp is one of those cases where we can only win, except for the 1000 euros more that we have to give — engine with more energetic response, better performance and… identical consumption.
If it's worth it? No doubt. Yes, the scaling of the box is still too long — but the consumptions are even grateful — but the additional 28 hp does in fact attenuate one of the points of the CX-30 that has generated the most contention, at least considering what I've read and even heard, which refer to the performance of its 122 hp engine.
Moreover, to know more in detail all the other vices and virtues of the Mazda CX-30 I leave the link (below) for the test I carried out at the end of last year. There I describe in more detail everything you need to know — from the interior to the dynamics — as they don't even differ in equipment specification. The only way to tell them apart? Just for the color… or driving them.