Can't see out the back window either. Huge A-pillars up front too, visibility is awful. Took the CX-30GT for a test drive recently - it's like the Honda CRV, in that it's a FWD car with the back wheels on standby. Nothing beats Subaru in the < $50k realm.
@@EngineAdventures Mazda's a much better driving car, no mistake there, if you're talking about steering feel, transmission & seat comfort. If you want to feel the back wheels pushing or shut off TCS & get aggressive (snow/gravel/dirt), Subaru's a much better option. If you want to simply not get stuck or lose control around a slippery corner, the Mazda's about par, if you don't mind the FWD feel. My perspective isn't 100% in line with what you're testing, but I was pretty disappointed in the CX30GT on a test drive recently, simply because Mazda does SO much better than their competitors in 90% of what people want, but they eff up some things so badly, it drives people away.
Another RU-vidr, Sarah, who is a car enthusiast and rockstar mechanic took the CX 30 off road and it did really, really good. It went up a serious hill even cars made for off roading had problems with, and it did it with ease.
I saw that one. However, that was a hill climb with all four wheels mostly maintaining contact on the ground. This is actually a bit harder and closer to rockclimbing in my opinion.
Thanks for your review! The off-road performance seems sufficient for driving through some unpaved roads in national parks. Kind of suitable for hikers and campers that need to deal with some wilderness with their cars (and conquer harder terrains by their feel, lol).
It's very odd seeing your cx-30 struggle as much as it was... I have a 21 premium plus with stock tires and stock suspension and I don't even have to put it in off road mode to get to my shooting range. The drive is just about the same as your large climb but my hill is all mud instead of loose dirt
It's hard to see how steep this hill is on camera. Some vehicles can't make the climb with all 4 wheels having good traction (2nd gen Honda pilot), simply because they don't have low enough gearing.
It's designed as a road going vehicle and does that extremely well. This is not a jack of all trades, but rather a master of the pavement. I can't wait for the turbo version!
THat's true, it wasn't. The CX30 is very much a driver's vehicle and I believe Mazda did an excellent job with it. Off-roading certainly isn't something Mazda considered heavily when developing it, but the AWD system is still pretty good.
@@EngineAdventures is outward visibility as terrible as everyone says. If so in what situations does it really hinder you ability to safely make a turn or pass. Thanks!
I had no problems with it at all. I've always used my mirrors a lot and typically back into parking stalls. That really reduces the number of times I'm looking out of a rear quarter window.
Hi Matt, very good review! I have a question, when you select off-road mode, the sport mode is automatically cancelled? Or did you keep sport and off-road mode together?
Excellent question! If I remember correctly it is a separate drive mode, so when you select offroad mode it cancels any other mode and only does offroad mode.
I would put the "upcoming vehicles" segment later in the video, maybe before the conclusions. Great quality material and great picture/editing but having that segment right at the beginning was a bit annoying for me. Keep up the good work!
the test is incorrect. The vw tackled the ramp with the steering wheel facing right making it easier to climb, the mazda faced the ramp with the steering wheel facing left making the maneuver more critical
If you're talking about the Atlas, it's one of the few crossovers that was able to make the steep hill climb. The Atlas definitely out performed this Mazda in testing. That isn't to say I dislike Mazda, it's actually one of my favorite brands, they just aren't made for leaving the pavement.
I have a cx30 I will never go off road is not my thing..Snow is my thing if it’s good afterward maybe look good in the snow I have had great results so far why people are about features they’ll never use I don’t know
While I don't get to drive each of these vehicles in the snow, this type of testing helps me to understand how a vehicle will handle bad weather. In the case of the CX 30, I feel confident it would be a capable vehicle for snow covered roads.
And Mazda typically makes vehicles that drive much better than the competition! I'm a big fan of Mazda, but likely won't ever own one because I prefer larger vehicles.
I don’t see how the turbo would be any different, the issue isn’t power but grip from the street tires. It’s like a Wrangler Rubicon going out for a track day and complaining about lack of group through corners at high speeds.
The extra torque from the turbo will help get more power to the ground while overcoming the braking force that is being applied to the wheels without traction. We might have a chance to test a turbo version next month.
So the test for a Mercedes was to check out the sound and tires spin? Comparing the test for some other vehicles? So i guess, more expensive the car gets, the test gets easier. So much for testing.
Could have been weather dependent, or vehicle dependent. I've taken a BMW X6 up the worst line on my steep hill climb. If there's snow, or if the vehicle just doesn't have good dimensions for that kind of testing then I avoid it. Also the GLS was an AMG63 and cost $150k or something like that, not something I want to break since it's not mine. I've taken plenty of near $100k vehicles over the tougher course. Cadillac Escalade, Lexus LX600, and infiniti QX80 are a few.
Sport mode makes the throttle more sensitive and reduces interference from traction control. Normally offroad I like a numb throttle, but with this vehicle you need as much torque as possible as fast as possible.
I get similar comments to this a lot. Yes, having the right tires for the terrain you are on is very important. No, this test isn't about the tires, it's more about the vehicle's ability to transfer power to the wheels with traction. There are parts of this test where two tires are essentially in the air. It doesn't matter what kind of tires you have, they aren't going to get enough friction from the air to make a climb. Many modern vehicles transfer power by applying the brakes to the wheel(s) with less traction when then sends power to the opposite wheel on the same axle. This Mazda works the same way. The downfall to this type of system is that it requires a significant amount of torque to overcome the brakes and still get enough power to the ground to make the climb. If all 4-wheels were spinning at close to the same rate then I would agree with you that better tires would have made a difference, but as long as there is a wheel that isn't spinning, then the vehicle lacks the capability needed to make this climb.
It's very lightweight so I think it would perform pretty well on sand. The turbo version should perform a little better, higher power to weight is always a good thing.
Haha while true, I test as many awd vehicles as I can on this same course just so that new buyers have a comparison between as many vehicles as possible. I loved the CX-30, it's an excellent in road vehicle!
