MOTORS: Mazda R-EV is ‘only premium EVs starting at under £30k’
Most modern cars have an interesting feature or two.
Mazda however, have gone one better by producing something with a host of quirky touches to make it one of the most individual electric cars on the market.
The Mazda MX-30 R-EV – the R stands for Return – is a partner version of their first all-electric production car, the MX-30 BEV.
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The difference is that under the bonnet, alongside the generator and high-output electric motor there’s an 830cc rotary petrol engine but it doesn’t power the car. Instead it produces energy for the 17.8kWh battery to provide the charge for the electric motor which does drive the wheels. It’s small, light and easily packaged but has enough output for the job.
It’s a unique set-up and the result is 53 miles of pure electric driving but with the charge coming from the small petrol engine, it removes the fear of running out of battery power miles from a charging point, what’s called range anxiety.
The 50-litre fuel tank provides an overall range of more than 400 miles with a CO2 output of just 21g/km.
Mazda have more than half a century of expertise in the development of rotary engines and from the launch of the Cosmo in 1967 to the RX-8 which ended in 2012, they’ve mass-produced close to two million of them.
Because it’s compatible with both AC and DC charging it takes around 50mins to top up the battery while DC rapid charging can be completed in half that time.
The rotary engine isn’t the only reminder in the MX-30 of the much-missed RX7. As in that car, the rear doors open backwards at an angle of 80 degrees to make it easier for passengers to get in and out. When the freestyle doors, as they’re called, are coupled with the front doors which open conventionally forward, it dramatically exposes the whole side view of the car to create what the designers call a framed glasshouse effect to highlight the interior space.
The rear doors are substantial and heavy to provide the necessary structural strength in the absence of a B-pillar, but are finely balanced and open and close easily with a satisfying clunk.
But, it’s a bit of a faff as you have to open the front door first if you want to get in to the back and although it’s a wide opening, it’s still a bit tight in the rear seat area.
The quirkiness continues inside the cabin which is draped in environmentally-friendly high-quality materials including cork-lined centre console trays and inner side door handles. It’s harvested from the bark of trees without felling and with the door trim incorporating fibres from recycled plastic bottles, Mazda are going the whole hog on their environmental programme.
It comes in three grades and with three driving modes: Normal, EV and Charge so you can hold on to battery power for town driving and low emission zones.
The car and the all-electric version is now even better value with Mazda dropping the price by over £3000. Private buyers of the BEV also get a free home charger while the R-EV comes with a half-price charger.
Mazda say that in recent years, production constraints have limited the number of MX-30s available in the UK, but now that’s been increased they want to give the model a boost and promote the move towards electric ownership.
They accept that there are many barriers to people making the switch, not least the higher cost of an EV but with the price drop, they say both their full electric version and the R-EV are more affordable and are the only premium EVs with a range starting at under £30,000.
In the case of the R-EV, you certainly get something different from everything else on the road.
CAR: Mazda MX-30 R-EV Prime Line plug-in hybrid
PRICE: £31,495 on the road (£32,045 as tested)
ENGINE: e-SKYACTIV R-EV 830cc single-rotor petrol generator/17.8kWh battery electric motor
POWER: 170 PS
TORQUE: 260 Nm
MAX SPEED: 87mph
0-62mph: 9.1 secs
ELECTRIC RANGE: 53 miles
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 37 mpg
CO2: 21 g/km
CHARGING TIME: 25 mins (50kW DC) 4hrs 50mins (2.4kW domestic socket)