The people have spoken, SUVs are in Hatches are out – even when your SUV hardly qualifies as such. The Mazda CX30 and the Hyundai Kona skate that fine line between hatchback and SUV, but whatever you call them, we’re here to see which is better.
But there’s a bit of a twist here. We’ve got the somewhat spicy versions of each here. The CX30 is the most sporty CX30 you can buy, and the Kona N Line is the sportiest Kona you can buy…at least until we get the full Kona N next year…let’s take em for a spin.
Ok let’s clear something up right away, this Kona is the N Line, not the full N that’s been debuted but cant be bought yet. However, a more intense Kona is coming
What we have here is the Hyundai corporate 1.6T 4cylinder that we’ve seen in a lot of their other cars. Here it makes 195 hp and 195 lbft under 2000 rpm
This means over 50 hp less than the Mazda and over 120 lbft less than the Mazda
But hp numbers and 0-60 times are cliche and overrated. This is a driver’s car..hatch..suv thing.
Why’s that? 2 reasons
1 – FWD standard, now most people will want AWD, but that adds weight so specig FWD is basically racecar spec
2 – transmission, the Mazda 6 speed auto is old and slow, unlike the snappy 7 speed DCT
So what this means is on a track, which no one would ever take these, Paolo would pull away on the straights, but I’d claw my way back in the bends.
But then again i can only get independent multi link rear suspension in the AWD….
Bless you for continuing to watch this video even after I’ve talked about a CX30 and Kona on track – now let’s talk about something you might care about a little more
First MPG: in FWD Konas you get 32 combined and AWD gets you 29
And then we have the 2021 CX30 turbo, there are 6 different trim options, the one we are testing just to happens to be the premium plus package which is the highest trim level available, so let’s talk features.
Lets start with the engine, 2.5L turbo creating 250 HP and an impressive 320 lb feet of torque on premium fuel sending power to their I-activ AWD system through a 6 speed automatic transmission.
Yes, i know this gearbox is archaic, and definitely not as good as the 7 speed Matt has but it gets the job done.
The nice thing about this engine and its Forced induction is that the efficiency doesn’t suffer much, 22 city, 30 highway, for a combined 25 mpg, while the naturally aspirated CX-30 AWD achieves 24/31/26 mpg, Idk about you, but I’ll sacrifice the 1 combined MPG for about double the torque the Naturally aspirated CX gets. And comparing it to the Kona you get 7 less MPG but over 50% more torque. 20% reduction to MPG, a trade off I’m willing to make.
Something that you probably don’t care too much about since this is an SUV after all, but is impressive nonetheless, 0-60 in 5.8 seconds OVER HALF A SECOND QUICKER THAN THE N LINE?
Relatively quick
Peak torque arrives around 2,000 RPM which is nice, you can use that power right away if you’d like.
Handling
This thing is really Easy to drive, it feels athletic and nimble, flip it into sports mode and it becomes even more exciting. Thrown at corners – handles like a champ
Crisp steering, stable body, a little torque steer on occasion. But honestly this thing is a blast, even get turbo spool if you throttle it correctly, but let’s meet up with Matt and talk exterior and interior.
So what result does that power and drivetrain produce? It produces something that is fun, nimble, and athletic. Its easy to drive but flip it into sports mode and it becomes exciting. I’ve thrown it at a couple corners and windy roads and this thing handles it like a champ, the steering is crisp, the body feels stable, well as stable as an Small SUV can feel, but honestly this thing has just been a blast. You even get a little turbo spolle if you throttle it correctly.
Exterior: Kona N-Line
For 2022 here this is a facelift and it looks better but still weird
Body colored cladding
Looks more aggressive while yours looks more elegant
18 inch wheels exclusive for n line
Wheels pushed to the extremes of the car
The rear is ok, but they do the 2 taillight thing – so if you get in a crash you have to replace 2
just glad they cleaned up the design overall
Looks more premium, more thought out, just better
Exterior: Mazda CX-30 Turbo
Overall styling in 2021 didnt really change much. I think it looks sharp, sporty. I like the design of the LED headlights and taillights. Turn signals are these sleak LED lines at the bottom front as well, which I like.
I dont love the plastic cladding, I think it just gives off the impression of a cheap car unfortunately.
I like these black finish 18 rims, i think it fits really nicely with the car.
Kona N-Line Interior
This is where everyone dismisses Hyundai – the interiors are cheap and shitty
They’re cheaper cars, but the interiors arent that bad
Cloth seats, Venue, heated, special N seats
8 inch screen, but can get 10 inch
Wireless charging, ACP AA
Here’s the big bummer though – std LKA and stuff, but cant get HDA
Rear seats
trunk
CX30 Turbo Interior
Genuine leather seats
Very high quality material, sleak dashboard driver focused design, comfortable, padded arm rest are very nice.
I personally am not a fan of the two tone brown black contrasting leathers/materials
8.8 Mazda connect screen, Mazda command wheel, I like where the volume nob is and the command wheel. My audi had it here as well and its just more natural to control with your hand on the arm rest.
Bose sound system which sounds great
Very refined
Dashboard isnt fully digital yet but I think it serves its purpose, has the information you’d want, heads up display as well.
Apple car play/ android auto
Host of safety features:
- blind spot monitoring
- 360 camera
- parking sensors
- Rear cross traffic alert
Heated seats, heated steering wheel.
Heads up display
The interior just doesnt feel special.
Back seats are a bit cramped (leg room/ head room is okay.
Trunk – 20 cubic feet. So not that much space, but honestly its more than you would imagine judging from the exterior.
Final Thoughts
So basically, what we’ve found with this comparison is that the Kona is a little out of its depth against the Mazda CX30 turbo, but that’s also reflected in the price. The Mazda is 5k more to start and this specific battle had almost 10 grand between them. All that’s to say, the Zoom Zoom Mazda better watch out for the 2.0T Kona N
Sure, the Mazda is more expensive, but you can see and feel exactly where that money goes. The design looks expensive, the interior is incredible for this segment, and let’s be honest no one is taking these cars to the track so even in Full Kona N you won’t get the massive wave of torque and spool noise you get here in the Mazda.