If there’s a segment of cars that experiences some of the greatest delta in appeal and subsequent availability, it’s probably small SUVs. Everyone wants one, but “everyone” includes folks who drink with their pinkies extended and folks who drink right from the hose like Dale Earnhardt intended, so the offerings vary wildly.
We recently back-to-backed a duo of small utes from a couple legacy companies, and honestly, their vibes couldn’t have been more different.
Unfortunately, while both swung for the fences in their chosen segment–one trying to be a luxurious micro-wagon and one trying to be a frugal option–both hit the warning track and didn’t quite make it to the fence. Let’s look at where they came up short.
The Lexus NX 450h is, to its credit, a very nice place to go about the business of driving. It has all the premium touches, like heated and ventilated seats, a power liftgate, fancy lighting accents and … well, you get the picture: all the trappings we’ve come to associate with luxury vehicles these days.
But it’s also approaching $70,000. Our tester stickered out at $67,114, and it’s essentially a gussied-up Toyota Venza, which Toyota doesn’t even sell under its own moniker anymore. The plug-in hybrid powertrain is nice and delivered its advertised 37 miles of all-electric range in around-town driving.
Once the traction battery is depleted, the Lexus returns high 20s to low 30s as a traditional hybrid, which is also decent but still nothing revolutionary.
And you know what also does all that, has nearly all of those luxury features, is like $20K less expensive and is a chassis that just got launched last year? The newest Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid. Walk across the street to the Toyota dealer and get all the functionality and quality of the baby Lexus with enough change to buy two nice used Miatas.
Now let’s contrast with the budget fighter Mazda CX-30. Also featuring all-wheel drive but with a more conventional 2.5-liter combustion engine, the 2026 Mazda CX-30 2.5 S Aire Edition will set you back $33,130 equipped like our sample.
It’s … fine? Honestly, it would have been great 10 years and $5000 or $7000 ago, but everyone else in the category has upped the ante while Mazda has sort of rested on the triumphs of the mid-aughts.
This CX-30 suffers from what Editor David S. Wallens complained about with the newest CX-5, which is an expanse of rock-hard, cheap-feeling plastic surfaces inside the car. Instead of feeling rugged, they come off as basic, particularly in a world where quality-feeling materials are becoming more and more of a standard.
The CX-30 also seems feature-light. Mazda’s infotainment is still knob-controlled and not touch-controlled, which is particularly annoying in Apple CarPlay mode. Ultimately, it’s a minor annoyance, but minor annoyances are amplified when there’s no huge wins to offset them.
Sadly, while the small Mazda SUVs were among the first to prioritize excellent driving dynamics as well as value and utility a decade ago, they kind of peaked out of the gate. Their modern descendants aren’t materially better than those original versions, while the marketplace around them has steadily improved.
Our test CX-30 struggled to break 30 mpg, for example, which is essentially identical to the numbers it delivered when it was introduced some seven years ago.
Look, these are both good cars, but they also exist in a world of great cars, and these platforms are showing their age against increasingly stiff competition. Maybe that’s good news for anyone shopping for a car, since you’ll be entering a marketplace dense with high-quality options. For now, though, the CX-30 and NX 450h–once both on the cutting edge of small SUV evolution–have been passed by their competition.
Comments
It really seems like Mazda is kind of going through a Quizno’s moment in that if you wanted an SUV with competent/fun-to-drive handling, you bought a Mazda.
But in such a crowded marketplace, it seems like many other car companies offer an “improved” driving experience in their SUVs.
Or, maybe, Mazda has just kind of lost its way. I hope that’s not the case, though.
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