Mazda CX-30 vs Mini 5D Hatch

What's the difference?

About to enter its fifth year in market the Mazda CX-30 is holding up well and this GT SP FWD grade delivers solid value relative to its key competitors, of which there are many. It’s also space-efficient, practical and performs well with top-shelf safety, decent refinement and good dynamic ability.

Alternately, it’s crying out for a hybrid powertrain to improve fuel efficiency, the interior form and function is starting to date and while it meets the market the ownership promise could be sharper. But this little SUV is still worthy of a spot on your new-car short list.

The Mini Clubman JCW is quirky in a lot of the right ways, and now has a hard-charging engine to up the adrenalin factor. If you were already sold on the idea of joining the Clubman club, this one will steal your heart more than any other.

Mazda continues to follow a disciplined design path with everything from the MX-5 sports car to the BT-50 dual-cab ute sharing key attributes like the brand’s signature trapezoidal grille, simple flowing lines and sleek head- and tail-lights, all wrapped up with a subtle hint of chrome here and there.

Car-spotters with the GT SP on their checklist should look out for 18-inch black metallic rims as well as black exterior trim, including the mirror caps. 

Inside, the CX-30 maintains Mazda’s restrained approach with smooth surfaces integrated across the multi-layer dash and primo leather-trimmed seats.

That said, this car is starting to show its age with the multimedia screen plonked on the top of the dash (in typical Mazda fashion) and a largely conventional instrument cluster.

Yes, the main dial is configurable courtesy of a central 7.0-inch TFT screen, but next to more recent arrivals boasting sleek, often twinned, flat screen displays the CX-30 looks and feels out of touch. 

Functionally, there’s a sensible mix of digital controls and physical buttons (points for audio volume and ventilation dials!), but… the multimedia screen can only be accessed by a rotary controller in the centre console once the car is mobile (it works as a touchscreen when you’re stationary).

Some say touchscreens take your eyes off the road so the controller makes sense, but with a sequential app like Spotify it can take a lot of twirls to get to where you want to go, which upsets concentration and takes your eyes off the road, anyway. I’d prefer the relative ease of a quick press on a screen.

Aside from all that, the materials used are high quality with soft-touch surfaces across key contact points and hard plastics confined to high-wear areas. 

It's no real secret that earlier iterations of the Clubman were, well, a little challenging on the eye (Mini itself says “It was cool - if you were built that way…").

But this face-lifted version is much easier on the eye, if not as a cute a package as the three-door hatch variants. It's dimensions - long, smooth sides, a squared-off rump and bulging grille - somehow work as one to create car that is undoubtedly unique, but also rather  fetching.

Inside, it’s all pretty familiar Mini, what with the circle screens and jet-style switches. And it is a stylish space in the cabin, with a good material mix and the addition of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto making the centre screen far more functional.

The only downside is that, for mine, it favours that style over substance. It’s not the most user-friendly space I’ve ever sat in, though I imagine you’d get a little more used to it the more time you spent in there.

At just under 4.4m long, close to 1.8m wide and little over 1.5m tall (with a 2655mm wheelbase) the CX-30 is in the middle of the pack it competes with in terms of key dimensions.

And space up front is more than adequate, with an impressive feeling of roominess for a relatively small SUV.

For storage, there’s a large lidded box (which doubles as an armrest) between the front seats as well as a pair of cupholders in front of the gear-shifter with a bay for wireless device charging ahead of that.

The glove box is big, there are bins in the doors with room for decent size bottles and a drop-down tray for sunglasses sits overhead.

Move to the rear and the amount of space on offer is surprisingly generous. Sitting behind the driver’s seat, set for my 183cm position, I have plenty of head and legroom, although three full-size adults across the back seat will be an uncomfortable proposition for anything other than short trips. A trio of up to mid-teenage kids will be fine.

Adjustable air vents at the back of the front centre console are a welcome inclusion for back-seaters and storage runs to a map pocket (weirdly, on the back of the front seat only), a pair of cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest and bins in the doors with room for smaller bottles.

In-cabin power and connectivity includes two USB-C outlets and a 12-volt socket in the front centre storage box. No USBs specifically for those in the rear, which is a miss for road trips and no 12V in the boot which can be handy when camping or picnicking.  

Speaking of the boot, cargo volume with the rear seat upright is okay for the class at 317 litres, which expands to a healthy 1479L with the 60/40 split-folding backrest lowered. For comparison the Kia Seltos coughs up 433L with the rear seat upright.

The space is illuminated, there are tie-down anchors to help secure loose loads and there’s a space-saver spare sitting under the floor.

And if you’re keen on towing a tinnie or similar you’re good to go for a 1200kg braked trailer (600kg unbraked).

The Clubman is super practical - for a Mini... This is not a Bunnings bandit, and nor will you be piling endless Ikea flatpacks into the boot. 

It measures just over 4.2m in the length, 1.4m in height and 1.8m in width, and while they're not massive numbers, you might find yourself surprised by the room in the backset.

I'm around 175cm, and I could sit behind my own driving position with ease - thanks in no small part to the clever scalloped seas that give you extra leg room - and the headroom isn't half bad, either. 

Yep,  you can definitely fit two adults in the backseat (but never three), and those travelling back there will find air vents to help keep the temp down, as well as USB points and a pair of child seat anchors. 

Up front, the cabin somehow manages to feel more cramped, with the steering wheel, centre console and controls on the driver's door all feeling like they're encroaching on your personal space a bit, but it's a comfortable place to sit all the same. 

Step around to the barn-door style boot and you'll find what looks a little bit like a station wagon, only without all the space. Yes, it looks like a positive load-lugger next to the three-door hatch, but you still don't get that much space for luggage, with the official number at 360 - 1250 litres.

Mini is rolling the dice on a new specification strategy designed to take the endless questions and options out of buying a new car.

And so the Clubman JCW is the first Mini to be offered in the Pure trim ($57,900), which seriously limits the personalisation options to get you out of the dealership and behind the wheel as quickly as possible. You can choose from two wheel choices, four exterior paint choices, a back roof or a sunroof, and, well, that's about it. 

Outside, your money buys you 18-inch alloys wrapped in Michelin rubber, adaptive suspension, roof rails and LED head and taillights. Inside, expect cloth sports seats, an 8.8-inch screen that's both (wireless) Apple CarPlay and Android Auto equipped, standard navigation, climate control with rear vents and push-button start.

If the Pure doesn't give you enough options, then the regular Clubman JCW ($62,900) will add 19-inch alloys, leather seats, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon stereo, a head-up display and heated front seats. Oh, and all the personalisation options you shake your credit card at.

The CX-30 GT SP is powered by a 2.5-litre, naturally aspirated, four-cylinder petrol engine producing maximum power of 139kW at 6000rpm and peak torque of 252Nm at 4000rpm.

It’s a proven all-alloy unit featuring direct-injection as well as variable intake and exhaust valve timing with drive going to the front wheels via a six-speed auto transmission. 

The AWD version of the GT SP adds an electromagnetic multi-plate clutch pack (managed by a multitude of sensors) to selectively engage the rear wheels, as well. But its engine and transmission combination is identical to this FWD model’s.

This is a cracking engine; a twin-charge, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder weapon that sends 225kW and 450Nm thundering to all four tyres.

That power is funnelled through an eight-speed automatic transmission, and will see the Clubman JCW clip 100km/h in 4.9 seconds before pushing on to a 250km/h.

The CX-30 GT SP FWD’s official fuel consumption figure on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 6.6L/100km, the 2.5-litre atmo four-cylinder engine emitting 154g/km of C02 in the process.

It features fuel-saving stop-start and cylinder deactivation functions as standard and over a combination of city, suburban and some freeway running we saw an average of 8.4L/100km, which is average for an SUV in this class. A comparable hybrid package would easily better this result.

Based on the car’s 51-litre fuel tank theoretical range between refills is 772km, which drops to just over 600km using our real-world test consumption number. But the good news is this CX-30 runs happily on cheaper 91 RON ‘standard’ fuel.

Mini says its Clubman JCW will sip 7.7L/100km on the combined cycle, and emit some 175g/km of C02.

It’s rare in 2024 to find a small SUV that doesn’t have at least one turbocharger attached to its engine, the CX-30’s 2.5-litre ‘atmo’ four being one of those increasingly scarce examples.

But Mazda’s been laser-focused on extracting maximum power and efficiency from its non-turbo petrol engines for yonks and this one stands up well.

It doesn’t have the low-down punch a turbo typically delivers but maximum pulling power arrives at a useable 4000rpm and it’s eager enough for easy city and suburban running as well as confident freeway cruising.

Although Mazda doesn’t quote an official number you can expect a sprint from 0-100km/h in around 8.5 seconds, which is quick for the class.

Worth noting engine noise and a raspy exhaust note make their presence felt under acceleration and the throttle isn’t as refined as it could be. Not a huge deal, but a slight jerkiness is evident on initial, especially moderate, acceleration.

The six-speed auto is smooth and fuss-free, the steering wheel paddle shifters on hand if you need to intervene and select a specific ratio. ‘Sport’ mode peps things up, causing the transmission to shift down earlier and up later. But it’s aggressive in that it often holds onto a gear for too long and you find yourself diving back to the default normal setting.

Tipping the scales at just under 1.5 tonnes, the CX-30 is underpinned by a MacPherson strut front, torsion beam rear suspension and ride comfort on typically pock-marked urban surfaces is average for the category. That is, a bit jittery over bumps and corrugations but there’s no bone-jarring going on here.

Steering feel and response is good and the grippy steering wheel helps with a connection to the front tyres. Speaking of which, the standard rubber is high-performance (215/55) Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 050 which is  grippy and commendably quiet. 

Push on into a corner and the CX-30 remains balanced and predictable with body roll well under control. Torque vectoring, by engine and physical braking, is also onboard to reel things in if you overstep the mark.

Braking is by discs all around, vented at the front and solid at the rear, and they wash off speed effectively with a satisfyingly progressive pedal action.

Vision is good, which combined with the CX-30’s compact dimensions and 10.6m turning circle, means parking is easy. Especially when you factor in the hi-res reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors. 

Yes, this is the most powerful Mini to have landed in Australia. And even better, it’ll remain so, or at least equal first, when the Mini GP arrives next year. That car gets this same thumping engine, and the outputs are the same, though the smaller, lighter hatch will no doubt be faster. 

It means Clubman JCW shoppers aren't about to lose their street credit, with this engine likely to remain the king of the castle for some time yet. 

The Clubman It might tip the scales at 1550kg, but the kilos don’t hurt its straight line speed much. Whack it in sport mode, which also adds this deep bass to the exhaust, plant your right foot and the Clubman positively pounces forward.

Better still, it feels - and sounds - quick, too, There’s this angry snap and crackle on the overrun, and the exhaust genuinely booms in the cabin when you really bury your foot. 

You’ve heard the cliches before, of course, about Minis feeling like they’re on rails, and we won’t waste your time with those here. Suffice to say we have pushed Clubman around some pretty tight corners at some pretty decent speeds, and while it doesn’t feel like a featherweight, it also picks and sticks to a line with absolutely no nonsense from the tyres and very little in the way of body roll.

That’s the good, now the not so good. The impressive handling feels like it’s been achieved by hardening up the suspension as much as possible, and the downside of that is that it can feel plenty sharp and bouncy over big bumps. On the right road, it kind of adds to the experience, but I'd imagine the daily commute would start to fray your patience fairly quickly.

There’s also a kind of skittishness to the way it drives fast too, which I actually don’t mind, but others might say isn’t as natural and flowing as others in the segment.

But this is the hardest, fastest clubman you can buy, and so you’re going into it knowing there’s going to be some comfort compromises. And if you’re looking a loud and rorty hot-hatch experience, this thing delivers in spades.

And on the right stretch of road, it’s an absolute hoot.

The Clubman JCW arrives with six airbags, a reversing camera, AEB, active cruise, forward collision warning and front and rear parking sensors and what Mini calls Performance Control, which it promises will reduce understeer and increase traction in corners.

The Mini Clubman was awarded the full five-star ANCAP safety rating when tested in 2017.

Mazda covers the CX-30 with a five-year/unlimited km warranty which is the norm in the mainstream market, and it’s worth noting a growing number of competitors are now at six, seven or even 10 years, although the latter are typically conditional on authorised dealer servicing. Roadside assistance is provided for the duration of the warranty.

Service is recommended every 12 months or 15,000km and Mazda’s ‘Service Select’ program sets maintenance pricing out to seven years, the lowest over that period being $352 and the highest $626, for an annual average of $459, which is reasonable but not exceptional for the category.

For comparison, a similarly specified Toyota C-HR averages $330 per workshop visit over the same period.

The Mini Clubman JCW is covered by a three-year warranty, and falls under the BMW group's condition-based servicing program, in that it will tell you when it's time for a service.