Mazda CX-30 vs Toyota Land Cruiser

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 i-Force Max hybrid set-up is aimed at improving performance rather than fuel efficiency, but its effectiveness in that respect is hard to fathom.

Increases in power and torque are welcome, of course, but the 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel Cruiser is just as good as the hybrid off-road and with a bigger fuel tank and greater driving range.

The hybrid LandCruiser will certainly appeal to some buyers, but the lion’s share of those interested in the 300 Series are looking to tow big loads and go long distances in comfort, which is why the diesel Cruiser at this stage is the better pick of the two powertrains.

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. 

Nothing of note has changed onboard the Cruiser and the GR Sport variants are all the same, inside and out, no matter which powertrain you opt for.

And that’s fine because this is a good-looking rooster.

The GR Sport is listed as 4995mm long (with a 2850mm wheelbase), 1990mm wide and 1955mm high. It has a kerb weight of 2620kg.

This 300 Series looks much the same as it did at launch in 2021: big, chunky, imposing – like me if I was wearing high heels.

As a point of difference to other Cruisers, though, all GR Sports have variant-specific badging on the grille, front doors and rear tailgate.

Inside, it’s pretty much the same story which is borne out in how comfortable and practical it remains.

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 LandCruiser’s cabin is a functional and comfortable space, and – no matter the spec level – it always has a sense of familiarity about it.

All seats in the GR Sport are leather-accented and comfortable and there are soft-touch surfaces throughout the interior.

The driver gets a heated and power-adjustable steering wheel and both occupants up front cop ventilated and heated, power-adjustable seats (with memory functions for the driver).

The GR Sport’s 12.3-inch colour touchscreen is easy to use, with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there’s a wireless charging pad near the shifter.

Physical buttons and dials make operational life in the Cruiser much easier than if all functions were adjusted via on-screen controls, as is the case in some new vehicles.

There are USB and USB-C charging points up front.

There’s a cool box in the centre console and its lid can be opened from either side, so driver or passenger can access whatever is chilling within.

There’s also a powered sunroof if you’re that way inclined.

Beyond those features, there are the usual storage spaces, cupholders, receptacles in the doors for bigger bottles and other spaces for your bits and pieces.

The second-row seats are in a 40/20/40 split-folding configuration.

The GR Sport’s cargo space, when all five seats are in use, is a listed 910 litres behind the second row, somewhat impacted by the underfloor presence of the hybrid battery. That cargo area grows to 1842 litres when the second row is stowed away.

The rear cargo area of the hybrid has a 200V/1500W inverter, four tie-down points and of course, there's a full-size spare.

All in all, the Cruiser has the goods when it comes to practicality.

The five-seat Toyota LandCruiser 300 GR (Gazoo Racing) Sport Hybrid sits near the top of the 300 Series line-up and as such has a price-tag of $155,990, before on-road costs.

It's worth noting the GR Sport is also available with a 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel engine at $147,090, before on-roads.

Standard features include a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system, a 14-speaker JBL audio system, as well as leather-accented seats, heated and ventilated power-adjustable front seats, 18-inch alloy wheels and more.

The i-Force Max hybrid set-up is the big attraction in this package and, largely because of that new powertrain, Cruiser buyers have to cop a heftier price – just under $9000 – over the diesel variants.

As the highest off-road grade in the Cruiser line-up, the GR Sport is kitted out with front, centre and rear diff locks, E-KDSS (essentially an electronic active swaybar), and the long-time bolted-on LandCruiser 4WD heritage.

Exterior paint options include the no-cost Glacier White or Ebony, or choose from Crystal Pearl, Arctic White, Graphite, Eclipse Black or Merlot Red, each of which costs $710.

Rivals such as the Nissan Patrol Warrior (priced from around the $110,000 mark) or Land Rover Defender (from $102,000) offer similar levels of standard features, but something like the Denza B8 plug-in hybrid (kicking off from around the $91,000 mark) has a packed standard features list for much less cash.

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.

The big news here is the i-Force Max hybrid powertrain consisting of a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine, an electric motor and a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Toyota reckons the “purpose‑built 1‑Motor Hybrid system” is designed for towing, off‑roading and heavy‑duty performance and that the additional electric motor “enhances power and responsiveness (compared with an equivalent diesel-only model), working seamlessly alongside the internal combustion engine”.

In general driving, it’s difficult, nigh on impossible, to discern the positive impact, if any, of the i-Force Max. But the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine alone is impressive.

There’s no denying this Cruiser now benefits from a substantial increase in power (up 114kW to 341kW combined peak output) and torque (up 90Nm to 790Nm combined peak output) over the diesel Cruiser.

The Dakar Rally-inspired LC300 GR Sport’s 10-speed torque converter auto cleverly handles open-road driving and high- and low-range 4WDing, micro-managing power and torque to maintain a level-headed but involved driving experience.

The GR Sport has full-time, dual-range 4WD, a well-calibrated off-road traction control system, as well as front, rear and centre diff locks, so it’s almost unstoppable.

In this realm, the Cruiser holds its own against the likes of Nissan Patrol Warrior and Land Rover Defender.

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.

Official fuel consumption is 10.0L/100km on a combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle.

Our fuel consumption on this test was 13.6L/100km, which is substantially more than the claimed figure, but testing did, of course, include high- and low-range 4WDing.

This hybrid Cruiser has a 98-litre fuel tank (the diesel holds 110 litres) so, going by those fuel figures, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 720km out of a full tank.

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. 

Steering, now electric, is light but precise and this 4WD wagon feels highly manoeuvrable; with a turning circle of 11.8m it's quite nimble.

The new hybrid set-up is aimed at performance rather than fuel efficiency and as before the Cruiser remains a comfortable open-road cruiser, smoothly tapping into oodles of power and torque when required, all managed smoothly through the 10-speed auto.

This Cruiser’s on-road ride and handling are composed but it is soft rather than dynamic. Its suspension – double wishbone, independent at the front and live axle and multi-links at the rear with coils all-around – soaks up most irregularities in any road surface.

Its ventilated disc brakes front and rear brought the big Cruiser to a controlled stop during our emergency-braking scenarios on test.

When it comes to off-roading, this LandCruiser benefits from handy 4WD gear some other Cruiser grades miss out on, namely Toyota’s swaybar-disconnect equivalent E-KDSS (electronic-Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System), front and rear differential locks, and adaptive variable suspension.

The E-KDSS set-up acts like an electronic active swaybar, adjusting tension on the front and rear sway bars to suit the terrain and driving conditions.

While it’s a high-value addition on-road – tightening them for better body control at higher speeds on sealed surfaces – it gives the vehicle a lot more flexibility in terms of wheel articulation off-road, offering full stretch on the axles when tackling off-road scenarios.

This hybrid 300 Series tackled all obstacles at our unofficial testing and proving ground without any strife; its top-tier power and torque levels are consistently delivered across a broad rev range and that 10-speed auto is never caught out, scrambling through ratios to find the sweet spot.

High- and low-range gearing are solid in the 300 Series, and the suite of driver assist tech, aimed at making off-road driving easier and safer, is comprehensive: the traction control system has been further fine-tuned over previous versions, and is now even more precise in application.

The 300’s multi-terrain select system gives you the option of cycling through driving modes – for example, Sand, Snow, Mud, Rocks and Dirt – to suit the terrain. When engaged, the modes adjust vehicle systems, throttle, engine output etc to best suit the conditions, driving style and terrain.

Off-road measurements and angles are on point for a large 4WD wagon. Ground clearance is 245mm, wading depth is 700mm, and approach, ramp-over and departure angles are 32, 25 and 25 degrees, respectively.

Besides that, whether it’s being able to access 790Nm of useable torque across a broad rev range, or relying on the LC300’s well-calibrated traction control, or if you are engaging front, rear and centre diff locks, this Cruiser is an almost unstoppable off-roader in the right hands.

Even without the diff locks engaged, this 300 conquers every obstacle you drive it at, through and over.

If you plan to use this 4WD wagon for anything more difficult than dry-track 4WDing in good weather then get more aggressive all-terrain tyres to replace the standard Bridgestone Dueler all-terrains (265/65 R18).

The GR Sport’s full-size spare is mounted to the underbody but it doesn’t impact running clearance.

The 300 Series can legally tow 750kg unbraked, and 3500kg braked.

Here, the Cruiser remains true to its old-school spirit – albeit with a tech edge – in the same way the Nissan Patrol Warrior does, while something like the Land Rover Defender is more spaceship than scrub explorer.

All of the 300 Series line-up, except the GR Sport, have the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in January 2022.

Safety gear includes 10 airbags, two ISOFIX anchor points, as well as AEB with pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection, active cruise control (all-speed), lane departure alert (with brake to steer), road sign assist (speed signs only), trailer sway control and more.

Off-road driver-assist tech includes crawl control, downhill assist, hill-start assist, multi-terrain select, multi-terrain monitor with panoramic view and active traction control.

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 hybrid Cruiser is covered by Toyota’s five year/unlimited km warranty.

Servicing is scheduled for every 12 months or 20,000km (whichever occurs soonest) and costs are, at time of writing, $450 per appointment for the first five years or 100,000km (whichever occurs first).

Toyota Australia has more than 300 authorised service centres around the country.