Mazda MX-30 vs Nissan LEAF

What's the difference?

The MX-30 is a tough one to give you a clear verdict on. In summary, though, the math just doesn’t add up. This car is way too expensive and offers next to no range for Australia’s vast intercity distances, essentially resigning buyers to a life within city limits.

On the other hand, I love the design ethos of this little SUV. It’s truly a statement, and it’s rare to find a car that is so committed to its uniqueness. It’s also easily one of the best EVs to drive right now, so those who understand its compromises will no doubt be left with smiles on their faces.

If you’ve never driven an electric car before, the Nissan Leaf e+ is the perfect starting point.

It looks and feels for the most part like a conventional car, and it doesn’t throw any of its tech in your face.

It might sound like a criticism, but the Leaf e+ is easy-to-use and unintimidating, which is refreshing in a world dominated by TikToks, smart watches and cryptocurrency.

With a boosted driving range and a bit better performance, the Nissan Leaf e+ certainly puts a strong case forward as your next – or first – EV.

The MX-30 oozes design. I would go so far as to say this car is more focused on being a design statement than it is an SUV (as evidenced by its lack of practicality…) or an EV (as evidenced by its lack of range…).

Mazda’s Kodo design language is already eye-grabbing, so it’s to the MX-30’s credit that it manages to be striking, even against other members of the Mazda family, as it strays from a well-refined formula.

The large grille has been dumped in favour of something much smaller but the 3D effect of the Kodo face still persists. The light clusters adopt their own personality - they're inspired by the Mazda3, arguably, but they stand on their own.

The side profile, squat dimensions, and contrasting panel work (in our car’s case, a matte grey against the brand’s signature ‘Soul Red’) alert you to the fact that the MX-30 is something quite different indeed. And all this is before you notice the fact that it has clamshell rear doors.

Yep, that’s right, the MX-30 reaches into the brand’s history and brings back the outward folding door design once seen on the RX-8 rotary sports coupe. Opening it up is an event, and those doors wow onlookers with their unusual unfurling. Unfortunately, it’s not as smart as it looks, but we’ll get to that in the practicality part of this review.

The inside again blends familiar Mazda themes with entirely new ones. The material design is incredible. For the first time in a long time, I felt like a kid in some kind of tactile science museum, prodding, squeezing, and scratching at this car’s many interior elements to see if they were, in fact, made of the occasionally unbelievable materials they seem to be.

It doesn’t disappoint. Yes, the door cards really have a splash of an odd grey carpet material, very Volvo, the seats are really trimmed in some sort of synthetic leather, the quality grain of which has to be felt to be understood (it's very Mercedes), and the centre console is really made of recycled cork panelling, which is very BMW.

All of this might sound a bit silly (and the cork stuff perhaps is) but along with the stepped centre console design, weird semi-digital dash cluster and familiar bits out of other Mazdas, it is difficult to not enjoy being in such a creative and unusual space.

The commitment to this funky, unusual design, has some major practicality drawbacks, which we’ll take a look at next.

If you were expecting all electric cars to look like something out of Star Wars or Blade Runner, you might want to lower your expectations a tiny bit with the Nissan Leaf.

From the outside, the Leaf looks just… fine?

You can tell it’s an electric car because there aren’t big gaps in the front grille to let in air, and the sharp, angular styling helps the Leaf better cut through the air to maximise its driving range.

Step to the side and you’ll see a silhouette of a small hatchback, but spruced up with ‘Zero emissions’ badges and 17-inch wheels with low-rolling-resistance tyres.

The blacked-out C-pillar is kind of cool, and pinches the rear end a bit for a more stylish and even coupe-like roofline.

That roof is finished off with a subtle spoiler that carries down into the half-blacked-out tailgate and sharp tail-lights. There’s also a little diffuser down there and, being an electric car, there are no exhaust outlets to ruin the plastic.

Inside, once again, the Leaf looks just fine.

The biggest thing that really stands the Leaf e+’s cabin apart from a conventional small hatchback is the shifter, which is now a small puck-like thing.

It still functions the same, you pull it towards you and down to chuck the Leaf in drive, it’s just not a gear stick, and is one of the only giveaways that the Leaf is an EV from the inside.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen dominates the centre stack, and it's great to see that, despite the Leaf’s futuristic feel, there are still buttons and switches for the climate controls, rather than being an all-touchscreen affair.

It might sound like I'm a fan of the way the Leaf e+ looks, but it doesn’t really break the mould in terms of styling.

Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is completely up to you, as some would rather a more traditional looking vehicle, but I’d prefer a bit more zing in the style department.

Put simply, the MX-30 is about as practical as a sports coupe, which is a feat given it has the footprint and height of an SUV.

It starts with those clamshell doors. Sure, they look amazing, but they’re annoying to open because the handle is on the inside, so you have to open the front doors before you can open the rear ones. At best this costs you time when you’re just trying to load objects, pets, or kids, at worst it makes the rear of the cabin nearly impossible to access in a tight car park.

Even in my unit parking spot, I could barely access the rear seats, making it especially annoying when I just wanted to chuck a bag in the rear footwell.

Even if you don’t have trouble getting an adult back there, space is limited. Behind my own driving position, my knees were up against the seat in front, and while I had plenty of headroom, it feels a bit claustrophobic, thanks to the tiny windows and high beltline.

I’ll hand some credit to the commitment to this car’s design, though, the odd carpet trims continue into the rear doors, and there's even a plush padded surface for your elbows on either side. Nice touch. The seats also feel unusually low and sporty for an SUV, particularly an electric one.

As if it couldn’t be more clear that this car has the intention of being some sort of sports coupe, the front seats are lovely. Comfortable, supportive, and with plenty of soft trims throughout the cabin, I felt as though I had plenty of room here. The raised console design means the multimedia functions and toggles were easy to reach and use, and while the climate functions are somewhat awkwardly placed on a touch panel, at least they were set and forget most of the time.

There’s a tactile dial for volume control, and although the multimedia interface is dial-based rather than touch, Mazda’s system is one of the easiest to use once you get used to it.

There’s a large storage area under the centre console, hosting two USB ports and a household power outlet, and atop that there’s a cork-finished tray, which flips up to reveal dual bottle holders in the centre. Behind this there’s a small armrest console box, trimmed in the same plush padding as the doors and seats. Front occupants can also make use of small pockets in the doors and a glovebox.

Unlike some electric cars, the MX-30 doesn’t score a ‘frunk’, which seems like a wasted opportunity because the engine bay is half empty. Serviceable items look incredibly easy to access because of this, with liquid tanks and coolant hoses on display, but I can’t help but feeling Mazda could have put a small storage space here with some packaging trickery. It’s equally possible that there’s a crash-safety consideration, however.

Moving to the boot, and unfortunately there’s a small-hatch-sized 311 litres on offer, because there’s also next to no underfloor space, and you’ll have to store your charging cables in there, too, further reducing the space. With the cable bags strapped in place, the boot fit our largest (124L) CarsGuide travel case with little extra room to spare. It’s weekender luggage space at best, but then I suppose you won’t be able to go away for long with the range on offer anyway…

Measuring 4490mm long, 1788mm wide, 1540mm tall and with a 2700mm wheelbase, the Nissan Leaf e+ sizes up nicely against small hatchbacks like the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30.

Up front, there’s no denying the Leaf’s practicality, and the cabin feels light and airy thanks to big and generous windows, even if the A-pillars are a little on the thick side.

However, the seats are positioned a little too high – at least for our tastes – and without a telescoping function on the steering wheel, it can take a bit of time before you find the most comfortable driving position.

Storage options in the front seats include door pockets that will take a big water bottle, two cupholders between the seats, a deep storage cubby under the armrest and a tiny little recess that will fit your wallet and smaller phones.

In the rear seats, space does get a bit tighter, at least for my six-foot-tall frame, but there is still sufficient head and leg-room in the two outboard seats.

The middle position is pretty compromised, however, because of the lithium-ion battery underneath and all the components needed to get juice up to the front wheels, which eats away significantly at the footwell.

In the back, storage options extend to a bottle holder in the doors and map pockets behind the two front seats.

Opening the boot reveals a cavity that will accommodate 405 litres officially, but you might want to be careful not to load the Leaf to the brim.

There’s a Bose sound system device positioned right behind the back seats, which emits a beeping sound when reversing to warn pedestrians you are there, so you’ll have to be careful not to damage it with anything big and heavy.

It’s a bit disappointing to see there are no bag hooks or luggage tie-down points in there, but at least there are storage nets where you can put your charging cables.

Fold the rear-seats down and available volume swells to 1176L, but the seats do not fold flat, making it trickier to transport longer items.

New tech is always going to cost a premium, just look at how the latest flagship smartphones have crept well over $1000!

So, if you’re expecting to pay a little more for an electric car than a petrol or diesel-powered model, you’d be right on the money.

You can get into a base Nissan Leaf for $49,990 before on-road costs, but the new 2021 e+ raises the bar to $60,490. Ouch.

There is quite a long list of equipment to justify the price though, but both Leaf and Leaf e+ actually mirror each other in spec, meaning the $10,500 difference in price is due to the latter’s improved driving range, performance and charging – but more on those in a bit.

As standard, the Leaf and Leaf e+ comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, rear privacy glass, heated front and rear outboard seats, heated steering wheel, and a leather and suede interior trim.

Drivers are also treated to a 7.0-inch multifunction display, which can be customised to show driving range, energy consumption and more.

Handling multimedia duties is an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, seven-speaker Bose sound system, digital radio and satellite navigation.

There are some noticeable omissions on the spec list, however, which are especially jarring given the Leaf e+’s forward-facing powertrain.

There’s no wireless smartphone charger and there’s no head-up display, plus the park-brake is foot-operated, which is a big disappointment in a new car in 2021.

The MX-30 has an electric motor on the front axle with a single-speed reduction-gear transmission. It produces low-sounding figures of 107kW and 271Nm of torque, which is less than most of its rivals, although it has more power and less torque than the equivalently sized (but much cheaper) MG ZS EV.

Although these power figures don’t look as impressive as rivals, it’s worth remembering that the MX-30 has much less weight to carry around, so when it comes to driving it’s a much better story than it appears. More on that later.

The MX-30 offers three levels of regenerative braking, controlled through the wheel-mounted paddle-shifters, a necessary touch, and one that offers decent feedback on how your driving style is affecting range, via the dash and multimedia screen.

Under the bonnet of the 2021 Nissan Leaf e+, you will find the electric motor and inverter, which drives the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.

The Leaf e+’s electric motor produces 160kW of power and 340Nm of torque, which is a noticeable step up over the standard Leaf’s 110kW/320Nm output.

As a result, the Leaf e+ is quicker in the 0-100km/h sprint, needing just 6.9 seconds, compared to the Leaf’s 7.9s time.

The MX-30 has some advantages here, in that its tiny (35.5kWh to be precise) lithium-ion battery pack means it charges up pretty quickly. The downside? It’s not as quick as it could be, and its efficiency leaves a little to be desired.

As already discussed at length, this small battery means a very short range – between 200 and 224km depending on which standard you want to go by, and the MX-30 is claimed to consume 18.5kWh of energy on the combined cycle.

This is disappointing because not only is the claim higher than rivals like the Kona electric and Nissan Leaf, but in reality, I couldn’t best it with predominantly city driving, as I have previously been able to in all its rivals. Over some 250km of testing I managed a dash-reported 18.9kWh/100km.

The MX-30 EV takes a European-standard Type 2 CCS charger, the most popular kind in Australia, and will charge up at a rate of 50kW on DC or 6.6kW on AC.

It would have been nice to see that boosted to at least 7.2kW AC to be a bit more competitive on AC charging speed. For a car that will need to be charged frequently, even a 10-minute difference in charging time is important. While 50kW DC is about right for a battery pack this size, I assume there will be cooling issues pushing that to 100kW+ as the Hyundai Kona electric and Tesla Model 3 with nearly twice the battery size are capable of.

Mazda estimates a charge time of 36 minutes on DC, three hours on a three-phase AC charger, or nine hours from a ~2.4kW wall outlet. I charged my MX-30 a single time before returning it, from about 10 – 80 per cent, with it maxing out at around 50kW. It charged in less than 40 minutes, however, as promised.

Officially, the Nissan Leaf e+ consumes 18kWh per 100km … which we’re betting means absolutely nothing to you.

Translating this into real-world terms, the Leaf e+ will travel about 385km with a full charge.

This is much higher than the 270km afforded in the standard Leaf because the e+ has a much larger 62kWh battery, which is part of the reason it costs so much more.

However, with things like regenerative braking and careful use of the air-conditioning, your mileage can greatly vary.

In our week with the car, I actually managed an average consumption rating of 17.3kWh/100km, bettering the official figure.

Regardless, using a standard household socket will get the Leaf e+ from 30 per cent battery to full in about 11.5 hours, and using a DC fast-charger will cut the 20-80 per cent charge to just 45 minutes.

Do note that the Leaf e+ features the CHAdeMO DC fast-charging ports, which are a little harder to find than the CCS varieties.

The Leaf e+, as well as the Leaf, also now support bi-directional charging, so you can use your car to power your home to charge things like your phone and Nintendo.

Usually, it’s easier here to talk about how electric cars are different from their combustion counterparts, or how they are great for an electric car. In the case of the MX-30, however, it’s just a great car to drive.

I’ll admit, I didn’t expect this little EV to match, much less exceed the driving experience of its CX-30 sibling, but it was a pleasant surprise to find out how great it was.

It turns out that having a much smaller battery, and therefore a much lower kerb weight than most EVs, means the MX-30 feels light, agile, and rapid compared to all of its rivals, which goes some way to making up for its lesser outputs.

In fact, I had no trouble with the motor at all, with the MX-30 feeling faster and more responsive than the Hyundai Kona electric or the Kia Niro EV.

Mazda’s handling prowess is also on full show here, with the smooth and accurate steering allowing me to point this little SUV with remarkable accuracy. The steering tune is lighter than the Kona electric, but a bit more significant than the Kia Niro's. It emboldens you to have a bit of fun, and again, unlike rivals, Mazda’s suspension tune has your back.

It’s sporty enough to engage you, but not so firm that it sends tremors through the cabin, an impressive feat considering it has a less complex torsion bar rear. If anyone had asked me, I would have sworn it was multi-link all-round.

The whole experience feels very similar to helming the CX-30 or Mazda3, but I’d even say the MX-30 feels better over the front end, with less rough rebound than its siblings.

It also makes a cool noise. Mazda have given the MX-30 an artificial tone, plumbed through the speakers, and unlike the science-fiction hum generated by the Hyundai group EVs, the Mazda’s is a warm drone, more reminiscent of a combustion engine.

To be clear here, the MX-30 is no Tesla Model 3. That car is seriously rapid, with mind-bending handling, although I will say there’s a certain poise and refinement to the way the Mazda drives. Even in the corners, it’s confidence inspiring, with the torque-vectoring magic built into the electric motor on full show.

Perhaps one of the reasons that this car is a tad less efficient than its rivals is its lack of weight, which would allow more energy to be fed back into the battery during regenerative braking. Or perhaps its regen braking modes are a bit too forgiving, either way it’s nice that the Mazda offers three easily controllable levels via the paddle-shifters. I even became a fan of the quaint analogue power dial, even if it does give you a bit less feedback than the sleek software suites in Hyundai Group or Tesla offerings.

The MX-30, then, hits an unexpected niche. The benefits of its smaller battery pack and a focus on handling make this car one of the best EVs to drive today, even if you’re restricted to city limits, and regular recharging.

If you’ve never driven an electric car before, there is a bit of a learning curve. For starters, the torque is available instantaneously, and there isn’t any exhaust or engine noise to contend with.

But don’t worry, because Nissan has made it really easy to just get into the Leaf e+ and go.

Firstly, there is nothing intimidating about the cabin. The layout for all the controls and switches is well thought out, and everything is just where it should be and does what it's meant to do.

This means that, despite having an electric drivetrain, the Leaf e+ feels familiar – and that’s important to some.

Turn the car on, put it in Drive and – just like a regular car – push on the throttle to move. But even though torque is available right away, the Leaf e+ never shoots forward at a mind-blending or uncontrollable pace.

Can you tell the Leaf e+ has a peppier engine than the base offering? It’s hard to say without driving the Leaf and Leaf e+ back-to-back, but Nissan’s new electric hatchback offers spritely enough performance.

What is noticeable is the boost to driving range.

While an extra 110 or so kilometres might not seem like that much in the grand scheme of things, it means you don’t have to worry about plugging in and recharging as often, and it's always nice to look down at the range-remaining display and see a three-digit figure.

In our week with the car, we only charged up once, and there was never a moment where we stressed about running out of juice before getting the car back to base.

And if you really are worried about your range, or are into hypermiling, there is always the Eco mode, or Nissan’s e-Pedal, to play around with.

The former will just dial back performance to add about 15km to the overall range, while the latter allows the Leaf e+ to be operated with just the throttle pedal.

Lift off the right foot, and the Leaf e+’s aggressive regenerative braking will kick in to recoup energy and slow down the car, forcing you to think about and be careful with your inputs.

It might sound like a marketing gimmick, but it really is the best way to drive the Leaf e+ if range is a concern.

The Nissan Leaf e+ isn’t the last word on dynamics by any stretch, turn the wheel and the car will travel where you direct it, but it does so without any great flair or panache.

No, the 2021 Nissan Leaf e+ is a not dynamic wunderkind, but it absolutely nails being a comfortable, familiar and unintimidating step into the world of electric cars.

The Nissan Leaf e+ wears a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from the testing of the regular Leaf in 2018.

The Leaf scored notably high on the adult and child occupant protection tests, with six airbags as standard.

Advanced safety technology also extends to autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, traffic-sign recognition, high-beam assist, driver-attention alert, tyre pressure monitoring, front- and rear-parking sensors, and rear cross traffic alert.

Our favourite feature, though, is the surround-view monitor, which helps you nail that parallel park without curbing the wheels.

The MX-30 is covered by Mazda’s industry-standard five-year and unlimited kilometre warranty, while the battery pack is covered by a separate eight-year promise, on par with its Korean rivals. Mazda includes roadside assist for the duration of the warranty.

The EV has service intervals of 12 months or 15,000km whichever occurs first, and a five-year service plan comes in at $1273.79, working out to an average of $254.76 a year. That’s getting close to Toyota levels of cheap servicing, and so it should, given electric cars (at least in theory) have much less to attend to when it comes service time.

Like all new Nissan models sold in Australia in 2021, the Leaf e+ comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, along with five years of roadside assist.

The battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km assurance period, which ensures three quarters of capacity after that time.

Scheduled service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever occurs first, matching the industry standard.

With Nissan’s capped-price-servicing schedule, the Leaf e+ will cost around $1742 to maintain over five years, averaging out to be about $290 per year.

Without the need to change things like oil and sparkplugs, the all-electric Leaf e+ is much cheaper to keep on the road than petrol-powered competitors.