Mazda MX-30 vs Toyota BZ4X

What's the difference?

Mazda’s MX-30 is an odd one. It’s Mazda’s third small SUV and its first production electric car, yet it wears the brand’s MX sports car prefix and originally launched as a combustion mild hybrid.

Of course, Mazda is no stranger to automobile enigmas, with left-of-field rotary choices in its past, and its semi-combustion SkyActiv-X engines showing a different take on the future, but can the brand’s innovative nature help make its first fully electric car a hit?

I drove an MX-30 E35 Astina shortly after its Australian launch to attempt to unravel its mysteries. Will it find its place in an increasingly busy EV marketplace? Read on to find out.

Toyota finds itself in a very unusual position - playing catch-up.

Usually the Japanese brand dominates any market segment it is in - or at least has one of the more popular offerings. But when it comes to mid-size electric SUVs, Toyota finds its bZ4X trailing well behind several rivals including the BYD Sealion 7, Geely EX5, Kia EV5, Tesla Model Y and Zeekr 7X. 

There’s a very clear reason for this, too. Toyota was late to the party. The brand has taken a very slow approach to the electric vehicle (EV) market, launching its first battery-powered model, the bZ4X SUV, in early 2024.

Up until the start of 2026 and a price drop that coincided with surging petrol prices and a spike in EV demand, the bZ4X was something of a bit-player in the EV market. But with sales up more than 300 per cent in 2026 the time seems perfect to expand, with the bZ4X Touring reaching dealerships.

So is this the right SUV at the right time? Or is it too little too late?