OAKLAND COUNTY, Michigan — My former Detroit News colleague Scott Burgess made it a practice of getting into a Porsche 911 each year as a reminder of the industry’s sports car performance standard.

The same might be said of the Mazda CX-30 Turbo SUV.

The Japanese automaker’s entry-level hellion is the SUV segment’s handling benchmark. And for 2025, it has addressed its biggest customer ergonomics complaint: the lack of a touchscreen. In an age when sport utes make up 70% of non-pickup sales due to their superior utility, the CX-30 is a reminder that you don’t have to sacrifice cargo for fun.

I couldn’t wait to drive the 227-horsepower CX-30 Turbo in my driveway each day. It made daily chores enjoyable — and often led to extended drive time as I detoured to twistier roads. On the way home from Novi, I took the Exit 18A cloverleaf off the Lodge onto Telegraph.

Twice.

I toggled SPORT mode and the delicious, smooth six-speed transmission held a higher gear. The steering felt rooted to the asphalt. I hit the brakes, rotated into the cloverleaf and nailed the throttle around the loooong 180-degree turn. All-wheel-drive, all-season tires gripped the pavement, then started to protest as I leaned the ute on its door handles. The chassis remained poised until I shot out of the cloverleaf onto Telegraph like a ball from a ship cannon. WAAAUURGH! came the satisfying engine note from the 310-torque mill.

That torque number is competitive (as is the 0-60 mph time) with a comparable $50K BMW X1, and the 3,444-pound Mazda feels more planted in part because it’s a significant 300 pounds lighter than the Bimmer. The Mazda looks leaner, too, with its shark-nose hood and clean lines compared to the current-gen German’s chunky styling. Only heavy plastic makeup around the wheel arches and rocker panels compromise the CX-30’s premium look.

Regular readers know I think hot hatches are the best value in autodom: fun to drive, hatchback utility, affordable price.

At $35K, my CX-30 Carbon is as close to a hot hatch as any SUV I’ve driven. Call it a hoot ute.

Which makes sense because the CX-30 shares its bones and drivetrain with the Mazda3 Turbo hatch, one of the top all-wheel-drive hot hatches in the business along with the VW Golf GTI and Toyota GR Corolla.

But where those hellions' DNA isn’t translated to their brands' subcompact SUV offerings, the VW Taos and Toyota Corolla Cross, CX-30 is a Mazda3 on stilts.

Many buyers will find that an upgrade is worth the corresponding SUV upcharge.

The Mada3 is the best-looking hatchback on the market thanks to its fastback design, which comes at a price: blind spots the size of Texas, and a dungeon-like rear seat for passengers.

The CX-30 Turbo, meanwhile, maintains a sleek, narrow greenhouse roofline (which is why designers added those big plastic wheel arches) but with a smaller c-pillar design that makes for an airier backseat and better outward visibility.

Significantly, the CX-30 only adds 52 pounds compared to its hatchback sibling so it can dance with you through the curves. In a terrific subcompact ute class loaded with personality — think Taos, Chevy Trax, Buick Envista, Subaru Crosstrek — the CX-30 separates itself from the pack with its athletic talent.

When you’re not flinging the CX-30 from corner to corner, drink in the sumptuous interior of my Carbon edition: heated, power terracotta leatherette seats, leather steering wheel, leather shift knob and an elegant, horizontal dash that cradles the infotainment screen like a beach chair in a sand dune. I slipped into the Mazda as comfortably as if it were a BMW.

Also like BMW, Mazda years ago adopted the German’s rotary console controller — but without redundant touchscreen control. The controller has proved awkward for many a user. Thankfully, the advance of phone apps has come to Mazda’s rescue.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay have proved more adept at navigating to our destinations while also bringing our phone apps into the car, and Mazda has embraced that innovation as a cure to its touchscreen woes. That is, when Android Auto/Apel CarPlay are in control of the screen, it is fully touch-capable.

I paired my phone with the CX-30 and never used Mazda’s native radio and navigation system — or remote controller.

“Navigate to Zmash Padel in Sterling Heights” I barked and Google Maps guided me while the phone kept its spark via a wireless charger. I pinched the screen to widen/narrow the map view. Along the way, I poked at the screen to choose my favorite Sirius XM stations.

Otherwise, Mazda ergonomics are as carefully engineered as the performance suspension. That high screen kept my eyes on the road, and climate controls are nicely designed to direct air — or close completely if so desired. The steering wheel is carefully designed with raised buttons so I could toggle radio volume and adaptive cruise control without ever looking down.

Speaking of ACC, the CX-30 is loaded with standard safety features including blind-spot assist in the mirrors, blind-spot assist in the instrument display, auto headlights, rear cross-traffic alert, tire pressure monitoring and parachute escape pod (kidding about that last one). Oh yes, and a passenger-side ceiling grab handle for Mrs. Payne to hang onto when her husband sees a twisty road. Just like a Bimmer.

Curiously, Mazda has neglected to give the CX-30 shift paddles — even on the aggressive, high-horsepower Turbo model. More than once, as I wound the engine out to max RPM, I reached for a shift paddle only to grab air.

There was little air in the back for my 6’5" legs when I tried to sit behind myself. The Mazda is small for its class with 36.3 inches of rear legroom compared to, say, the 38.7-inch Trax. But then, it only gives up half an inch to the $50K BMW X1. Recognizing the issue, Mazda engineers have scalloped out the rear of the front seats to offer more knee room. But scalloping can’t help the rear cargo space, which is five cubic feet smaller (20.2) than the Trax or BMW.

A friend took his Mazda3 Turbo out west recently and tried to take a shortcut across a dirt road — pulling his exhaust shield off in the process. If he’s tempted by more off-roading in the future, he might consider the CX-30, which clears the road by another 2.5 inches.

And when it returns to asphalt, the hoot ute still begs to be rowed hard.

2025 Mazda CX-30 Turbo

Vehicle type: All-wheel drive, five-passenger subcompact SUV

Price: Base $27,395, including $1,420 destination charge ($34,935 Carbon Turbo as tested)

Powerplant: 2.5-liter, inline-4 cylinder; 2.0-liter, turbocharged inline-4

Power: 191 horsepower, 186 pound-feet torque (2.5L); 227 horsepower, 310 pound-feet torque (turbo)

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.2 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 126 mph

Weight: 3,444 pounds (as tested)

Range: EPA est. mpg, 22 mpg city/30 mpg highway/25 mpg combined (Carbon Turbo as tested)

Report card

Highs: Hot hatch SUV; improved infotainment system

Lows: Small back seat, and cargo spacefor class

Overall: 4 stars

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