Have you ever seen a dream romping on a big set of wheels? Wait until you see the Mazda3 er, more specifically the 2022 CX-30 and see your eye pop out not just in amazement but also you’ll get to see how the particular effect of this car fires up the neurons for greedy connections which trigger the mind-your mind about how on Earth that such a piece of work such as this spectacularly fine-tuned machine has ever gotten assembled in the first place, (not that we're complaining) from the first gordian-technical sketches set down at the drawing board up to the last detail of the actual pain-staking building process itself.

We assume that it would be interesting enough as it is but this article would not dwell on the assembly protocol (of the CX-30) instead, we would reserve the “hot seat” on the subject of the car’s powertrain performance and see if it can withstand the harsh barrage of criticisms from do-it-yourselfers, tinkerers, car pundits, critics, and well, just about from anyone else’s opinion, we guess. 

But before the article gets around to the main event, we’d sprinkle a few FYI’s for the unenlightened audience but also for those newly-acquainted folks who have barely an inkling about how this wonderfully-complex machine first came to be in existence.

FIRST-GENERATION

The Mazda3 was a series of compact cars made by Mazda, a multinational firm based in Fuchu, Hiroshima, Japan specializing, no doubt in building nothing but cars (what else, of course) which started its production way back in 2003.

And by the way, the Mazda3 was AKA Mazda Axela in Japan.

Moreover, the said company had offered two body styles to the public in the form of a 4-door sedan and a 5-door hatchback wherein the former's front-engine runs on a front-wheel-drive layout while the latter's front mill gets to zip along on a four-wheel-drive setup.

But as the years advanced to a frenetic pace, the Mazda3 had undergone a bewildering series of transformations, so much so that it gets to savor four generations of endless scrutiny and finicky touches done by its crop of highly-competent engineers with the result that this car has ultimately grabbed the 2020 World Car Design of the Year Award just last March of 2020, according to one online portal, Mazda. ph.

The Mazda3 car series truly deserves the lavish serving of accolades and praises heaped upon it but when it comes to on-the-road performance would the car withstood the test of time on the long haul?

Now we get to the “meaty” part. To answer that question, let’s go peek at what’s under the darn hood of this car.

ENGINE/POWER TRAIN SPECS

The 2022 CX-30, in particular, shares the same framework of its not-so lesser but formidable cousin, the Mazda3 hatchback, but feels more likely at home squatting next to its other er, cousins, CX-5, and CX-50, as both cars belong, respectively on the smaller end of the spectrum of the SUV crossover range.

Moreover, the latest Carbon Edition model, the 2022 CX-30 2.5 S rolls with the standard Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter, four-cylinder naturally-aspirated engine. 

And FYI, the SKYACTIV-G was a line of the revolutionary engine presently developed by Mazda that conservatively burns less fuel thereby boosting mill efficiency by up to %15 according to Balise Mazda.com (fantastic) 

Thus, this wonderfully efficient powertrain can rack up to 186 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque that is bolted down to a slippery-shifting six-speed automatic transmission that comes with both manual and sport mode.

But there’s also an optional one, a turbocharged 2.5-liter engine that provides 250 horsepower for better driving performance.

But what’s so cool about the Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter engine was the fact that it boasts a sporty and lengthy 4-2-1 header (exhaust manifold) that was designed to bar the recirculation of those no longer usable hot exhaust gases, especially those feisty ones trapped inside the combustion chamber. 

But environmental-wise, the said engine leaves a slight disadvantage of leaving a not-so notorious carbon footprint, according to Motor Reviewer.com. (just as well), and on top of that, since the 2.5 SkyActiv-G (the PY-VPR and PY-VPS series) had never had the luxury of bearing a long-running production history yet, ( first introduced in the Mazda KE CX-5 and the GJ Mazda6 in 2012) so far, arising complaints/problems are seldom entertained as both car manufacturers and likewise owners seem subdued enough (for the moment hah-hah) to negatively rant, the online portal added. 

Therefore, because of the significant facts we'd covered about Mazda3’s powertrain performance we can safely assume/bet that yes, Mazda3’s powertrain can truly deliver the whole fireworks and more, but if you're still acting/behaving like a doubting Thomas, bear in mind that this car-the Mazda3 would never net a succession of accolades (it deserves in the first place) if it performs/behaves; particularly its engine, well, just like a broken old record.