If you want an electric car with a large range, the Mazda MX-30 doesn’t have a very good friend. Mazda now confirms what is buzzing in the corridors: an optional range extender will become available. And what kind!
The Mazda MX-30 is in fact the fully electric variant of the CX-30, although we would not do the car too much credit. The MX-30 has a completely unique design. The 4.4 meter long crossover has a 35.5 kWh battery pack in its bottom, good for a range of about 200 kilometers. Not a huge range, but there is a thought behind it. According to Mazda, a larger range is not fully used in 80 percent of the cases, and more batteries would make the MX-30 more expensive and heavier. For those who cannot cover a range of 200 kilometers, Mazda has a solution in store.
Mazda confirms that the MX-30 will eventually be available with a range extender. But not just any, the range extender will be a small Wankel engine. It will be the first time in years that Mazda has applied the special rotary engine again. Mazda does not yet provide more information. Count on a system where a single rotor Wankel motor charges the battery pack when there is a need for more capacity.
Although the rotary engine has a special place in the history of Mazda, we have not seen a Mazda with a Wankel engine in Europe since the RX-8 disappeared. Mazda has never kicked out the special engine technology from its development chambers. The brand applied a range extender in a small fleet of electric Mazda’s 2 and the concept car RX-Vision, which was presented in 2015, was also equipped with a rotary engine.
Although Wankel engines traditionally have a relatively high fuel and unfortunately also oil consumption, those properties would be less apparent if the power source functions as a range extender. The disadvantages are minimized because the relatively small machine does not directly drive the wheels, but rotates at the best possible speed to charge the battery pack. Advantages of the rotary motor as a range extender: the machine would run relatively vibration-free and quietly. The MX-30 will be at dealers this fall. The optional range extender will follow later.