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Mazda has a compact SUV, the MX-30 under development that is also supposed to come to the USA in 2022. They're calling it a "Plug-In Hybrid EV", which is a unique category name, but read on.
While technically still classified as a PHEV - a plug-in hybrid. It will have about 100 miles of EV range from a 35.5-kWh battery - that's a considerably smaller battery than in most current EVs, but it's still twice the size that you'll find in ordinary PHEVs, and it's modest size will help keep costs down, and for those concerned about scarce resources for batteries, reduce the use of electro-galvanic metals.
This is enough range to handle 95+% of "local" driving - commuting, shopping, etc. Then to manage longer trips without range anxiety, it will also have a small rotary engine onboard that will just run an electric generator to take over when the battery charge gets low. To be clear, the rotary engine will never drive the wheels, just the generator, and only when the battery charge is low. This mode of operation can technically be termed a serial hybrid mode. While rotary engines aren't ideal, this one will actually be little used since it's just the backup power source, so the downsides aren't very important. The rotary advantages of smoothness and compactness are appropriate for this application.
I see that some buyers are turned off by the fact that such designs are not pure EVs, there's still some gas being burned when the battery charge gets low, and it's more complex design, etc. While all that's true, in terms of convenience and stress for the owner, I think there is a good case to be made for this design, especially when full-EV designs and commercial charging infrastructure are still maturing. And if you're doing 95+% of your driving in pure EV mode, the climate benefits of the full EV over this design will be marginal, if the truth be told.
It will have about 100 miles of EV range from a 35.5-kWh battery
Mini Cooper claims 110 miles of EV range with it's 32.6-kWh battery. But it partly does that by electronically limiting the top speed of 93 mph (150 km/h). The limitation prevents the battery back from being depleted too soon.
It looks nice, but I just don't know if I'd buy another vehicle with suicide doors. It's such a pain trying to get something out of a shopping cart and into the back seat, because the door opens right in the way.
It looks nice, but I just don't know if I'd buy another vehicle with suicide doors. It's such a pain trying to get something out of a shopping cart and into the back seat, because the door opens right in the way.
It is a little odd, but I think they do it that way because the rear door is quite narrow, and with it opening "the wrong way", you've got one large opening for people to enter/exit through there with both doors open. It's really halfway between a 2-door and a 4-door design - that rear door is a half-door.
It looks nice, but I just don't know if I'd buy another vehicle with suicide doors. It's such a pain trying to get something out of a shopping cart and into the back seat, because the door opens right in the way.
Should've been a sliding door, in my opinion.
I wonder if there has ever been a vehicle that doesn't have the B-pillar, so it's got a large single opening on each side like suicide doors, but uses a sliding mechanism instead?
I wonder if there has ever been a vehicle that doesn't have the B-pillar, so it's got a large single opening on each side like suicide doors, but uses a sliding mechanism instead?
Frankly, in the sea of SUV things, this doesn’t particularly stand out to me. All I see is gaps above the wheels and cheap plastic stuff designed to evoke tough, actual trucks, and my eyes figuratively glaze over.
I like it. The story says it's just for California, which is too bad. Hopefully it catches on and spreads to the rest of the country.
The wankel engine is a surprise though. I thought those things polluted too much to be used anymore. Perhaps if they tune them just right to only run at a certain rpm they are better. I don't know, but I guess they must have found a way to meet CA emissions standards, unless CA is giving them a pass due to the electric part. Either way, it's very interesting.
That's 100 miles of range (way to drag down the average!) and a starting price of $33,470 and still eligible for the federal tax credit which would bring it down to $25,970.
Even with the federal tax credit, this is a pretty odd entry. That EPA range is pretty bad and its peak charging rate is about 37kW though at least it's CCS rather than chaDeMo. It almost seems like they intended to be a serial plugin hybrid but couldn't figure that part out in time for launch, because as a pure EV it doesn't really work out too well. It does have a (limited) niche as the only price competitors with federal tax incentive included are the Leaf and Mini Cooper SE both of which are hatchbacks rather than the more popular crossover form factor, but that range is pretty tough to swallow and those vehicle are using powertrains that are iterative improvements on ones released in the early 2010s. Hopefully it's one of the rare EPA underestimates like the Taycan is and that a range extender is quickly released without much if any price bump.
I feel like the range wouldn't be such a problem were it a record-setter for price. Even just at the Nissan Leaf base MSRP would have been a reasonable entry, but at ~6k more than the base price for a Leaf which has been riding on a powertrain that's only interatively improved since a decade ago and yet has a higher range and faster fast charging speeds, this is a pretty rough deal.
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