September 7, 2020

Text: Nicholas Tamarin

The Mazda CX-30 is Designed with Millennials in Mind

The driver’s seating position is set high to provide a clear field of view while the shape and thickness of the a-pillars and c-pillars are minimized to reduce blind spots. Photography courtesy of Mazda.

Beloved by automotive aficionados for their clean Japanese lines and nifty handling, Mazda is now targeting another design savvy demographic: Millennials. A recent survey by the racy automakers revealed that 72 percent said a car’s poor design is holding them back from taking a road trip—a near must for many in the pandemic era.

Enter Mazda’s vaunted Japanese designers and engineers, who take an artisanal approach in the hopes of achieving the title of takumi, or master craftsman. Working to create elements that enhance form as well as function, the team landed on the CX-30, a compact crossover that combines the flow of a coupe an SUV’s bold proportionality.

Mazda’s signature wing takes on a sharper and deeper form to achieve a strong, refined front end while the narrowed arch shape of the liftgate makes the body look shorter and wider for a powerful stance—the CX-30 is meant to look compact on the outside, but spacious on the inside.

Every aspect of the CX-30 was measured to minimize noise, hence the lack of a speaker port in the door. Photography courtesy of Mazda.
A rear quarter window offers a way to perceive potential vehicles or objects in the rear. Photography courtesy of Mazda.
The diagonal angle of the rear window gives the compact crossover a coupelike silhouette. Photography courtesy of Mazda.

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