Compare the2023 Mazda CX-30VS 2023 Dodge Hornet

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Dodge Hornet doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Mazda CX-30 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Hornet doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Both the CX-30 and Hornet have Rear Cross Traffic Alert, but the CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic.

Both the CX-30 and the Hornet have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and around view monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CX-30 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Hornet has not been tested, yet.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the CX-30’s reliability 22 points higher than the Hornet.

The CX-30’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 25 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 295) than the Hornet GT’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the CX-30 gets better mileage than the Hornet running its gasoline engine:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the CX-30 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The Hornet doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The CX-30 has 1.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet R/T’s standard fuel tank (12.7 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The CX-30 has engine speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Hornet doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For better maneuverability, the CX-30’s turning circle is 3.1 feet tighter than the Hornet’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.9 feet).

The Mazda CX-30 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 600 pounds less than the Dodge Hornet.

The CX-30 is 5 inches shorter than the Hornet, making the CX-30 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The CX-30 has .3 inches more front hip room and .1 inches more rear headroom than the Hornet.

The CX-30 Premium has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Hornet doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the CX-30 Premium has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Hornet doesn’t offer cornering lights.

When the CX-30 Preferred/Carbon/Premium is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Hornet’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The CX-30’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Hornet offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.