Compare the2023 Chevrolet Bolt VS 2023 Mazda MX-30

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Bolt are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The MX-30 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Bolt and the MX-30 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, 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, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Chevrolet Bolt is safer than the Mazda MX-30:

	Bolt	MX-30
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Leg Forces (l/r)	137/187 lbs.	205/265 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Bolt, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 1.9% less likely to roll over than the MX-30, which received a four-star rating.

The Bolt’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the MX-30’s (6 vs. 5 years).

There are over 5 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Mazda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bolt’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Mazda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 33 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mazda is ranked 15th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Mazda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet above average in long-term dependability. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Mazda is rated lower.

The Bolt’s electric motor produces 57 more horsepower (200 vs. 143) and 66 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 200) than the MX-30’s electric motor.

As tested in Car and Driver the Chevrolet Bolt is faster than the Mazda MX-30:

	Bolt	MX-30
Zero to 60 MPH	6.5 sec	8.7 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	6.6 sec	8.8 sec
Quarter Mile	15 sec	16.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	93 MPH	83 MPH
Top Speed	93 MPH	91 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the Bolt gets better mileage than the MX-30 (131 city/109 hwy vs. 98 city/85 hwy MPGe).

The Bolt can travel longer on a full charge than the MX-30 (259 miles vs. 100 miles).

The Bolt’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the MX-30’s standard 55 series tires.

The Bolt has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The MX-30 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires standard on the Bolt can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The MX-30 doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

The Bolt has vehicle 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 MX-30 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Bolt is 10.1 inches shorter than the MX-30, making the Bolt easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Bolt has 4.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the MX-30 (93.9 vs. 89.8).

The Bolt has 1.6 inches more front headroom, 2.7 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more rear headroom, 5.9 inches more rear legroom, 2.1 inches more rear hip room and .1 inches more rear shoulder room than the MX-30.

The power windows standard on both the Bolt and the MX-30 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Bolt is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The MX-30 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Chevrolet Bolt offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The MX-30 doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Bolt was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2017. The MX-30 has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Bolt as the 2017 North American Car of the Year. The MX-30 has never been chosen.

The Chevrolet Bolt outsold the Mazda MX-30 by almost 118 to one during 2022.