Compare the2024 Mazda CX-30VS 2023 Hyundai Kona

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics

Safety

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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 Hyundai Kona 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 Kona doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The CX-30 has standard Whiplash-Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Kona doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has standard Rear Smart Brake Support that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Kona doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-30. But it costs extra on the Kona.

The CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360° View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Kona only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the CX-30 and the Kona have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

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

	CX-30	Kona
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	148	205
Neck Compression	18 lbs.	57 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	179	217
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	33.5%	37%
Neck Stress	172 lbs.	193 lbs.

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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Hyundai Kona:

	CX-30	Kona
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	73	109
Abdominal Force	209 lbs.	246 lbs.
Hip Force	275 lbs.	611 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	197	326
Spine Acceleration	60 G’s	66 G’s
Hip Force	525 lbs.	638 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches
HIC	178	196
Spine Acceleration	30 G’s	34 G’s
Hip Force	583 lbs.	744 lbs.

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

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CX-30 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 58 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Kona has not been fully tested, yet.

Reliability

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 14 points higher than the Kona.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda fourth in overall reliability. Hyundai is ranked 13th.

Engine

The CX-30’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 44 more horsepower (191 vs. 147) and 54 lbs.-ft. more torque (186 vs. 132) than the Kona’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The CX-30’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 55 more horsepower (250 vs. 195) and 125 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 195) than the Kona N Line/Limited’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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 Kona doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the CX-30’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Kona:

	CX-30	Kona
Front Rotors	11.6 inches	11 inches
Rear Rotors	10.4 inches	10.3 inches
Opt Rear Rotors	11.9 inches

The CX-30 stops much shorter than the Kona:

	CX-30	Kona
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	133 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the CX-30 has larger tires than the Kona (215/65R16 vs. 205/60R16).

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-30’s wheelbase is 2 inches longer than on the Kona (104.4 inches vs. 102.4 inches).

The CX-30 2.5 S Premium handles at .83 G’s, while the Kona SE pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The CX-30 2.5 S Premium executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Kona SE (27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the CX-30 has a 1.3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Kona (8 vs. 6.7 inches), allowing the CX-30 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Passenger Space

The CX-30 has .2 inches more front legroom, 1.3 inches more front hip room, .1 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 1.1 inches more rear legroom and 1 inch more rear hip room than the Kona.

Cargo Capacity

The CX-30 has a larger cargo volume than the Kona with its rear seat up (20.2 vs. 19.2 cubic feet).

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the CX-30 Premium has a standard power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button. The Kona doesn’t offer a power liftgate.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the CX-30 Preferred/Carbon/Premium, the memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for both. Each keyless remote activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Kona doesn’t offer a memory system.

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 Kona doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The CX-30’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Kona has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The CX-30’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Kona’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically. With the Kona SEL/N Line/Limited’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

The CX-30’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Kona’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The CX-30’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Kona’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

Consumer Reports rated the CX-30’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Kona’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

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 Kona 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 Kona’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 Kona offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

On extremely cold winter days, the CX-30 Turbo Premium’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The Kona doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The CX-30 Select/Preferred/Carbon/Turbo/Premium’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Kona doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the CX-30 and the Kona offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the CX-30 Select/Preferred/Carbon/Premium has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Kona doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

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