Compare the2025 Mazda CX-30VS 2024 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.

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 CX-30 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Hornet doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 Smart Braking Support - Rear Crossing (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Hornet’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Mazda CX-30 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Hornet has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

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 24 points higher than the Hornet.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are better in initial quality than Dodge vehicles. With 69 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mazda higher than Dodge.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Dodge vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Dodge is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Dodge vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda 14 places higher in reliability than Dodge.

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 stops shorter than the Hornet:

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.

The CX-30 2.5 S Premium handles at .83 G’s, while the Hornet GT pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the CX-30’s turning circle is 3.1 feet tighter than the Hornet R/T’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.9 feet). The CX-30’s turning circle is 3.2 feet tighter than the Hornet GT’s (34.8 feet vs. 38 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CX-30 has a 1.9 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Hornet R/T (8 vs. 6.1 inches), allowing the CX-30 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

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.

The Hornet’s optional cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The CX-30 Premium’s standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

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.

Insurance will cost less for the CX-30 owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the CX-30 will cost $110 to $1560 less than the Hornet over a five-year period.

The CX-30 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the CX-30 will retain 54.31% to 55.58% of its original price after five years, while the Hornet only retains 51.34% to 51.35%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Mazda CX-30 will be $1884 to $9246 less than for the Dodge Hornet.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Mazda CX-30, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Dodge Hornet isn't recommended.

The Mazda CX-30 outsold the Dodge Hornet by over 8 to one during 2023.