Compare the2025 Mazda CX-30VS 2024 GMC Terrain

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

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 GMC Terrain doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 Terrain 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 Terrain 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 Terrain doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

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

The CX-30 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Terrain’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CX-30 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Smart Braking Support - Rear Crossing on the Turbo Premium Plus automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. GMC charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Terrain and the Terrain’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

The CX-30’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Terrain doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the CX-30 and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available around view 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 GMC Terrain:

	CX-30	Terrain
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	148	159
Leg Forces (l/r)	201/172 lbs.	363/349 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	179	376
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches

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 GMC Terrain:

	CX-30	Terrain
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	73	109
Chest Movement	1 inches	1.1 inches
Hip Force	275 lbs.	357 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	197	288
Hip Force	525 lbs.	630 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches
HIC	178	377
Spine Acceleration	30 G’s	40 G’s
Hip Force	583 lbs.	730 lbs.

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

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mazda CX-30 is much safer than the Terrain:

	CX-30	Terrain
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	89	131
Neck Tension	156 lbs.	290 lbs.
Neck Compression	45 lbs.	112 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	.87 in	1.73 in
Shoulder Force	223 lbs.	312 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.54 in	1.69 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	759 lbs.	781 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Injury Criterion	144	733
Head Peak Forces	no contact	101 G’s
Neck Compression	67 lbs.	491 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.94 in	1.65 in
Shoulder Force	245 lbs.	402 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.71 in	1.57 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	379 lbs.	669 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the CX-30 is .9% to 3.8% less likely to roll over than the Terrain.

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 Terrain is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Warranty

The CX-30’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Terrain’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

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 GMC 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, GMC is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda 17 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

The CX-30’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 16 more horsepower (191 vs. 175) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The CX-30’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 75 more horsepower (250 vs. 175) and 117 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CX-30 gets better mileage than the Terrain:

			MPG
CX-30
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/30 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	26 city/33 hwy
Terrain
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/29 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/28 hwy

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

The CX-30 has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Terrain. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Suspension and Handling

The CX-30 2.5 S Premium handles at .83 G’s, while the Terrain Denali AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the CX-30’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Terrain w/17” wheels’ (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet). The CX-30’s turning circle is 6.8 feet tighter than the Terrain w/19” wheels’ (34.8 feet vs. 41.6 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CX-30 has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Terrain SLE (8 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the CX-30 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The CX-30’s minimum ground clearance is .1 inch higher than on the Terrain SLT/AT4/Denali (8 vs. 7.9 inches).

Chassis

The CX-30 is 9.3 inches shorter than the Terrain, making the CX-30 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The CX-30 has .8 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front hip room and 1.4 inches more rear hip room than the Terrain.

Ergonomics

The CX-30’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Terrain’s passenger windows don’t close automatically.

The CX-30 Select Sport/Preferred/Carbon/Premium’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Terrain’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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 Terrain doesn’t offer cornering lights.

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 Terrain has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the CX-30 owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the CX-30 will cost $625 less than the Terrain over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Mazda CX-30 will be $1111 to $6178 less than for the GMC Terrain.

Recommendations

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

The Mazda CX-30 outsold the GMC Terrain by 7% during 2023.

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