MAZDA MX-30 R-EV

Good intentions haven'tled to entirely positive outcomes

- JONATHAN BRYCE

Having driven the Mazda MX-30 R-EV when it was first launched in the UK, I was keen to find out what it's like outside of the protected environment of a press event, in the real world of salted highways and sketchy byways.

I emerged from the launch thinking that Mazda had made an unconventional but endearing car better by adding a rotary petrol engine into its battery-electric powertrain, extending its range by 276 miles. And while that opinion remains largely the same, in realworld situations the R-EV proved to be slightly less efficient and more worrisome than initially thought.

The R-EV is easy to manipulate along a country road and enables you to place it where you want it. In town, 168bhp makes it feel punchy enough to get you into a gap at a roundabout, and on the motorway it's sure-footed enough that you can cruise at 70mph without your arms getting tired.