My wife has the new Capri, she chose it over a Polestar as her company car. Comfy, long range ~ no regrets at all. To paraphrase Shakespeare : If it’s good, who cares what it’s called ?
Both our dads had Capris in the good old days, she has some furry dice on the mirror as a nod to them, and to the past.
It’s good to see the Austin Allegro influence in the ‘Capri’ 
Went and test drove a used Mazda MX30 this afternoon.
It was pure electric one, so range of about 100-110 miles, which is clearly a real limitation.
The idea would be to use it for local run around, collecting grand kids from school, so no journey longer that 40 mile round trip.
Do any forum members have experience of this model and in particular how it copes with cold weather and whether its regenrerative braking is ok.
Really waiting for Renault Twingo and Fiat Grande Panda to arrive, but both of those start at £20k plus and this nearly 4 year old Mazda is less than £10k.
Good article that aside 12 months … no no No…my prayers are with you…any chance you can get on the 2026 factory tour??
Fairly standard that cold weather reduces the range of EVs by 15-20% or potentially more in the worst case ie wipers and lights on, heated rear screen etc. That is not really different across different models, it is more or less inherent in the design. Of course energy usage in an ICE car is similarly increased. A heat pump helps but looking at our cars (one with, one without) it makes more difference with temperatures say 10degC and above when it can take over the cabin warming effectively, but around freezing the resistive heating is always on. The other ways to increase range include using a heated seat (if fitted) rather than a toasty cabin, and also pre-heating whilst it is still plugged in at home before heading out.
The range of that Mazda is pretty low but if it works with your usage (and presumably charging at home) only you can say. However the WLTP figures for any EV really are only achievable in perfect conditions, driving style etc. They allow comparisons between models but what you will get even in summer is very rarely going to hit them, if ever.
Bruce
I don’t have any experience of this model but wouldn’t buy it for a few reasons.
Mazda aren’t a particularly big player in the EV market and don’t really have any expertise with EVs. Some of the YouTube channels I watch on EVs think that Mazda may be one of the brands that doesn’t last through the electric transition.
And there are probably much better alternatives for similar prices.
This is a good site for EV info. They do many video reviews and also have second hand reviews. They give the Mazda a 5/10 rating.
I’d look at a Hyundai Ioniq 38kw (7/10) . Range of 194 miles so will never go below 120 even with every negative condition imaginable in winter. You should be able to get one of these at a similar price to the Mazda.
.sjb
Yes behind the curve on EVs and tied into China for some future models.
I can see what you say panning out.
..but a cheap entry point s/h for the OP. Wouldn’t be my choice, but I note Mazda give a 6 year warranty which would be reassuring buying s/h.
Bruce
They have an excellent reputation for real world efficiency
I have recently ordered a bmw iX3 - the new model - to replace the iX. The iX is still v comfy but quite big and inefficient. Had considered the alpine A390 but the extra range and efficiency of the iX3 have a strong pull - go to Edinburgh 3+ times a year and it’s 185 miles each way, and we have friends in Hampshire and Essex we occasionally visit. Also considered a used Kia ev9 (too big), Subaru e-outback (more Toyota than Subaru) and various other things (the various Audis have really dull interiors). Oh, nearly forgot, the Kia ev3 and ev4 GTs look interesting (my wife’s ev3 is enjoyable and pretty efficient) but range will be worsened
in an ideal world something a bit more rural friendly would be preferred but a set of all season tyres on the iX3 should cover most eventualities, and the optional charging upgrade will enable vehicle to home once the related charger comes available
Looks a great car. Best of luck with it.
.sjb
Hi Tim
They are apparently selling like the proverbial and it is easy to see why; definitely a bit of a game-changer. Have you been able to drive one? I wasn’t sure they were even in dealers.
The just announced Volvo EX60 is going to be fairly close on spec and price and the interior especially is more pleasing to my eyes than the BMW in photos at least. However both are too large for me so I am still interested in the Alpine A390 when it is available to drive. Expected late March. The Neue Klasse i3 estate might be a possibility, but it is probably at least 18/12 away.
I agree re the EV3, also really my wife’s car but we use it more and more for long journeys (including a long trip to France last year) and it is just superb for range, comfort and practicality. It carries 2 kayaks on the roof and two bikes in the boot as well as my EV6 although it isn’t quite as nice to drive. No regrets with our two Kias whatsoever.
Hope you don’t have to wait too long for your IX3 to be delivered.
Bruce
I think range and DC charging speed are, after a certain level, potentially a bit like 0-60 and top speed times. Good for marketing but not always real-world important.
To explain, from my usage and owning one or more EVs for over 7 years.
Maybe 80% of our charging is overnight at home, on AC.
On a long trip it is definitely the case that the infrastructure has improved massively in the last 2 years, including more ultra fast (and pricey) DC chargers but actually they often don’t deliver the advertised charge rate. Our cars take up to 150 and 250 kW/hr respectively in theory but in actual use they often end up charging at similar speeds.
Re range, I think once you get a real world range over 300miles that is fine. I am always going to stop on a long trip for a break after maybe 2 1/2hrs, well before doing 300 miles anyway. That means a charge back to 80% in either car takes about the length of a coffee stop. I can spare 20 mins on a long trip. Much below 300 miles range can mean a bit of planning required if you are well away from main routes (like NW Scotland) but even then the options for public charging aren’t terrible.
I think efficiency can be the most useful and relevant figure, not least because it equates to cost per mile. Range and charging speed tend to be the headline numbers but from our usage and experience once above 300 miles and 150 kW/hr they are ‘nice’ but not essential. If you do most of your charging at public chargers you may disagree.
Discuss!
Bruce
I notice a lot more chargers at hotels and public car parks now. But rapid DC chargers at hotels dont make too much sense. But at 89p/kwh, they are super expensive. I reckon 98% of my charging is at home for less than 7p/ kwh. If we go out of the county we take the diesel mini. But inside the county i3s every time.
Public rapid charging is still too expensive and is not yet financially compelling for long distance travel. Roll in the cost of initial EV purchase and it currently makes little economic sense.
When we were on holiday in France last year we found a bank of chargers on the northern outskirts of Nice, just by the football stadium. It cost €0.28 per kWh. How such expensive power is allowed to persist in the UK baffles me, and it has to be a major obstacle to EV transition. We drove up to Northumberland from the south coast last year and couldn’t avoid the expensive chargers. It cost us at least as much as if we’d driven a petrol car, probably more. Tebay services on the M6 are better but it’s still 60p. If France can do it, why can’t we do it here?
I’m recently retired and have already done a few long weekends away in my R5 from East Sussex to Cornwall, North Wales and The Lake District. With a 52kwh battery I’ve charged halfway, at the destination and again halfway home. The halfway thing is fine - we all need a break or two and the fast chargers work well, although they are pricey (Tesla chargers are a slightly surprising exception !)
The nuisance at the moment is finding chargers at the mini-break location - holiday cottages, rural villages etc. I guess these will (probably slowly) catch up
But the obvious solution here is for batteries to continue to become more efficient, such that a range of say, 750 miles, is available to any car. Once that happens - and I believe it will - you just charge cheaply at home before you leave, and that’s it. At that point, for me at least, fast chargers become largely irrelevant and the “destination location” charging issue falls away too.
The only question for me is not “if” this will happen, but “when”?
Partly because the French govt subsidise public EV charger installations, not just making them cheaper to install but promoting competition with lots of choice from multiple providers.
Bruce
The French electricity model is different. Edf generates for all of France and beyond via nuclear ( plus some Hydro) They have managed to produce this model cheaper than many others, to the point of often having too much. And selling their nuclear tech abroad- mainly via CGN in China.The upside for the French consumer is cheap EV charging.
Government are currently reviewing the 20% vat on public charging to bring it in line with the 5% rate for home charging. This could let the EV charging companies off the hook, a reduction in vat of 15%, price comes down but they continue with their underlying high charges.
Instavolt appear to be the most expensive in my experience often 90p a unit.
I think from an infrastructural point of view and an environmental point of view the lower bar would be to have more chargers in those rural locations rather than a heavy and resource heavy battery to do 750 miles for the few occasions when it will be necessary.
I think in order to push adoption the 500 mile WLTP will be a point of inflection for most people as they will see that most journeys can be done with very little hassle.
But I think, as Bruce has mentioned above, that once you own an EV you’ll probably see that a 300 mile range really in almost all situations is all that you need and you probably might even replace your 500 mile or 750 mile range EV with a lower range one when replacing it.
I’ve seen several newly launched EV’s with 22 kW AC charging – I think if this were to become the norm it would make charging infrastructure cheaper for say a coffee shop in the areas you’re mentioning with poorer availability and although 22 kW is slow it would still add a fair few miles in an hour.
.sjb