The principle of Jinba Ittai — a sense of oneness between a rider and horse — has long been central to Mazda and the countless team members who work tirelessly to recreate that same, connected experience between car and driver. Building upon this rich tradition, the all new MX-30 introduces electric G-Vectoring Control Plus (e-GVC Plus).
THE MAZDA MX-30: AN EV DESIGNED WITH EXCEPTIONAL HANDLING
Mazda Program Manager Tomiko Takeuchi was given the monumental responsibility of developing Mazda’s first EV from scratch, overseeing every detail from planning to after-sales service.
“It was a particularly difficult project. It was literally a blank sheet of paper and we had to start from scratch,” Takeuchi explains. “There were so many changes to the design and specifications along the way that we had to go back to the drawing board over and over again.”
Through hard work and exceptional engineering, Takeuchi and her team delivered the MX-30, an EV that carries the philosophy of Mazda’s human-centric approach. One of the most impressive technologies inside: electric G-Vectoring Control Plus (e-GVC Plus).
A Mazda exclusive, e-GVC Plus uses electric motor torque adjustments to control vehicle load and help provide natural and consistent handling. Compared to what drivers have come to expect with standard GVC Plus on our combustion engine vehicles, e-GVC Plus functions similarly but produces even better consistency, response time, and precision due to benefits of the electric motor. Those benefits include:
- The automatic weight transfer of e-GVC Plus uses the effects of regenerative breaking to add more vertical load onto the front tires to improve steering response, particularly in vehicles with more weight distributed to the rear
- The electric drivetrain response is twice as fast and more precise than an internal combustion engine. The delay between steering input and powertrain response on the MX-30 is down to 20-50 milliseconds of delay vs. 50-100 milliseconds using standard GVC Plus in a combustion engine car — a subtle but impactful improvement
It’s this precise and responsive steering that forms the foundation of a strong connection between car and driver.
The seamless experience of e-GVC Plus is complimented by other features, like steering wheel paddles that allow the driver to adapt the level of regenerative braking based on the driving situation for greater comfort. Having this feature at drivers’ fingertips, as opposed to buried within a menu, helps reinforce a natural driving experience and Jinba Ittai.
EV Sound, or audible feedback in sync with the electric motor, gives the driver another familiar touchpoint. Just like how a steering wheel provides feedback as a driver turns, the MX-30 emits EV sound to provide motor feedback. For example, when a driver puts their foot on the accelerator pedal, the MX-30 provides a sound response that matches in order to give the driver a sense of speeding up. It’s these fine design details that are key to delivering the exceptional driving experience Mazda is known for.
“Cars are not just about driving from A to B anymore. It’s important to give people pleasure; that they enjoy the time they spend in their car,” says Takeuchi. “And if we achieve that, we’ll also have more people enjoying the time they spend driving.”
Discover more about the 2022 Mazda MX-30
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