Compare the2026 Jeep CherokeeVS 2026 Mazda CX-30

Both the Cherokee and CX-30 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Cherokee has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The CX-30’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Cherokee’s standard Hill-descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The CX-30 doesn’t offer Hill-descent Control.

The Jeep Cherokee’s optional 360-degree camera has integrated front and rear camera washers, ensuring clear, all-weather visibility without the need for manual cleaning. In contrast, the Mazda CX-30 lacks camera washers, requiring you to manually clean the cameras for optimal performance.

Both the Cherokee and the CX-30 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Jeep Cherokee weighs 768 to 900 pounds more than the Mazda CX-30. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

There are over 4 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Mazda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Cherokee’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Mazda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep above average in initial quality. With 39 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mazda is rated below average.

The Cherokee’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 24 more horsepower (210 vs. 186) and 44 lbs.-ft. more torque (230 vs. 186) than the CX-30’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

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

			MPG
Cherokee
	AWD	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	39 city/35 hwy
CX-30
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/30 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	24 city/31 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the Cherokee’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The CX-30 doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Cherokee’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. The CX-30 doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Jeep Cherokee uses regular unleaded gasoline. The CX-30 with the 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder engine requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Cherokee has a gallon more fuel capacity than the CX-30 (13.7 vs. 12.7 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Cherokee has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The CX-30 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Jeep Cherokee higher (6 out of 10) than the Mazda CX-30 (4 to 6). This means the Cherokee produces up to 12.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the CX-30 every 15,000 miles.

The Cherokee has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The CX-30 doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better stopping power the Cherokee’s brake rotors are larger than those on the CX-30:

	Cherokee	CX-30
Front Rotors	13 inches	11.6 inches
Rear Rotors	12.6 inches	10.4 inches
Opt Rear Rotors		11.9 inches

The Cherokee stops shorter than the CX-30:

	Cherokee	CX-30
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend

For better traction, the Cherokee has larger standard tires than the CX-30 (225/65R17 vs. 215/65R16). The Cherokee Overland’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the CX-30 (235/50R20 vs. 215/65R16).

The Cherokee Overland’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the CX-30 Select/Preferred/Carbon/Aire/Premium’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Cherokee has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the CX-30 2.5 S. The Cherokee Overland’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the CX-30 Select/Preferred/Carbon/Aire/Premium.

The Cherokee has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The CX-30 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For superior ride and handling, the Jeep Cherokee has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Mazda CX-30 has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Cherokee’s wheelbase is 8.6 inches longer than on the CX-30 (113 inches vs. 104.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Cherokee is 2.7 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than on the CX-30.

The Cherokee’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (58.6% to 41.4%) than the CX-30’s (60% to 40%). This gives the Cherokee more stable handling and braking.

The front grille of the Cherokee uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The CX-30 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Cherokee uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The CX-30 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Cherokee has 13.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CX-30 (107.4 vs. 94.1).

The Cherokee has 2.1 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front hip room and 2 inches more front shoulder room than the CX-30.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Cherokee’s rear seats recline. The CX-30’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Cherokee has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the CX-30 with its rear seat up (33.6 vs. 20.2 cubic feet). The Cherokee has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the CX-30 with its rear seat folded (68.3 vs. 45.2 cubic feet).

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Cherokee Overland’s cargo door can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The CX-30 doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Cherokee has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The CX-30 has no towing capacity.

The Cherokee uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The CX-30 uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Cherokee’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The CX-30 does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Cherokee’s standard Keyless Enter-N-Go allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from pocket or purse. Pushbutton Start standard on the CX-30 only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

The Cherokee’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The CX-30’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Cherokee’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Mazda only offers heated mirrors on the CX-30 Select/Preferred/Carbon/Aire/Premium.

Both the Cherokee and the CX-30 offer available heated front seats. The Cherokee Overland also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the CX-30.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Cherokee Overland keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The CX-30 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Cherokee has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the CX-30 Select/Preferred/Carbon/Aire/Premium.

Compared to traditional radio, the Jeep Cherokee’s standard SiriusXM satellite radio provides an unmatched listening experience. Its extensive coverage guarantees consistent, crystal-clear reception across the continental U.S., and access to over 100 channels dedicated to a multitude of genres, including music, news, sports, talk shows, and comedy, many with only limited commercial breaks. Satellite radio is only offered on the CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus.

The Cherokee Overland has a 115-volt a/c outlet, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The CX-30 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Cherokee Overland’s Automated Parking System can parallel park by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The CX-30 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.