Mazda CX-30 is a slick stick shifter and more

Mazda CX-30 drive by Steve Rogers

Something that really gets my car juices flowing is a slick gear change.

We are in an age when the manual gearbox is going out of fashion. Just about every car I drive is automatic but changing gears is proper driving isn’t it?

Accelerating hard through a six speed box, getting the revs and clutch balance right is great for an adrenalin rush. A good gearbox has to be a given and not every car manufacturer was up to scratch in the days when manuals were the norm. No naming and shaming today but there is one company that is always head and shoulders above the rest.

Mazda does a lot of things right and crafting the perfect gearbox is one of them. I have been driving their cars for more than 40 years and they were always geared up for a fun drive.

So there was a smile on my face when CX-30 turned up with a six speed manual to play with and it did not let me down, smooth as silk and an absolute joy. My wife wasn’t too pleased, she’s an automatic convert.

What are we to make of CX-30? It’s a car with a clash of identity, an SUV version of the Mazda3, a bit taller with bits of body armour around the wheel arches and sills to give it a masculine look, yet it doesn’t look like a boxy SUV. It is more rounded, the perfect shape for a crossover between the two styles and all the better for it. This is a good looking car.

It is also a car which can be driven without spending 10 minutes learning how to select functions from the endless menus on a huge touchscreen. That is a kind way of saying CX-30 is starting to feel its age compared to the ultra modern, switch free layouts in the current crop of cars from China although Mazda has gone down that route with the new electric 6.

At least this is still a stress free zone for the driver who is faced with three crystal clear dials backed up by an equally clear head up display while adjusting the heating controls with clearly marked switches.

There is a touchscreen, a modest 10.25 inches by today's Chinese standards, with options chosen using a rotary switch between the front seats, much safer than taking your eyes off the road dabbing a screen. Honestly, this is the easiest and safest modern system of any car I have driven.

The tech has been updated but there is a glitch in the system somewhere because the speed limit alert told me the limit in my 20mph village is 80mph!

Build and trim quality are impressive. Mazda set out to promote its cars into the premium league and has nailed it. Specification from entry Prime-Line is strong with a full pack of driver safety aids including my favourite rear emergency braking. Push the boat out for Takumi and the list includes adaptive LED lights, wireless charging, Bose sound system, surround camera, heated front seats and heated steering wheel.

Mazda prides itself on building cars with a sporting edge and CX30 handles like a good old hot hatch. The payoff is a firmer ride but you can’t have everything.

The biggest change to the model is a new engine, and a controversial one at that. The lacklustre 2-litre petrol was ditched for a 2.5 litre, a big leap when rivals are going for small turbocharged hybrid engines. This has solved the lack of grunt in the mid-range without compromising economy which is good for middle to high forties, or more than 50mpg on longer runs.

If this isn’t enough the 184bhp 2-litre Skyactiv X is quicker but you would have to be satisfied with the lower Exclusive spec to match the 2.5 litre Takumi price.

Would I have a CX-30 over a Maz3? Probably not, the hatch is two grand cheaper, looks even better and has a bit more cabin space.

Favourite feature. The manual gearbox, of course.

Fast Facts

CX-30 Takumi

£32,780 (starts £27,280)

2.5 litre petrol; 138bhp

0-62mph 9.7secs; 121mph

47.1mpg combined

135g/km. 1st VED £595

Boot: 422-1398 litres

Insurance group 17

Warranty: 6 years

Llangollen canal business goes up for sale at £695,000

The Llangollen Wharf canal business has gone up for although it's owners say it's business as usual. 

* For the full story in the Leader, go to: https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/25981331.iconic-llangollen-wharf-canal-business-placed-sale/

Llangollen churches welcome you to their Easter celebrations

* A previous Easter gathering by Cytun in Centenary Square.

At noon on Good Friday Cytun - Churches Together in Llangollen - has a Parade of Witness which starts from the Methodist Church, Riverside, and proceeds to Centenary Square where activities will take place.  

The churches in Llangollen say they welcome you to any of their Easter celebrations.

Details of these and other activities throughout the year can be found on their various websites, which are:

* St Collen's (Anglican) www.stcollenschurch.org.uk

* St Tysilio's Church - see website for St Collen's Church

* St John's Church - see website for St Collen's Church 

* Llangollen Methodist Church www.llangollenmethodist.org.uk

* Church of the Holy Cross (Roman Catholic) www.strichardgwynparish.co.uk

* City Church, Brook Street www.citychurchllangollen.org.uk

* Glanrafon Evangelical Church www.llangollenevangelicalchurch.com/

* Seion Chapel (Welsh language) Welsh medium chapel

Details of Easter services at RC churches in the area are:

Holy Thursday (April 2) Ruabon Shared Church 7pm; Good Friday (April 3) Ruabon 3pm; Easter Vigil, Saturday (April 4) Ruabon 8.30pm; Easter Sunday (April 5) Chirk, Mass 9am; Easter Sunday Llangollen, Mass 11am.

These times are for Easter only. For normal RC church timetables see: www.strichardgwynparish.co.uk

County council promises action on Llantysilio flooding problem

 

* Alex Hammond's picture of water coursing across the A542 carriageway after heavy rainfall.

Two years after it was first reported to them by a concerned local resident Denbighshire County Council (DCC) have told him they will take action to cure a flooding problem in Llantysilio.

Back in the winter of 2024 Alex Hammond got in touch with the council to tell them about flooding on the A542 Abbey Farm/Grange to Britannia Inn in periods of heavy rainfall.

But he claims that despite some work being carried out his enquiry was closed and the flooding continued.

Llanblogger took up the case last Friday morning and soon afterwards Mr Hammond was contacted by a senior council engineer telling him a potential solution would be undertaken as soon as possible.

Mr Hammond said when he contacted llanblogger: “I first raised this issue with the council in February 2024. DCC closed out my enquiry saying they would investigate but then did nothing. Here we are two years later and nothing has changed.

“I sent them photos of the situation before Christmas with water running down the road. They did some work and exposed drains that had been covered over and blocked some time before but still weren't clearing the water off the road.

“Then after Christmas I sent more video showing where the issues lay with the tarmac surface diverting water away from the drains. One of their team confirmed awareness of the issue and advised remedial work was needed in better weather.  

“Now they have closed the ticket because someone is going to take a look and advise next actions. This is exactly what happened two years ago and nothing more happened. DCC closed my first enquiry two years ago saying it would be investigated and nothing happened afterwards.

“This is how major incidents or accidents and fatalities are allowed to happen by those responsible for preventing them.” 

Shortly after llanblogger asked DCC for a response last Friday, a senior council engineer emailed Mr Hammond to say: “A colleague was inspecting the resurfacing works currently being undertaken on the Horseshoe Pass earlier this morning and I took the opportunity to ask him to investigate the issue of the surface water discharging across the carriageway whilst he was in the same location.

“He has confirmed a potential solution to the issue by proposing to construct a concrete channel in the nearside verge to direct the water into the gully lower down the road. I agree with the proposal and we shall now proceed to undertake the works as soon as possible.”

DCC has been contacted for an official comment.

A spokesperson for Denbighshire Council said: "Council officers responded directly to Mr Hammond regarding this matter on March 26. It was already agreed at this time to send an appropriate officer out to the site to assess the flooding issue and this visit occurred the day after.

"The Council will look to initiate work suggested by the officer to resolve this issue as soon as it can be scheduled in and further information on start dates will be communicated."

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My struggle to get sheep's carcass removed from our river

* The river is now free of the sheep's carcass.

UPDATE: The sheep was moved voluntarily after 11.30am by one of the local raft guides - not any of the authorities one thought should have been responsible. I'd like to say thanks on behalf of the town to whoever moved it.

* Our bit of the River Dee is in Wales and not England, I had to inform the Canal & River Trust. I do have a picture of the sheep but I believe it is is too distressing to show.

Apart from the obvious environmental implications, having a dead sheep wallowing in the River Dee is distressing for both residents and visitors to this tourist town of ours.

That's why I've spent quite some time trying to report it to the authority responsible for removing it.

One might believe exactly which authority was pretty obvious. I first thought it was the Canal & River Trust. After all, the clue is in the title.

So last Saturday morning I rang their office covering Wales only to encounter a call handler who didn't have too firm a grasp on the spot where the deceased sheep was lying.

I told him it was in the middle of the River Dee within Riverside Park, Llangollen, Denbighshire.

"Ah well, I'm afraid that's not our responsibility as we don't handle the River Dee. It would be up to the local authority and the Dee means it would be Chester West and Cheshire."

Baffled, I asked him if he knew that this particular bit of the Dee was actually in Wales and not Cheshire, i.e England.

There was some shuffling in the background as he obviously checked out an online mapping resource and replied that I was quite right, it was in Wales, so the local council I'd have to report it to was the one covering that area.

I was far from satisfied but by this time I'd come up with a better idea - why not try Natural Resources Wales (NRW) who, I reasoned, must look after any unwanted objects causing potential environmental hazards in a Welsh river.

Another call and another very polite and helpful call handler brought me another negative response.

No, I was told, NRW wasn't responsible for shifting dead animals from the country's rivers, even one as well used and visited as ours. Try the local council, I was again informed.

I therefore rang Denbighshire County Council, only to learn from the automated response that they wouldn't be open until 8.30am on Monday. 

Dutifully, I rang again first thing this morning, only to be put on hold and told - three times - that my call would be answered as soon as an advisor became available, which they did not.

It was the same story every one of the four other times I tried to get through to "nerve-centre" of our county council. So, for now, I have given up and spending about 20 minutes hanging fruitlessly on the line. Let me say this is, frankly, an appalling service from the county council.

Meanwhile, the poor sheep was still there at around 11.30am and filling up with gases which I fear may lead to it exploding and causing a big environmental problem for the river in which so many people either canoe or paddle.

By the way, if anybody knows which farmer this sheep belongs to they please let them know it needs removing from the Dee as soon as possible.

Former Llangollen Mayor slams local health board as a 'monster'

* Former Mayor Stuart Davies has spoken out.

A former Mayor of Llangollen has spoken to the BBC out about current problems with the health board which covers North Wales, calling it  a "monster that will never work."

* For the full story and Stuart Davies's comments, go to: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1l9v2ml9vzo

Speed restriction planned for resurfacing of Abbey Road

* A map showing where the speed restriction will apply. The restricted road is shown in yellow.

A speed restriction will be in place on Abbey Road, Llangollen, from April 13-30. This is required to so that resurfacing works by Denbighshire County Council can go ahead. 

The council says access will be available for pedestrians while the restriction is in place.