spoiler alert in this comparison video the mazda's gonna win but which mazda and why
well every automaker has a lineup with cars that overlap in size price and features so the point
of this video is to tell you which of these mazdas is right for you these are two very popular mazdas
compact cx-5 and the sub-compact cx-30 both of these are identical turbocharged
powertrains they're the top trims you can buy and they cost between 36 and 39 000
now we reviewed both of these cars separately you can watch those if you subscribe to our
youtube channel you know where to go but mazdas of a certain feather flock together
that's why they're here right now if your heart is set on a new mazda crossover
this is the video to watch i'm going to show you the differences between both these cars
you might have heard we're mazda fans we are they drive well they feel upscale they look pretty no
matter which model we're reviewing we named the current gen cx-5 as our 2021 editor's choice for
the best used car the cx-30 was new for 2020 and there's not enough data yet to recommend it but
i've tested a 2020 with the naturally aspirated engine and matt smith tested this 2021 turbo i
haven't driven a cx-5 in a long while but the rest of the cargurus team has driven one of every kind
every year the big mouth grille and that chrome eyeliner tracing underneath the led headlights
that's the mazda look that everyone knows by now the two of these cars really do look very
much the same from the front there's some slightly different lighting patterns that you'll see behind
me but here's the real difference the cx-30 is based on the new mazda 3 hatchback the cx-5 is not
in fact cx-5 that's based on a car that goes back to 2013. and even though it was refreshed in 2017
and mazda called it an all-new cx-5 technically the chassis and that standard powertrain are the
same the cx-5 may not look as big on screen but next to the cx-30 it is it's six inches longer
overall the wheelbase is stretched by another two inches it's also front and rear two inches wider
the cx-30 is actually a half inch higher off the ground a total of eight inches versus seven and a
half but vertically it's three and a half inches shorter than that car this is the cx-30 2.5 turbo
premium plus 18 inch black wheels and mirrors which come on every turbo big plastic fenders like
a subaru crosstrek standard roof rails and very eye-catching lighting just look at the led turn
signal which fades like an incandescent bulb mazda does little details like that because it cares
this is the cx-5 signature 19-inch silver wheels but if you like the darker effect a new trim for
2021 will do that it's called the carbon edition roof rails are not standard and the lights on the
cx-5 are nice but not as hot as the cx-30s mazda has exceptional paint quality on either of these
cars the finishes belong on luxury cars luxury is the whole point of these two top mazda trims
both are minimalist and a bit austere just like the best german cars but everything you can
touch grab or knock against is padded stitched or knurled the tactile quality is top notch and it's
right up there with entry level luxury crossovers like the lexus ux and mercedes gla for 2021
every cx-5 gets this new 10-inch screen versus the 8-inch from before also this is the signature
trim and that means you get this wood which to me looks pretty fake mazda says it's real and
napa leather which is a softer grade leather found in the higher end luxury cars they call
it brown and i'm not color blind i swear but i cannot tell the difference between this and black
these upper trims have heated and cooled front seats a heated steering wheel
and heated rear seats but where are those controls well they're hidden right here it took me a long
time to figure that out and the usb ports are hidden in here and that means that if
you have someone actually sitting in this rear position or a car seat or this seat is folded
you can't heat your bum and you can't charge your phone but otherwise
sitting back here in the cx-5 it's a heck of a lot better than that cx30 in every dimension
and this front passenger seat is powered where in that top trim in the cx-30 it's entirely manual
being in the second row of the cx-30 is like sitting in the third row of a midsize suv
it is tight this seat is where i was sitting before i'm 511 and i feel like mazda put more
room for the blind spots behind me than my actual head and my legs and my shoulders also there's no
heated rear seats up front the cx-30 is most like the mazda 3 hatchback there's no twin central air
vents there's separate designs from the driver and the passenger and the screen it's only
nine inches versus the 10 you'll find in the new cx-5 but this steering wheel's a whole lot nicer
the switches and everything on here just looks more modern space comes at a premium in any small
suv but especially the cx-30 there's 20 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 45 when they're folded
that's actually less than the mazda 3 hatchback the cx-5 you get 50 percent more when they're
behind the rear seats for 31 cubic feet and 25 percent more when they're folded at 60 cubic feet
those numbers are big space is at a premium in the cx-30 but the engines transmissions and all-wheel
drive are exactly the same between both cars let's take each one out on the road for this test i am
not driving the base two and a half liter engine this is the two and a half liter turbo four so
instead of 187 horsepower there's 250 instead of 186 pound-feet of torque there's 320 that is a lot
in a small car like the cx-5 now if you use 87 octane the numbers drop a little bit the torque
goes down to 310 the horsepower to 227 but that's really you know not a big difference the fact
that it can run on both fuels and deliver very similar performance is pretty good but i gotta say
even in sport mode it doesn't really take off like i would think with an engine with
this much potency especially in the low range it doesn't really deliver that i think part of it
is due to the six-speed automatic it's good but it's down a few gears from some of the latest
transmissions you'll find in competitors seven speed eight speed and what that does you just get
more off the line torque and the lower gears and the higher gears give you better fuel efficiency
with these six speeds they're old enough now where there's more gaps so there's just more spacing and
what that means is that it just does not feel as reactive it's gonna be fine for most buyers but
i'm just gonna say right now i don't think the turbo is necessarily worth the price premium
you'll pay versus the regular naturally ask rated engine drive both tell us what you think
what i do like about the turbo is that it's pretty smooth and refined and you get this nice gradual
acceleration in any gear that's really what you're paying for with this turbo versus the naturally
aspirated engine there's just a little bit more thrust going on at all revs it's very gentle to me
a little too gentle i want it to punch harder and even with these paddle shifters when i'm shifting
i'll go in a second i mean that's not slow by any means but it's also just doesn't hit you the great
thing about the cx-5 is that the handling's really good steering turning it's fast feels pretty
accurate it drives like really like a luxury car would you're not getting this in a lot of cars
not even the latest hyundai and kias they still haven't completely sorted out those suspensions
the mazda has for a long time uh nothing new to the people of mazda so when you drive it
you really do feel like you're more connected to the car and every time we drive one that's what we
inevitably say in these reviews not making it up it's just the way it is however i think there is
some trade-offs here because there's no adaptive dampers it's not really the smoothest ride
it's a little firm right now i'm on a perfectly paved road so it's excellent any car would be
a lamborghini avenator would be but when you're in the cx-5 and the road breaks up a little bit
it definitely sends some shutters through the cabin it's not like we're driving some amg gt
like on a race track like we've done before this is just a regular car but the suspension is still
stiff i was not expecting that usually with cars you're going to find a ride
and handling balance right but you pay more for that and when i realized that this car is about
under forty thousand dollars fully loaded and it starts in the low twenties the setup is actually
pretty good because a lot of cars that are more expensive do worse when i was in the mercedes
gla that car was like fifty thousand dollars and it rode horribly and it handled pretty bad too
this mazda handles really well but the trade-off is that that ride feels a little firm
it doesn't really bounce you around or anything but you're just not going to feel as cushy
certainly not as cushy as the cx-30 fuel economy on this turbo all-wheel drive
22 miles per gallon city and 27 highway it's not really good by any measure the regular engine just
a little bit better but i keep saying it all the time these crossovers they're not that aerodynamic
they use a lot of fuel just because you get a small one
doesn't mean you're getting a more efficient one and there's no hybrid option on the cx-5
and a good driver's car is not complete without good brakes
and really natural progressive pedal feel
all the way to the end mazda really does nail that part of the equation it's sporty
all right now i'm on team cx-30 what's the first thing i notice comfort body roll
they come together versus the cx-5 which is a lot stiffer and it rides harsher this car well doesn't
float but it definitely is more serene on these back roads i feel more relaxed the ride quality is
much better than the cx-5 and those are the major differences you're going to find where the cx-5
has sharper turn-in it exhibits almost no roll not too much at all for a regular crossover and
you get firmer ride and wax from those tires on bumps the cx-30 kind of just ignores all that and
kind of lapse it all up like a lincoln in a way it really does when you're on some turns because
this thing is lifted and remember it's another half inch higher off the ground than the cx-5
those little things do matter because all that extra wheel travel that you'll see in
the suspension well the center of gravity's higher and despite this being still a good car to drive
it's noticeably a little duller and the steering doesn't respond as quickly it's good but you have
to drive these two back to back like i'm doing to notice that you might not feel it right away on
your test drive if you have a cx-5 on the lot and then another cx30 so i'd invite you just
to actually go on a back road anything with some turns and experience this for yourself
now what can i say about the engine exactly what i said before about the cx-5 it
it feels good and it moves but oh that's nice actually the mid-range
here i'm actually a little bit better than the cx-5 and i'm not even in sport mode
so let me put that on for a second the switch is in the same place
again good but not great this engine makes more torque than a bmw 330i a lot more and
yet it just does not feel as quick so again turbo or non-turbo that's going to be your call but the
turbos i'm driving today i don't feel swayed by them like the cx-5 the cx-30 just lacks some extra
gears to really manage and extract all of the torque in this engine so mazda has said that oh
they don't really care about you know having the sprightly really fast off the line acceleration
but my bet is that they do and they can't replace the transmission just yet six gears are looking
really dated these days so that's the one part of the cx-30 and the cx-5 that doesn't feel as modern
oh yeah just a little bit more roll here but the brakes still feel just as good as the cx-5 now
the fuel economy on this car a little bit better than the turbo cx-5 22 city which is even and 30
highway versus 27 and again these are not great numbers if you really want the 30 plus 40 plus you
can get that on the smaller cars regular sedans that aren't crossovers it's good because this
is just more refined than a subaru or a nissan honda a lot of those competitors they're fine
but once you jump into cx30 or the cx-5 you realize hey the more money i'm paying the
nicer car i'm getting and it's simple it's these little things that you feel not necessarily see
in the interior because you know all this stuff is really subjective right you may hate this interior
you may not like the way it looks but the driving portion is the stuff you feel every day behind the
wheel and i think both these cars turn accelerate and just ride down the road with a more refined
feel than a lot of competitors so if comfort and driving characteristics are important to you
both these mazdas are going to work you just have to ask yourself do you like handling or
do you like ride quality that's the major difference between the cx-30 and the cx-5
what's really great about both cars how much technology you get for the money
the head up display is on the windshield not a flip up piece of plastic it's really
clear pretty good also the cx-30 gets a brand new feature for 2021 that the cx-5 does not
traffic jam assist press one button and up to 40 miles an hour it'll self steer the car
both cars have lots of driver assists forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection
lane departure lane keep assist auto high beams and adaptive crews but the cx-5 has a
better forward collision alert system that can see people at night and break from higher speeds plus
it comes with standard blind spot monitoring that is not on the base cx-30 both cars are a 2021 iihs
top safety pick plus and out of 20 small suvs the cx-5 was the only one to score the top good rating
in the agency's newest and tougher side impact test beating out even the volvo xc40 and audi q3
oh geez the infotainment controls oh gosh as you can see they're bad
on both cars and it's not a touch screen
a few other things are missing on both cars no panoramic moon roof just this tiny sunroof no tire
pressure readouts have no idea about those and on the cx-5 there's not even a wireless charging pad
but both cars have excellent 360-degree cameras and great bose surround sound
the cx-30 is loaded at 36-120 the cx-5 is loaded at 38-805 both have all-wheel drive
the powerful turbo engine and a lot of the tech and nicer features found in luxury cars
but the real competition comes from the toyota rav4 hyundai santa fe and the new kia sportage
these cars also offer hybrid engines with better gas mileage and on the hyundai in kia better tech
if you're going to stick with mazda the cx-5 is going to be your default choice it's not that
much bigger on the outside than the cx-30 and yet inside you really feel the difference in
space for both people and cargo now the cx30 is definitely rides nicer it's cushier it's sleeker
you may not need the bigger back seat and the cargo hold of that cx-5 i like the handling so
this is probably the one i would choose but the point is both of these mazdas are a heck of a
value they offer a lot more features for the money than entry-level luxury crossovers from acura or
lexus or even mercedes benz so tell us what do you think and which mazda would you choose
we're gonna review a lot more cars in the future just like this so tell us what cars you want us to
compare next subscribe to the cargurus youtube channel go to cargurus.com to buy these cars
they actually do exist i promise and keep watching we'll see you next time