MARK TAKAHASHI: The Mazda CX-5 has
remained one of our favorite compact SUVs
since it was last redesigned in 2017.
It comes in a close second to the Honda
CR-V, which benefits from a bit more space and convenience.
But the CX-5 has consistently gotten
my personal recommendation for its more engaging driving
dynamics and attractive styling.
And what we have here, however, is the all new Mazda CX-50.
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The CX-50 is a little bit wider and longer than the CX-5,
but also a little bit shorter in height.
It's also produced in a joint Mazda-Toyota plant
in Huntsville, Alabama on a similar platform to the CX-30.
Now one would assume the CX-50 is
a replacement for the CX-5 in the same way the CX-30 replaced
the CX-3.
But Mazda says no, the CX-50 will
be sold alongside the CX-5, which
just received a pretty major refresh this year.
Confused?
Me too.
But will cut through it all and get to the bottom of this.
Before we do that, do us a favor,
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This new CX-50 is offered with the choice of the same two
engines in the CX-5.
The base engine is 187 horsepower 2.5 liter 4-cylinder
engine.
The upgraded engine adds a turbocharger
for 256 horsepower.
Those figures are based on 93 octane fuel.
Here in California where we only get 91,
it'll dip just a little bit.
Also, the same as a 6-speed automatic transmission
and standard all-wheel drive.
In terms of pricing, the CX-50 starts right in there
with the CX-5.
The base 2.5 S trim costs right around $28,000,
which is $900 more than the base CX-5.
In order to get the turbo engine,
you have to shell out over $37 grand.
And at the top of the lineup, the Turbo Premium Plus Model
starts at almost $43,000.
That's about $2,500 more than the top CX-5 Signature trim.
Later in the year, a new Turbo Meridian Edition CX-50
will debut with a more adventure bound personality.
It'll sport all-terrain tires, tougher styling cues
and graphics, and offer more outdoor specific accessories.
But enough with all these specs and prices.
We're here to drive this thing, so let's go.
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So this is my first time getting behind the wheel of the CX-50.
Let's see how it accelerates.
[CAR ACCELERATING]
Pretty solid.
There was a little bit of a delay,
which is typical of any automatic transmission.
Plus this is turbocharged, so it kind of
takes a while for that turbo to spool up.
But since this has a traditional automatic transmission,
it doesn't have any of that drone or really pregnant pauses
before you leave the line like a CVT would.
That's something I still really like
about these automatic transmissions.
It still has that response that I'm looking for.
When I need to get out of the way of something,
I know it's going to move.
Of course the real advantage to the CX-50 comes for handling.
And it handles really well.
I mean, it's probably one of the more sporty SUVs
I've driven in a while that wasn't from Porsche or BMW.
It really gives you that confidence
to toss it into these corners on this twisty road.
And you just know you're going to have the traction coming
back out, because all of these have all-wheel drive.
That means it kind of coasts you into the curve,
and then once you hit the middle of the turn,
you start laying into the power again,
and it gives you all four wheels of traction.
Of course, another advantage to having all-wheel drive
is if you live in weather prone areas,
it's a lot better for you as far as control and traction.
Now one byproduct of all of this sporty handling
is a pretty stiff ride.
I'm feeling every bump and rut in the road.
But they are kept from being harsh.
I'm not getting those nasty impacts that kind of jolt you.
But when we hit some undulations,
I kind of get tossled around quite a bit.
So if you're looking for, let's say, a really nice cushy,
smooth, pillowy ride, you're probably
going to be better served by something like the Honda CR-V,
or maybe a middle ground like the Mazda CX-5.
But if you're like me and you really
want some sporty handling and performance,
a CX-50 is a damn good alternative.
Another thing that I notice that can kind of wear you down
is the amount of noise.
The engine sounds pretty good.
It has a nice kind of low growl that's a little mechanical.
It sounds a lot better than most 4-cylinders.
But what I hear a lot is road noise,
and even a little bit of wind noise at highway
speeds kind of coming off the mirrors.
That's kind of something we're not
used to hearing as much from any manufacturer.
They've all gotten really good at isolating all that noise.
But it's just not the case in here, especially
on the coarser asphalt surfaces.
It can be a little intrusive.
So in terms of comfort, it's taking a hit.
But in terms of performance, it makes up for it,
if you're looking for performance.
Something else that's new for Mazda is these
have some added drive modes that are towing and off-road.
And we'll go into the off-road stuff when we get to the ranch,
so stick around.
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Now that we've got the driving out of the way,
let's talk about the interior.
In a lot of ways, it's pretty similar to the CX-5.
There are a few different shapes in the vents on the dash,
or vertical instead of horizontal, but a lot of ways,
there are some similarities, which
is kind of nice because overall, it's
kind of a throwback to analog dashes
where we don't have this big sheet of glass that
is kind of a distraction while you're driving.
We have this great infotainment wheel here,
which allows you to operate it without being too distracted.
I mean, the whole point of this car is driving enjoyment.
So your attention should be right out the windows.
Materials quality is better than average for the class,
and for the price as well.
Everything is kind of a nice soft touch wherever
you're going to commonly come in contact.
And there are some hard plastics here and there,
but I think it's forgivable, especially
considering its price.
As far as tech is concerned, like I said,
it's sort of a throwback analog.
There isn't a digital dash.
We don't have this massive screen.
It is a touch screen now, though,
and that's very helpful when it comes
to Android auto and Apple CarPlay,
which seem to be easier to operate with a touch
screen rather than the dial.
But even that said, I do use it with the dial regardless, just
because you can be driving down, you just
move it to the next hotspot and it stays there.
You hit the button rather than taking your eyes off the road
and trying to do it while it's bouncing around.
As far as all the advanced safety features,
it has all the typical stuff you get in any vehicle, including
adaptive cruise control.
And everything works really well.
I didn't get any false alarms and the adaptive cruise control
did a great job of maintaining the gap smoothly.
There weren't any weird lurches.
It didn't jam on the brakes.
It didn't floor the gas pedal.
So everything is tuned really well.
It's just enjoyable to drive.
As far as seat comfort goes, I've been in this seat all day
and I don't feel any hard points,
so that's a really good thing.
Now as sharp as this car handles,
I would think that maybe a little more side
bolstering would be useful.
But then again, this is more of a mass market car
than a full performance car.
But it'd also be nice to get maybe a sports seat option.
Speaking of seats, let's go check out the back.
Here in the backseat, I have a good amount of room.
I'm 5' foot 10.
I'm sitting behind the driver's seat, which is set for me,
and yeah, I have several inches in front of my knees
and plenty of room underneath for my feet.
So there's no problem there.
Considering that this has a panoramic sunroof,
it's pretty good for headroom back here.
I'd be fine back here for a road trip.
Also you have heated outboard seats here, as well as
two USB-A ports to keep your devices charged.
As far as cargo capacity goes behind these seats,
we have 31.4 cubic feet available.
That's just marginally bigger than the CX-5's trunk,
but still quite a bit smaller than the class
leading Honda CR-V.
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The CX-50 trades some of the CX-5
elegance for sporty aggression, and that seemed mostly
up front.
We have this blacked out grill, and instead
of that tasty silver trim from the CX-5, it's blacked out.
And personally, I like it.
One thing I'm not too crazy about is this air inlet here.
For me, it's maybe just a little too big,
but I understand where they're going with it.
It does give it that sporty look.
Now down the side, we get the adventurous side of styling,
where we have these plastic fender liners,
along with this kind of I guess rail along the bottom here,
and kind of continues round with black plastic.
And that makes perfect sense if you're because I'd rather
scratch plastic than paint.
Around the back here, well, there's
not too much that's different from the CX-5
except for these big outlets here,
which I really don't like.
To me, it's just this weird bulge
and they also don't serve a purpose.
They're completely blocked off.
So now it might be an aerodynamic thing,
to create a low pressure zone here.
But stylistically, I'm not that crazy about it.
But I'm also not going to say that's a deal breaker.
Overall, it's a really tidy, sporty, and aggressive design
that makes me happy.
All right.
Now we're getting to some more serious off-road stuff
with some moderate offset bumps here,
and it's doing it just fine, obviously.
I'm not really steering too much.
I am obviously in off-road mode here.
But yeah, I see nothing but sky right now
and it's making the climb without any issue,
just steady state on the throttle and easy peasy.
So yeah, this is a little more than just light off-roading.
This is moderate off-roading.
Now this doesn't have hill descent control.
And they're telling me that you don't really need it.
You just use the brakes the whole time.
And that's what I'm doing, and it's not freaking out.
It's giving you the same kind of ABS crunch
that you get from regular hill descent control.
Now with that stiff suspension, yeah, I'm
being tossed around quite a bit here.
But that's to be expected.
But for a car that has this much range as far as it's
fun to drive on the streets and it's capable off-road,
there aren't a lot of other SUVs out there
without a Jeep badge on it that can do that.
So yeah, it's fun on the road.
It's fun off the road.
Mmm.
Mazda, you've done good.
The only problem with the off-road cameras
is that once you go above 10 miles an hour, it shuts off.
So you have to keep hitting the button if you go over 10.
But considering that this isn't really heavy duty off-roading,
it's a great feature.
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When it comes to towing, this maxes out
at 3,500 pounds, which is pretty decent for the class.
The thing is, too, it has a specific tow mode
that makes it feel like you're not really towing anything.
Yeah, you'll still feel the weight back there,
especially when you're coming to a stop and making turns,
but there's not a lot of hunting when
it comes to the actual steering of the car.
It does a great job of keeping everything in line
with a combination of all those same traction
control and steering inputs.
So if you got some light towing or some light off-roading,
this may be the right SUV for you.
So about that question I posed up at the top of the video
of why is this here and why does it exist against the CX-5?
Well, the answer is pretty clear.
They have distinct personalities.
Well, the CX-5, that's kind of meant more
for the everyday commute, it's more comfortable,
maybe a little more convenient here or there.
While the CX-50 is sporty, and it
has that off-road ruggedness for doing
some all-terrain adventures, but also towing.
So it kind of opens it up to a new audience
that wasn't there before.
That doesn't mean the CX-5 doesn't
have its place in the world.
It will continue for a few more years
because it's being sold worldwide,
while this initially, is only meant for the US and Canada.
So if you're looking for performance,
and some excitement, and some really sharp handling,
this is a seriously good SUV for you.
But just be aware that you are sacrificing ride quality
and it is a little loud.
But for my choice, yes, I like sporty handling.
I like having fun on twisty roads,
so this is definitely what I'd get.
But I also realize that I would recommend the CX-5
for the majority of shoppers because of its softer ride
quality.
So that's what I think.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Thanks for watching and don't forget
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and everything you need on the CX-50
and all of its competition.
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