Mazda CX-5 review

Mazda pulls out the stops for the all-new third-generation version of its big-selling CX-5

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It might be going a bit far to suggest that the stakes are high for the all-new Mazda CX-5, but it’s certainly not a car the hierarchy high-ups in Hiroshima want to mess up.

Introduced in 2012, this slightly left-of-centre mid-size SUV has become the brand’s best-selling model almost everywhere – globally, across Europe and here in the UK. In total, more than five million of them have rolled off the production lines, which makes this box-fresh third-generation version a big deal for the company.

As you might expect, it’s bigger, safer and more luxuriously appointed than its predecessor, while the firm’s Kodo design language has been subtly evolved. (Given the apparently high levels of customer loyalty the CX-5 demands, bosses didn’t want to alienate this important demographic.) Yet this is also a Mazda, which means it does things differently from more mainstream contenders. If you’re expecting yet another fully electrified or heavily hybridised offering, then you’ve come to the wrong corner of the family SUV sector, but we’ll get to that.

New Mazda CX-5 cars in stock

 Mazda CX-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Centre-Line Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£31,700
 Mazda CX-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Centre-Line Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£29,000
 Mazda CX-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Centre-Line Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£29,000
 Mazda CX-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Centre-Line Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£29,000
 Mazda Cx-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Takumi Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£34,499
 Mazda CX-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Centre-Line Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£29,380
 Mazda CX-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Homura Auto Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£39,995
 Mazda CX-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Centre-Line Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£32,280
 Mazda CX-5 2.0 E-SKYACTIV G MHEV Exclusive-Line Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£30,995
View all 36 cars

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DESIGN & STYLING

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For family buyers, perhaps the most important aspect of the redesign is the increase in space, thanks to the car's larger exterior dimensions. It is 115mm longer than before (all the extra length is in the wheelbase), 30mm taller and 15mm wider.

Mazda’s designers have done a decent job in disguising the extra metal, but the new car lacks some of the old model’s crisp tautness and its deeper flanks make even the largest-available, 19in alloys look a bit small. Yet it remains unmistakably a CX-5, which was Mazda's aim from the start given the firm didn't want to put off loyal customers, who are expected to trade up to the new car in significant numbers. 

With a modest 139bhp, the engine doesn’t have a particularly high specific output, but the 24V starter-generator gives an instant kick of assistance at low revs and helps deliver a healthy 176lb ft at 3500rpm.
James Disdale
Special correspondent

Unlike with the old model, there’s no longer the option of a manual transmission (and the slick and precise six-speeder was a good one). The free-revving naturally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol has also gone, as has the smooth and effortlessly muscular 2.2-litre diesel. What’s left is a mildly hybridised 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder - already seen in the 3 hatchback and CX-30 crossover - which is mated to a traditional six-speed automatic

And that’s it. No fully electric version or plug-in hybrid because Mazda doesn’t think the customer demand is there - and looking at the sales figures, it's probably right (if only it had listened more closely to those buyers who are tired of touchscreens, but there you go). 

INTERIOR

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There are few complaints when it comes to the cabin, not least because the already generous rear leg room has been extended further. There’s also plenty of head room, and three of your burliest acquaintances will be able to sit side by side with no shoulder-rubbing grumbles. Mazda has also lengthened the rear doors and allowed them to open to around 90 degrees, giving parents more room to manoeuvre when wrestling in uncooperative offspring. 

There’s also a bigger boot with the seats in place (583 litres, up by 61 litres) and a cavernous 2019 litres when the new 40/20/40-split folding rear bench is lowered (easily done with quick release handles either side of the load bay). The loading lip is low and there’s some handy underfloor storage.

The underfloor storage area is filled with a Bose subwoofer on flagship models.
James Disdale
Special correspondent

Climb behind the wheel and the news isn’t quite so good. Mazda’s now trademark quality is still on display, with plush materials and a solid finish giving the CX-5 the sort of classy mien that elevates it above the slightly tacky VW Tiguan, but there are some ergonomic missteps compared with the old car. 

For starters, the new car bundles almost all of its frequently used functions into the new (Google-powered) central infotainment screen. Depending on the trim level, it’s either a 12.9in or 15.6in unit, but regardless of size, you get the same functionality, which means you have to stab at the display to change climate control settings or adjust the audio volume. The only physical controls are buttons for the rear window heater, screen demister and hazard warning lights. 

In practice it works crisply enough, but not with the same eyes-on-the-road ease and finger-pleasing tactility as the old car’s knurled metal knobs. Mazda claims it was customer demand that forced the change, although the voices were louder on the other side of the Atlantic.

Then there’s the instrument cluster, which has ditched the classic, carefully rendered LCD analogue clocks of the outgoing model in favour of BMW-style quadrants.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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The CX-5 is at its best when being stroked along, using its mid-range torque and eager throttle response to encourage the gearbox to shift up early. Driven like this, you can make swift and serene progress, the Mazda pulling keenly with minimal mechanical commotion.

Muster all its available energy and the front-wheel-drive machine (there’s also an all-wheel-drive option) can canter from 0-62mph in 10.5sec. It feels good for this time, but the 2.5-litre unit’s efforts become far more strident above 4500rpm. It’s perhaps more noticeable because in all other respects the CX-5 is remarkably refined. There’s little wind and road noise, while tweaks to the suspension have resulted in a plusher and more controlled ride.

The brake-by-wire system lacks the ultimate progression for the smoothest stops but isn’t short of outright power.
James Disdale
Special correspondent

Sunken manhole covers (of which there were quite few on our Spanish test route) are heard more than felt while it wafts over longer-wave undulations. Downsides? Well, the six-speed auto delivers smooth shifts when mooching but can become flummoxed when pushing on, with the odd delayed downchange and thumping gear engagement. 

RIDE & HANDLING

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Happily, the new car's softer edge hasn’t come at the expense of poise in the corners, because for a large-ish SUV weighing just over 1600kg, the Mazda handles with surprising deftness. In addition to the softer springs, Mazda’s engineers have added revised anti-roll bars and increased rebound damping front and rear. It adds up to a vehicle that feels as wieldy and engaging as you’ve any right to expect from a car in this sector.

There is a Sport mode, but it does so little that it is best tried once and then left alone. Regardless of setting, the steering is nicely weighted and features a well-judged rate of response, allowing you to place the CX-5 just so. Ultimately, understeer will set in when you're really pushing on, but it’ll happily tighten its line with a little extra lock or a gentle lift.

If you want a 2000kg towing limit, you'll have to pay for a AWD model.
James Disdale
Special correspondent

Rapid changes of direction or a series of mid-corner undulations will result in a little heave and wallow, but otherwise body control is tight and the Mazda is a satisfyingly biddable partner on a decent stretch of road. In the UK, we’ll get the CX-5 with a choice of front-wheel-drive or Mazda’s i-Activ AWD transmission.

Available on top-spec Exclusive Line and Homura trims only (there’s also Prime-Line and Centre-Line), the AWD system combines with G-Vectoring Control Plus to allegedly offer both enhanced on-road agility and a dash of go-anywhere ability in the rough for a small penalty of 42kg. We weren’t able to test it off road, but there is a separate off-road mode and hill descent control.

However, on Tarmac there are subtle but discernable benefits, the system shuffling torque back and forth to sharpen turn-in and improve corner-exit attitude. As a result, the AWD version feels a fraction more agile, resisting the urge for its nose to run wide of the apex under power. 

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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Mazda makes bold claims about the real-world efficiency of its new 2.5-litre engine, which combines features such as a 24V starter-generator and cylinder deactivation to offset its relatively large capacity.

That said, the car's claimed 40.3mpg isn't much to write home about, falling short of many similarly equipped rivals, such as the VW Tiguan. Yet exposure to this unit in other models suggests getting close to this figure in everyday use should be possible.

CO2 emissions of 157g/km result in a whopping 37% BiK rating.
James Disdale
Special correspondent

Prices start at around £31,000, so the CX-5 should comfortably undercut rivals on price, as well as beating them on kit.

VERDICT

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Overall, the Mazda remains a thoroughly likeable car that's easy to rub along with. The improvements in space, versatility and refinement will be welcomed by its target audience of family buyers, and for most people most of the time the drivetrain will deliver a decent real-world performance - although the claimed efficiency figure of 40.3mpg is nothing special.

Factor in the suggestion from Mazda insiders that the newcomer won’t cost any more (and maybe even slightly less, with prices starting around £31,000, which significantly undercuts many mainstream rivals) than the old car and the CX-5 remains a fine alternative to the usual suspects.

James Disdale

James Disdale
Title: Special correspondent

James is a special correspondent for Autocar, which means he turns his hand to pretty much anything, including delivering first drive verdicts, gathering together group tests, formulating features and keeping Autocar.co.uk topped-up with the latest news and reviews. He also co-hosts the odd podcast and occasional video with Autocar’s esteemed Editor-at-large, Matt Prior.

For more than a decade and a half James has been writing about cars, in which time he has driven pretty much everything from humble hatchbacks to the highest of high performance machines. Having started his automotive career on, ahem, another weekly automotive magazine, he rose through the ranks and spent many years running that title’s road test desk. This was followed by a stint doing the same job for monthly title, evo, before starting a freelance career in 2019. The less said about his wilderness, post-university years selling mobile phones and insurance, the better.