Yahoo News Mazda CX-5 – second-generation SUV on long-term test
The all-new Mazda CX-5 has a tough job on its hands if it is to build on its predecessor’s excellent reputation. James Foxall finds out if it can.
Our car: 2.2 Sport Nav 150PS Skyactiv-D List price when new: £30,195 Price as tested: £30,995 Official fuel economy: 50.4mpg (EU Combined)
September 11, 2018
Overall fuel economy: 41.4mpg
Our time with the CX-5 has come to an end and it’s confession time: I was testing the CX-5 because we’re thinking of buying one as the next Foxall family car. Therefore, this was a bit of an elongated casting couch session for Mazda’s SUV.
First, and most importantly, I loved the way the CX-5 drove. It’s smooth and quiet with just enough pace and a forgiving, compliant ride that enables you to corner with verve should the mood take you. The interior feels nicely premium too, thanks to comfortable electrically adjustable seats, the copious amounts of equipment on our Sport Nav model, acres of stitched leather and plenty of tasteful chrome accents.
During its six months and 7,000 miles with us, economy improved as the engine loosened. By the end of its tenure I was seeing 43-plus mpg on the trip computer. Long-term, our sums showed it to be 41.4mpg. Not quite the claimed 50.4mpg, but closer to the official figure than most not bad nonetheless and, as I said, getting better.
I was also impressed with the way this new-generation CX-5 looks. I think Mazda has evolved the design over the previous model very successfully. The CX-5 now appears handsome and premium rather than overbodied and awkward, a charge that might be addressed to versions of its predecessor. So it covers the basics very well though you can probably sense there’s a ‘but’ coming…
It’s the detail where the CX-5 lets itself down. The satnav is useless, forcing me to resort to a mobile phone app more than once. The user interface is clunky, too. I got used to changing radio stations but other cars prove it doesn’t have to be so involved. And the way turning off the ignition kills everything is straight out of the 1990s.
Will we be buying one? I’d love to say yes because the CX-5 is essentially a very sound, well-conceived car. I’m sure thousands of people will grow to love them for all the right reasons. But it’s the little niggles you notice on a daily basis that wind you up and smother the life out of relationships.
And until Mazda sorts those irritations, which surely isn’t a big ask, it won’t be getting my money - and the hunt for a new family motor starts again.
September 3, 2018
Fuel economy this week:43.2mpg
I recently looked at the most popular new-car colours in the UK chosen during 2017. For only the third time in the last 15 years, red didn’t feature as one of the more popular. I’m not overly disappointed by that – but I am surprised.
My lack of regret stems from enjoying being able to easily pick out our Soul Red CX-5 from the sea of black, white and grey cars that appear to populate our streets and car parks these days. My surprise comes from red being a great colour for a car.
Mazda is rightly proud of the vibrant Soul Red it has come up with. I haven’t yet seen a CX-5 in a colour I prefer. And from a practical perspective even when the CX-5 is between washes, with a film of road grime covering it, the bodywork still looks smart and lustrous.
August 28, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 43.1mpg
With the current need for manufacturers to reduce their cars’ CO2 emissions, the CX-5 is fitted with a stop-start system. The result is official emissions of 147g/km, which is competitive in its class for an automatic.
However, the stop-start button on the dash does seem easily confused. It goes a bit like this: when you’ve reached your destination, you roll to a halt, put the gear lever in Park and the stop-start does its thing and cuts the engine.
Convention dictates – that is, on other cars ‑ you then push the dash button to turn off the car. But doing that on the CX-5 fires the engine again so you must push the button again to turn the car off.
It feels a bit clunky. And people look at you as if you’re a bit weird for starting your car before turning it off almost instantly and then getting out.
August 20, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.9mpg
The CX-5 looks quite compact from the outside. But fold the rear seats down and I could just about get my mountain bike in there without removing the front wheel. Just about. But it’s quite fiddly and without wishing to dent, scratch or rip anything in the car, it’s safer to remove said wheel.
It’s not quite long enough for me to lie my six-foot frame flat in, but then not many cars are. The one disappointment is that, unlike some rivals, the seats don’t fold entirely flat.
But if I ever have to sleep in the car, at least my head would be higher than my feet.
August 16, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 43.1mpg
Confession time: I frequently sub-contract car cleaning duty to some nice men in the supermarket car park. However, I do enjoy washing cars, if only because it brings you closer to them.
In the process you discover clever little bits of bodywork that contribute to the overall feel of the car but would otherwise go unnoticed. The CX-5 has several of those, notably along the top edge of the rear light and the contoured shape of the headlamps.
And then there are the wheels. Usually washing wheels is my least favourite part of cleaning a car because they’re so fiddly. However, the 19-inch Gunmetal alloys on the Mazda are a cinch, possibly the easiest wheels I’ve ever washed.
August 6, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.9mpg
The CX-5 is trying to be a premium car and its passenger compartment definitely nails that aspiration. You’ve probably noticed our roads aren’t what they once were but the Mazda takes all that in its stride.
Occupants are well cushioned from bumps and the sound deadening ensures that noise levels remain hushed inside. And the noise of all but the hardest acceleration from the engine is muted.
As you might expect from a premium model, the cabin is solidly screwed together with no rattles to interfere with the inner calm. You’re never going to mistake a CX-5 for an executive model but it’s an awful lot more civilised than compact SUVs were even five years ago.
July 30, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 43.0mpg
If you ever transport small, petrol-powered garden machinery, you’ll know one of the things you must do is carry them upright. Whoever at Mazda was responsible for finishing the CX-5’s boot appointments was clearly a gardener. Or they like takeaway food.
Opening the boot to find a way to carry my broken leaf blower to the garden machinery repairer, I happened across this handy adjustable strap, on the left rear corner of the boot. It’s at the perfect height for the handle of my leaf blower and keeps it standing up, no matter how wiggly the road.
And it’s a pretty ideal height for a takeaway food bag, too. I like well-considered details like that.
July 23, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.4mpg
I’m fairly ambivalent towards technology. However, I am happy to adopt kit that makes my life easier and better – and one such piece of automotive equipment that gets my vote is a Head Up Display (HUD).
Our long-term CX-5 comes with it as standard and I love it. The main reason is that I no longer to keep my eyes glued to the speedometer, as the HUD beams the car’s current speed on to the screen in front of me. It also shows the speed limit of where you’re driving and, if you’re using satnav, direction arrows as well.
Mrs F is the ultimate technophile – yet she isn’t a fan of HUD. She finds it distracting.
It is funny how the same technology can have two totally different effects.
July 17, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.7mpg
The Mazda is unusual because the central infotainment screen is operated in two entirely different ways. You can either use the touchscreen or there’s a rotary controller mounted on the centre console.
I’m a fan of rotary control knobs. I know which button does what around the controller and I can perform simple functions such as changing radio stations while barely taking my eyes off the road. The touchscreen, on the other hand, means, by its nature, that you have to concentrate on the screen while trying to prod the right part as the car negotiates the UK’s ropey road network.
I realise this flies in the face of current automotive convention but if I were advising Mazda, I’d say stay old school: lose the touchscreen, keep the rotary controller.
July 10, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.8mpg
Our Mazda’s navigation continues to frustrate and disappoint in equal measure. It’s as if it’s missing some crucial files resulting in incomplete folders for whole swathes of country’s postcodes.
Then I had a Eureka moment in the shower: maybe it is missing some crucial files. So I took to the Mazda website and fairly swiftly found the necessary page for navigation updates.
Following its straightforward instructions, I removed the navigation’s SD card from its slot in the centre console, put it in my PC and it confirmed there are some updates available. In the interim our broadband went down. When BT has fixed that I’ll perform the downloads and report back.
In the meantime, no navigation and no internet. Technology eh?
July 3, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.6mpg
Our CX-5 is the second-generation model. Some friends came round at the weekend with their new car, a first generation CX-5, which gave me the opportunity to do a direct comparison. Looks-wise, the newer model is definitely a couple of steps forward.
The old car looks awkwardly over-bodied from certain angles, with the plain snout making the wheels appear too small. The grille is a bit boring and budget - the appearance of the new model, with its rakishly narrower headlamps and aggressively angled grille, is altogether far more premium, more akin to a Jaguar than a Hyundai.
But it’s inside where the biggest changes have been made. Like our car, the older model is very well equipped. But the materials around the cabin let it down. There’s no high-quality stitched leather other than on the seats, and the plastics everywhere have a budget feel to them as does the tiddly satnav screen.
My friends, quite rightly, love their new car. I can testify that the latest model will make its owners even happier.
June 26, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.5mpg
I’ve always thought electric tailgates were the ultimate lazy-person accessory, not far off the electric tin opener in their pointlessness. Our long-term Mazda is changing that opinion.
One of the weaknesses of high-riding cars like the CX-5 is it can be difficult for shorter people to open and particularly close boot lids. The electric tailgate enables those who haven’t been endowed with great height, such as my adult daughter, to open and close the boot without needing a box to stand on.
It’s actually pretty convenient to be able to open the boot with a push of the keyfob as you approach with a shopping trolley. I also like being able to open the boot without hauling myself out of the driver’s seat when picking someone up. I can look polite and caring simply by pushing a button. Perfect. And every time it glides up effortlessly, the electric tailgate lifts itself out of sight of the electric tin opener.
June 18th, 2018
Fuel economy this week:42.6mpg
I like listening to the radio and I enjoy music, particularly when I’m driving. But I never really think about upgrading a car’s sound system. Not a problem with the CX-5. Mazda has done it for me.
Our Sport Nav model comes with what Mazda calls a premium sound system as standard. It’s made by Bose and I’m sure audiophiles will nod sagely about its energy density, detailed equalisation and surround-sound qualities. Straight over my head I’m afraid. I’d have thought any multi-speaker sound system in a car surrounds you with sound. But what do I know?
What I can tell you is that its nine speakers reproduce my music as well as the best sound systems I’ve heard in cars. The bass is deep, the treble doesn’t sound remotely tinny and it does indeed surround me with sound. Would I pay extra for it? Probably not. Am I glad Mazda fits it as standard? Definitely.
June 11th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.7mpg
The days of having to clamber into the boot to release a hatchback’s rear seat backs are long gone. The CX-5 follows the vogue of enabling you to drop all the seat backs without putting your own back out, courtesy of catches mounted in the boot. The rear bench is in three parts, splitting 40 per cent on either edge, 20 per cent in the middle.
Flick the catch on the right and the right-hand seat back flops forwards. Release the inner catch on the left and the middle seat back folds. The outer left-hand lever folds the left-hand seat back. It’s an easy way of folding the seat backs progressively from right to left to get a nice flat floor, should you need it.
About the only thing you can’t do is have the middle seat back raised while the two outer ones are folded.
May 29th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.6mpg
Being lazy when it comes to the mundanity of everyday life, I’ve long been a fan of the automatic gearbox. When I was asked to specify ‘our’ CX-5, an auto gearbox was a pre-requisite. It’s six-speed and is so efficient at what it does that once you’ve put it in Drive, changes are barely perceptible.
One thing I would change if I could: the digital read-out on the dashboard. At the moment, it simply says D when you’ve selected drive. But I’d like to know which of its six gears the CX-5 is using. I know the car is in D from the position of the gearlever. Having a digital readout telling me which gear it’s in is an opportunity for Mazda to engage me more in the driving process.
And that, in my book, is never a bad thing – even though it might be my only involvement with gearchanging.
May 22nd, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.4mpg
When I was a kid I used to hate sitting in the back of cars. As an adult, I find it rather relaxing. And the Mazda’s rear seats are a good place to travel. I’m a shade over 6 feet tall and with the driver’s seat set for me, there is still sufficient leg and head room for me to travel behind it in comfort.
One novel feature is that the rear seat backs recline. However, that’s not much use for me as it pushes your knees forwards, reducing leg room. At least for me. For a smaller passenger it’s a more useful feature.
That probably explains why I haven’t had any complaints from my teenage daughter, who’s not normally backwards in coming forwards when her carriage doesn’t fit the bill.
May 15th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.5mpg
Japanese car firms have long been fans of the cockpit fuel flap release lever. Long ago it was a very practical solution, although now that central locking is ubiquitous it seems a touch anachronistic. While I appreciate it saves money as the fuel flap doesn’t have to be linked to the central locking, it has its downsides…
It’s taken a bit of time but I am at least now used to pulling the lever before I get out of the car at the pumps. However, Mazda could have made the release a little more accessible. It’s down by your right leg, out of sight unless you contort yourself around the steering wheel while bending down.
And a couple of weeks ago I noticed the bonnet was open. I can only assume that while groping around down by my feet at a filling station I’d mistakenly pulled the release for that before getting the right lever.
With no dashboard light to warn either bonnet or fuel flap is open, I’ve no idea how long I’d been driving around with the bonnet ajar.
May 8th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.3mpg
You wait ages for one Mazda to come along and then two do so in quick succession. Shortly after the CX-5 came into our tenure, I visited a neighbour to pay the £5 subscription for our parish magazine. One thing led to another and I left with this 2008 Series 3 MX-5 sports car. Sadly for a bit more than a fiver.
With only 30,000 miles under its wheels, it’s a one-owner roadster coupé, the model with the folding hard-top. It’s a dream to drive with the peachy gearchange I most remember from MX-5s tried in the past.
Similarities to the CX-5? Obviously not that many as it’s a two-seat roadster, its modern relative a five-door SUV. But although it’s a decade old, the MX-5 is still a beautifully engineered thing that remains fantastic to drive.
And it’s clear Mazda’s engineers took a leaf out of the MX-5’s book when it came to tuning the CX-5’s handling.
May 1st, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.7mpg
As you may have gathered with a model name like Sport Nav, our CX-5 does indeed have satellite navigation. It’s ironic then that while I’m generally becoming a big fan of the CX-5, the one feature I’m not sold on is the – you guessed it – satellite navigation.
For a start, it relies on icons at the bottom that you highlight to find out what they mean. And only when you cancel those can you use the rotary knob to zoom in and out. That it took a bit of fiddling around to work out how to perform the simple zoom-in function speaks volumes.
The satnav’s most recent faux pas was not recognising the postcode of a destination I wanted it to navigate me to. When I plugged in the first three characters of the postcode it gave me the option of one digit; and it wasn’t the digit of where I wanted to go.
The system didn’t recognise the village or road names either. This destination was on a main route in rural Oxfordshire, so hardly the back of beyond.
The Mazda satnav has a great screen with good-looking graphics, making it even more of a shame that I had to resort to the navigation app on my phone to get to where I was going.
April 24th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.8mpg
The parcel shelf is a funny thing. For a start the name is something of a misnomer as I don’t believe I’ve ever stored a parcel on one. And, strangely, despite it being such an apparently simple component, car makers can’t seem to reach a consensus on how best to resolve it.
For the CX-5, Mazda has come up with an elegant solution. Rather than installing a removable shelf it’s gone for the retractable plastic cover option. But instead of having this attached to the sides of the car, as Honda does with the Civic hatchback, it clips to the tailgate. Open the boot and it’s as if the luggage cover doesn’t exist, but there’s still something to keep prying eyes from seeing what you’re carrying.
If you’ve got something a tad taller for the boot, you simply unclip the cover from the tailgate and it disappears into its housing. Remove it altogether and it’s much easier to store than the traditional shelf solution.
April 17th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.6mpg
Perception is a funny thing. From behind the wheel, the CX-5 feels like a wide car. It certainly feels significantly wider than the Seat Ateca it replaced. Yet, oddly, it isn’t. There is a single millimetre in it – and that goes to the Spanish motor, measuring in at 1,841mm in width.
Granted, the Mazda is longer than the Seat. At 4,550mm, it has 187mm over the Ateca. And the top of its roof is 60mm higher. No surprises there, it does feel like a bigger car.
If I had to, I would also swear that, of the pair, the Mazda had the bigger boot. Wrong again. It’s actually smaller than the Seat’s, if only by a miniscule 4 litres. As I said, perception is a funny thing.
April 13th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 42.4mpg
There is a mere £2,000 between the price of the Seat Ateca in the specification we chose and our £30,995 CX-5. Add on a bit of diesel premium for the Mazda and that puts them pretty level in price terms. That equality isn’t reflected in the feel of the two cars.
While the Ateca is a long way from feeling budget, the CX-5 definitely has a more premium ambience to its interior. Whether it’s the large welcoming seats front and back, or the stitched leather covering the dashboard, the CX-5 feels distinctly upmarket.
That’s reinforced by the higher quality plastics around the cabin, the tasteful use of chrome to ring features such as the satnav screen, and the quality of the sound deadening when on the move.
April 3rd, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 41.8mpg
The more time you spend with any car, the more of its idiosyncrasies you pick up on. One of the irritants I’ve discovered about the CX-5 isn’t peculiar to Mazdas or even Japanese cars. But that doesn’t make it any less annoying.
With many of today’s cars – particularly German models – turning off the ignition doesn’t kill the sound system. That doesn’t happen until you take the key out of the ignition (if it has one) or open the door.
With the CX-5, if you’re waiting for someone and you don’t want to leave the engine running needlessly, the sound system turns off with the engine. To carry on listening you must remove your feet from the pedals and prod the stop-start button again. By which time you’ve invariably missed the crux of the thing you were listening to.
March 27th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 40.6mpg
The engine I’ve chosen in this CX-5 is the lower-powered of the pair of 2.2-litre diesels on offer. With 150PS, a 0-60mph time of 10.1 seconds and a claimed EU Combined economy of 50.4mpg, it’s expected to be the best seller of the bunch.
I certainly don’t feel as if I’ve been short-changed on the power front. And aside from a bit of diesel clatter on start-up, the engine is smooth and refined at speed. The six-speed automatic gearbox is equally unobtrusive, going about its business smoothly no matter how slowly you’re travelling.
Although the CX-5 looks like a larger car than the Seat Ateca it replaced, it doesn’t feel significantly bigger from behind the wheel. The steering is nicely weighted, too, and it gives the car a nimbleness that belies its size.
It’s helped by Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control. This reduces engine torque to the front axle as you turn into a corner, pushing the car’s weight over its front wheels. As you accelerate through the bend, the torque is restored rearwards.
Like most modern tech, you don’t notice any of this happening, just the more effortless and engaging drive that results.
March 20th, 2018
Fuel economy this week: 40.2mpg
The first thing to strike me about the new CX-5 was that it looks much better from more angles than the model it replaces. No matter how large its wheels were, the old CX-5 always looked over-bodied.
The new model appears to put that right with even 17-inch rims managing not to be overwhelmed by the metal surrounding them. Our Sport Nav model sits on monster 19-inch Gunmetal wheels which certainly look the part and I can already tell you are fairly easy to keep clean.
With slim projector headlamps at the front and trim at the leading edge of the bonnet protruding over the grille, it has the sort of assertive appearance you’d expect from a premium brand such as Jaguar.
Side-on, the new CX-5 appears sleek and compact, although its profile is definitely more substantial than models such as the Nissan Qashqai, Seat Ateca and Kia Sportage. And this is matched inside, where there is more space than the aforementioned rivals.
March 15th, 2018
Love ’em or loathe ’em, SUVs are the must-have motor of the moment. One example at the heart of the SUV mainstream is Mazda’s CX-5. This is the second-generation version, all-new and only launched last year. Its task is to kick on from the previous model that first went on sale in 2012.
Swimming against the tide, we’ve gone for the 2.2-litre diesel engine. With 150PS, this is the lowest powered of the engines offered in the CX-5. But it is available with Mazda’s six-speed automatic gearbox – I was curious to live with this after spending six months with the VW Group’s excellent DSG semi-automatic in our Seat Ateca.
When it came to extras, my target was to get as close to £30,000 as possible. And the Mazda is so well loaded in Sport Nav specification, the upper of the two available grades, that the only extra spend was £800 for the Soul Red Crystal Metallic paint.
The result was a £30,995 total price. In finance terms, via a Mazda PCP it equates to £369 a month with a £3,423 deposit.
Over the next months I’ll be finding out more about what this mid-size SUV is like for everyday motoring.
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More long-term tests
