Price as tested: €29,495
+ Steering, performance, economy, refinement, quality
– Dark cabin, jiggly ride, quite pricey
= SkyActiv tech makes it frugal, Mazda engineers make it fun.
There is only one segment of the motoring world that is actually seeing much growth at the moment, and that’s the compact SUV and crossover market. It’s not hard to see why, really. Families, outgrowing hatchbacks but not fancying much the suburban sameness of estates or, worse, MPVs, are flocking in droves (well, as close as we get to droves these days) to the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Yeti and Ford Kuga. You get the appealing SUV style you crave, the space and practicality you need but you’re not mugged every time you visit the fuel pump or pay your road tax. Everyone wins.
That being the case, pretty much every car maker is scrambling to get a foothold on the ladder that Nissan effectively invented with the Qashqai. Mazda is the latest to try its hand, but it’s going about the launch of its CX-5 rather differently to most.
For a start, Mazda is making the bold claim that the CX-5 will be the enthusiastic driver’s choice in the segment, but it’s also using the car as the launch vehicle for its new SkyActiv technology.
SkyActiv is a holisitc system that sees vehicle weights trimmed, engines made ever more efficient, transmissions made lighter and with reduced friction and every little tweak and twonk that will help push down emissions and raise fuel efficiency. It’s how Mazda is able to offer the new CX-5 with a large, torquey 2.2-litre 150bhp diesel engine yet also claim best in class Co2 emissions (119g/km, so your road tax will just be €160 for now) and fuel economy (4.6-litres per 100km claimed, or around 60mpg).
Those are impressive figures, but sadly, our necessarily brief test route didn’t allow us to put any strain on them. It’ll just have to wait for now, but in fairness to Mazda, it’s not a firm given to extravagant claims.
Or extravagant anything, really. Mazda has always been admirable for its championing of both driver pleasure and reduced vehicle weights and while that hasn’t done its sales much good of late (the firm posted a global $1.2-billion loss last year) its SkyActiv tech is much to be admired, especially as it majors on driver pleasure while delivering real-world figures that will trounce a needlessly complicated hybrid.
Driver pleasure? Oh yes, the CX-5 is indeed a sweet little thing to drive. The steering is beautifully weighted and feeds back nicely, allowing you to point the nose tight into an apex, sure in the knowledge that grip is there, even on the slippery, rain-slicked Cork roads we tested the car on.
The snick-snick six-speed gearshift helps too, much inspired by the MX-5 roadster in its weighting and motions and generally the CX-5 feels all of a piece, hingeing nicely around the driver as you tackle a twisty road.
On a cruise, it settles down nicely, and that punchy 2.2 diesel engine keeps its noise levels pleasantly low at pretty much all times. It’s a very impressive unit, pulling hard with 380Nm of torque and only betraying a diesely rattle or breathless turbo at very high rpm. If this is the future of SkyActiv, then count us in. Wind and road noise are also well suppressed, although it did give in to an occasional bout of tyre roar, depending on the surface.
You will feel everything on that surface though. Perhaps Mazda is focusing the CX-5 as the driver’s choice simply because it excuses a ride quality that’s very firm and jiggly. Even on a smooth surface, there’s a constant pitter-patter and that may prove an issue for the family market that Mazda wants to attack with the CX-5. Our test car was a Sport model, so perhaps an Executive or Sport SE would be a touch smoother.
Otherwise, on the family front, the news is good. The rear seats are spacious, the boot large and square at 500-litres and the cabin feels beautifully put together and of very high quality, even if it is a touch too dark and lacking in eye-catching detail. We love the ‘Karakuri’ rear seats though which flip down at the tug of a lever in the boot. Very handy in the B&Q car park.
Standard equipment levels are very good, with a touchscreen, Bluetooth, air conditioning and, standard across the range, a city braking system that slams on the brakes if it detects an incoming low-speed collision. If you can’ avoid that collision, the body is largely constructed of high-tensile steel and Mazda is expecting some high marks from EuroNCAP.
As well as SkyActiv, the CX-5 is also the launch point for Mazda’s new ‘Kodo’ design language, which will also be appearing on the new 6 saloon come January. From the front, it’s very effective, with a deep, bold grille, nicely detailed lights and a general air of sportiness. It’s less good around the back, though, where the CX-5 tends to blandness, but the overall style is nice and it bodes well for future models.
A word on pricing. When the 2.0-litre petrol model (which you may be tempted to ignore, but which actually has very reasonable Band B emissions of 139g/km) the CX-5’s entry price point will be €25k. For now though, it’s €28k for an Executive-spec 2.2 diesel and €29k for the Sport which Mazda reckons will be its top seller. That puts it in a very competitive spot when compared to the likes of the Ford Kuga and VW Tiguan, not to mention the premium brands, which apparently some customers are already trading into CX-5’s from, but it’s a significant amount more than you’d spend on a Nissan Qashqai or a Skoda Yeti. Mazda claims that such vehicles aren’t in the CX-5’s sphere, because of size, price, spec and engines but we reckon that some customers won’t see it that way.
Still, Mazda has made a very effective product for itself here. If the economy figures stack up, then that smooth, punchy 2.2 SkyActiv diesel is a genuine revelation and the chassis, ride aside, will be seriously pleasing when you get your CX-5 to yourself on a twisty road. Kids will appreciate the spacious rear seats and the SUV style, owners will appreciate the road tax figures and Mazda’s iron-clad reputation for reliability and quality. Fix the ride and brighten up the cabin a bit and we’d call it nigh on perfect.
Addendum: It turns out that our test car was given to us with over-inflated tyres which were running a wrecking ball through Mazda's carefully honed suspension settings. Having sampled some other CX-5s since, with correct PSI settings, we can confirm that it rides firmly, but comfortably. Nice one.
Facts & Figures
Mazda CX-5 2.2d 150 Sport
Price as tested: €29,495
Range price: €25,195 to €34,895
Capacity: 2,191cc
Power: 150bhp
Torque: 380Nm
Top speed: 202kmh
0-100kmh: 9.2sec
Economy: 4.6-100km (61.0mpg)
CO2 emissions: 119g/km
Tax Band: A. €160 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested
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