The absence of a compact SUV in the portfolio of any car company would probably equal its rapid demise at the moment. Even the Japanese car manufacturer Mazda , which launched a completely new CX-5 model on the Czech market in the middle of last year, could not afford such a risk . It is supposed to attract customers with a pleasant but unobtrusive design, advanced Skyactiv technology and, last but not least, an affordable price. We were given an all-wheel-drive, top-of-the-line diesel engine and top-of-the-line Revolution version for editorial testing .
Design
The shapes of the car were subjected to the new Kodo design philosophy, which over time can be found in all newly produced models of the Mazda car company. The 4.5-meter-long SUV features an aggressive front with distinctively shaped headlights, a massive radiator grille and a high-set front bumper. The Czech importer equipped the tested CX-5 with additional LED daytime running lights, which, however, are located very low. An interesting detail is the chrome strip that runs along the lower edge of the radiator grille and smoothly connects to the bi-xenon cornering headlights.
The overall power of the car stands out especially when viewed from the side. The designers avoided the currently used "Korean" fads and proposed a classic SUV concept with a relatively small glass area. I find the massive mudguards, large mirrors and the negative slope of the window in the C-pillar to be very attractive. Side doors extended deep under the car are a practical matter. This solution results in maintaining the cleanliness of the internal thresholds under any conditions.
The elegant 1,840-millimeter-wide rear of the Mazda pleases with its low loading edge of the luggage compartment and large taillights. I consider the two exhaust tips, an elegant wing to reduce aerodynamic air resistance and an additional bar in the lower part of the bumper to be very effective. This comes in handy when driving through varied terrain, where painted parts of the body can very quickly suffer extensive damage.
Kodo's design philosophy has achieved a perfect result here. I appreciate the excellent balance of all three main dimensions, which makes the whole car look incredibly massive and, thanks to the height of the front part, also meets high demands for pedestrian safety. After all, the great affection for the car is also demonstrated by the owners themselves, the number of whom is increasing very quickly.
Interior
When I first sat down in the interior, I came upon a number of pleasant surprises. While all the competition bets on a more spacious rendering of the dashboard, the Mazda CX-5 sticks to the good old concept with a vertical center console and a lower central tunnel. The result is more space for the driver and passenger, which together with a higher position behind the wheel allows for royal comfort. But that doesn't mean you'd climb the ladder to the Mazda CX-5. Paradoxically, despite the smaller glazing of the body, you have a perfect view of what's going on around the car, the driver surprisingly doesn't even mind the massive A-pillars.
Another surprise is the simplicity with which the dashboard is designed. Mazda has always been good at interiors, but with the previously tested "three", the driver sometimes got lost in the confusion of buttons on the center console. The CX-5 is such a pioneer of the brand in this regard, as it does not offer more than what the driver and passenger really need. The rest of the important control elements are hidden in the guts of the information system with TomTom navigation, which can be controlled either by buttons around the small screen or by an intelligent rotary selector between the front seats. It is strikingly similar to the BMW iDrive system, but the control logic is completely different.
I immediately found the ideal sitting position behind the very well-shaped three-spoke steering wheel. Even very tall figures will not suffer from the lack of space in the area of elbows and knees, even when traveling on the back seats. Here, despite the relatively small entry space, it is pleasant to get in, for which we can thank the wide opening angle of the rear doors. Although the Mazda CX-5 is designed for five passengers, the place in the middle is more of an emergency. That's why I also appreciated the possibility of folding out the large armrest, which hides holders for two PET bottles with a volume of 0.5 liters.
Owners of compact SUVs don't only use their cars for representation and occasional off-road trips, but mainly for a family that puts a lot of emphasis on luggage space. The trunk of the CX-5 pleases with its low loading edge and basic volume of 503 liters . By simply folding the backrests of the rear seats flat, the volume suddenly increases to 1,620 liters , which is quite sufficient for the vast majority of Czech cottagers. However, with my height of 190 centimeters, I would like a larger opening angle of the rear hinged trunk wall. Thanks to my clumsiness, I hit my head on her lock countless times during the test week.
Engine
The tested car had a 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine under the hood, with a maximum output of 129 kW and a torque of 420 Nm. At this stage I would usually start looking at fuel consumption, transmission and refinement. However, I should not come across one big BUT! The diesel engine is labeled Skyactiv-D , which puts it at the top of the Czech market in relation to the competition.
First of all, we have an extremely low compression ratio of 14.0:1 , which allowed the designers to better time the combustion process. By reducing the compression ratio, the pressure and temperature in the cylinders decreases, which prolongs the combustion of the injected fuel and thus increases its utilization. At the same time, fuel combustion itself occurs only at the top dead center of the piston, which results in a greater efficiency of the Skyactiv engine in relation to units with a higher compression ratio. The proof of this is a comparison with the older MZR-CD unit, which showed a 20% higher fuel consumption with the same displacement. Skyactiv works .
However, even the best engine can be totally drowned out by the transmission. Fortunately, this is not the case with the Mazda CX-5, which hides another of its "sky" gadgets here. The new Skyactiv-Drive automatic transmission relies on a classic hydrodynamic converter, but its behavior is closer to double-clutch gearboxes. The first three of a total of six gears are relatively short, which allows quick starts from intersections and maximum use of power and torque. The other transfers are longer, but not unnecessarily so. Thanks to advanced electronics, the transmission maintains a lower engine speed and thus reduces fuel consumption. In case of sudden acceleration, the transmission is able to downshift to two gears, and thanks to the double supercharging of the engine with unequally sized turbochargers, you will feel a practically linear pull.
Drive
The average person interested in an SUV car does not have excessive requirements in terms of driving experience. It must fit well in the car, must not have high fuel consumption and must offer enough space for small items and a large trunk. However, it is precisely those driving experiences that are somehow lacking in the Mazda CX-5's competitors.
The CX-5 has not begrudged the natural sportiness of its siblings and offers quite a bit in this regard. I very quickly got used to the perfect steering with the excellently adjusted booster and good feedback, the unimaginable chassis for the class and great driving comfort. Unfortunately, the competition does not offer such a balanced ratio of all three mentioned elements.
The first kilometers behind the wheel led along the highway to Mladá Boleslav, where apart from the aerodynamic noise from the exterior mirrors, I did not notice a single disturbing element. The engine revs hovered around 2400 per minute at a speed of 130 km/h and the fuel consumption stabilized at 6.7 l/100 km after a short time. In addition, long journeys are made more pleasant by the excellent Bose audio with nine speakers, which instantly transform the interior of the car into a concert hall.
After driving down the county road, I couldn't help but experience the unadulterated sporty character that Mazda cars have. I was pleased with the practically imperceptible body tilts in corners, excellent filtering of unevenness despite the use of 19" alloy wheels and excellent seats with sufficient lateral support. Finally, someone listened to the pleas of all sporty drivers and thought with their head when designing the manual mode of the automatic transmission. Shifting higher gears towards each other and downshifting away from each other is logical and fully replaces the absence of paddles under the steering wheel. I can't complain about the all-wheel drive either. The latter adds the rear axle to the process really quickly and imperceptibly, which I appreciated many times on snowy roads. In addition, the tested Mazda was not shod with excessively wide tires (225/55 R19), so even in the snow I felt as if I was driving on rails.
Even in city traffic, the Mazda CX-5 maintains its refinement. The pleasantly tuned gearbox avoids twitching when crawling in columns, you are practically unaware of the engine at low revs. Even under the threat of future lynching, I would compare its ease of operation to the 20d unit from BMW . It is in city mode that you can also use the i-stop system, which switches off the engine when standing at intersections. It's really very smart and won't let the engine shut down before it warms up properly. The control unit also monitors the current settings of the air conditioning or the heating of the seats, and until everything is according to the wishes of the passengers, it will keep the engine running. In Prague, you will use the i-stop system often, and you will also appreciate the on-board computer item that measures the time the engine has not been running. Restarting does not only take place by releasing the brake pedal, but also by turning the steering wheel more. In urban traffic, I measured consumption of 7.5 l/100 km. This is a liter more than the manufacturer states, but the bitter winter frosts must be taken into account.
Conclusion
The Mazda CX-5 with the Skyacive-D engine and automatic transmission was able to completely win me over during the test week. For the affordable price of the basic model, it will offer an extraordinary driving performance, which draws on an excellent chassis, top-notch steering and precise shifting. Although the price of the tested piece is pushing up to 900,000 crowns, it is worth it. In the maximum equipment, the Revolution pampers its crew with comfortable heated seats, a multimedia center with intuitive controls, a blind spot monitoring system, a pre-collision system and also excellent Bose equipment. However, after looking at the tables of the German and Korean competition, prices with similar equipment are not only comparable, but even speak in favor of the Mazda CX-5, which, in my opinion, is the rightful leader of its segment among non-premium cars.
Base price of the car: 838 CZK 900
Price of a specific car: CZK 896,721
Pros:
– design
– space for the crew
– trunk
– processing quality
– perfect steering, chassis, shifting
– rich equipment
– comfort on long journeys
– Bose audio
– intuitive control of the multimedia system
Cons:
– small opening angle of the luggage compartment door
– low-mounted daytime running lights
Compare the parameters of the Mazda CX-5 with the competition
