Mazda CX-5 review

Mazda owners love the CX-5. The previous two generations of this Nissan-Qashqai-rivalling SUV have been big sellers for the Japanese brand, with owners loving the sporty handling and minimalist, user-friendly interiors.

This third-generation car has grown in length by 15cm to improve rear-seat and boot space, but sadly Mazda has removed most of the cabin's physical controls and buried commonly used functions in a large touchscreen. It's a real pity given how dedicated the brand was to retaining physical controls in its cars.

At least it's still a sharp-looking thing. You get slimmer LED headlights than before, with a stacked design housing the high and low beams near the outer edge of the CX-5's grille. You get 17-inch alloy wheels on entry-level Prime-Line models, growing to 19-inch items on the rest of the range. The back end gets pointier taillights than the old CX-5, and the new car follows the current trend of spelling out 'Mazda' on the bootlid, rather than using a neater logo.

Boot space and rear-seat space are now really competitive in the class, and we also love the way the CX-5 can be hustled down a country road without it screaming 'enough!'. Sadly, this isn't exactly an attribute in high demand among family drivers, and we'd have preferred a little better ride comfort and better fuel economy.

The CX-5 is available with a 2.5-litre non-turbocharged petrol engine with 140hp. There's a full hybrid version on the way, and we hope it's a better fit for the CX-5 than the 2.5-litre petrol. It may be a large engine on paper, but it never truly feels it, and you have to work it quite hard just to nip up to 60mph. It growls away under the bonnet with quite a pleasing noise, but it's not a relaxing experience for your passengers – and you'll be hearing it a lot. 

We managed to eke 42mpg out of the CX-5 on our test route driving rather gingerly, but on the open roads of the Scottish borders with lots of transitions from 30mph towns to 60mph roads, the fuel economy plummeted to around 25mpg. 

In short, the CX-5 feels like a bit of a step back from the previous car in many areas. Infotainment usability is hampered by the removal of the old CX-5's physical rotary controller, and it just feels a little more breathless getting up to motorway speeds than we'd like.

Oh Mazda. We used to praise your cabins for having a physical infotainment controller that allowed us to change settings without taking our eyes off the road – just like in a BMW. Sadly, the new CX-5 sees the removal of this controller, leaving you to prod and swipe your way through menus to change almost any of the car's settings.

Granted, the large central screen is sharp, quick to respond and looks quite impressive (albeit a bit off-centre), and we think the smaller 12.9-inch screen in most models looks better than the top-spec Homura model's dominating 15.6-inch item. Software-wise, both screen sizes are identical and both include wireless smartphone mirroring by way of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The system also includes built-in Google Maps. You have to use the screen to adjust things like the temperature (which is always visible at the bottom of the screen), but there are some really small fiddly icons to tap for turning the air con on and off. It's a shame and a real step back from big-font Mazda screens of old.

All models of the CX-5 also get a nice clear 10.25-inch driver's display, and as usual you can control it using buttons on the steering wheel. Mazda's also used its new logotype (that's spelling out the word Mazda, to us non-design folk) on the steering wheel boss, which again looks a bit fussier than using the Mazda badge.

We're also not huge fans of the material quality in some parts of the CX-5's cabin. We're not against cars using hard plastics in areas you don't touch, but the CX-5 has some really hard plastics exactly where you rest your elbow next to the window. Top-spec Homura models can be ordered with a two-tone black-and-tan interior, and some of the stitched tan elements on the dashboard invite prodding… which reveals that it's unremitting beige plastic. Great band name, that.

Mid-spec Centre-Line models add a head-up display which does help keep your eyes on the road for speed info and sat-nav directions, and these models also get a wireless phone charger near the centre armrest. You'll also want to pick a Centre-Line or higher model if you want a heated steering wheel and heated front seats – the entry-level model's cloth seats are unheated, but don't really need it. Centre-Line and Exclusive-Line cars get artificial leather seats, and top-spec Homura models get real leather seats which are heated and ventilated. Fancy.

At 4.69m long, the latest iteration of the Mazda CX-5 is 15cm longer than before, with 11.5cm of that growth sprouting between the wheels – giving improved rear-seat space.

I had no trouble fitting my 6'3" frame in the back seats behind my driver's seat position, and there's even plenty of headroom with the optional panoramic sunroof fitted. There's a small hump in the middle of the floor, but it's not too obtrusive, and the reasonably wide middle seat means three adults will be comfortable back there. Rear-seat passengers get two USB-C charging ports to share, and top-spec Homura models get heated outer rear seats.

Perhaps the most useful feature of the CX-5's cabin is that the rear doors open really wide, to almost 90 degrees. This makes fitting child seats and accompanying kids a doddle, but sadly the Isofix covers are the removable sort that you'll lose before you can say 'no more Cocomelon'.

In terms of boot space, the CX-5 makes a leap over its predecessor with 583 litres of space – up 61 litres on the old car. A Volkswagen Tiguan still has a larger boot on paper, but realistically the CX-5 wants for nothing, and the load lip is 1.3cm lower than before which should make it marginally easier to hoist heavy items in. All CX-5's get a reversing camera, with a handy 360-degree camera appearing on top-spec Homura models. It's worth noting that you'll lose some of the storage space under the boot floor if you pick a CX-5 model with the upgraded Bose sound system, which has a subwoofer under the load bay.

The Mazda CX-5 can tow up to two tonnes on a braked trailer, though given how the non-turbo engine doesn't feel all that grunty, we'd look elsewhere for a tow car – perhaps even to Mazda's diesel-powered CX-60.

At the moment, the Mazda CX-5 is available only with a four-cylinder 2.5-litre petrol engine. Mazda loves to apply left-field engineering principles to its cars, and the CX-5 is no different. 

Mazda doesn't really like turbochargers – they delay throttle response and add complexity, and sometimes reduce reliability. To recreate the performance of a turbocharged engine, Mazda just makes its non-turbo engines bigger – hence the 2.5-litre engine here. Sadly its 141hp doesn't feel all that strong, and you have to really use all the revs to make progress. While you can get about 42mpg on a gentle cruise, this plummets when you put your foot down. We saw as low as 25mpg on a back-road blast, which isn't ideal.

In terms of actual performance, the CX-5 is actually not all that nippy – we'd go so far as to call it slow. The 0-62mph time is 10.5 seconds, and it actually feels a bit slower than that. Hopefully the upcoming hybrid model will suit the car better and give it some much-needed low-down shove.

We used to enjoy a CX-5 with a manual gearbox (Mazda's manual gearboxes are a delight to use), but the new CX-5 is automatic only. There's also no diesel, electric or plug-in hybrid option as yet.

While the CX-5 might be a bit of a slow-coach when it comes to acceleration, it outshines most of the SUV class when it comes to maintaining momentum through corners – it's quite a lot of fun to drive, for an SUV. The steering is sharp and direct, and the chassis weights up nicely and really encourages you to lean on it. It's unusual for a manufacturer to give so much attention to the handling of a car that will normally be ferrying families about, but it does set the CX-5 apart from the competition.

The brakes are strong, and we found ourselves getting delightfully carried away on our Scottish test route, full of yumps, jumps, humps and flowing corners. If we'd been carrying our family we'd have been divorced and probably having to stop to clean up sick about five miles in… but if you're often driving alone, the CX-5 is good fun.

The suspension strikes a fairly good balance between sporting stiffness and bump absorption, though something like a Nissan Qashqai is a plusher car. The Mazda's cabin doesn't suffer from too much wind or road noise at a motorway cruise, but the engine is more audible when you accelerate than in turbocharged rivals.