What makes the Mazda CX-5 stand apart from its competitors?

Mazda has been making cars for quite some time now, and oh boy, they make some impressive vehicles. Not only are their cars efficient but are also fun-to-drive. Don’t believe us? Then you should take a look at the middle-East. A region where water is costlier than petrol vouches by Mazda’s cars. Think of it, cars in the middle-East are much more affordable than the other regions of the world. Still, you will see 40 per cent of the population in a Mazda.

In Malaysia, that ratio may slightly be down, but there is no denying that people warm up to these cars by word-of-mouth. The Mazda CX-5 is one such car to which the competition has no answer. Or perhaps are still searching for one.

Engine

Mazda makes the CX-5 with two petrol and a diesel engine. The latter is of more importance here as traditionally oil-burners haven’t had the same level of equality bestowed on them as petrol. Manufacturers don’t really want to get in their diesel powerplants to Malaysia and its a shame that they don’t. Have a go at the Mazda’s powerplant and you will understand what we are trying to say here. The 2.2-litre DOHC 16-valve engine with Mazda’s proprietary SkyActiv tech delivers 173 PS and 420 Nm, a bastion reserved for premium German cars only. The motor is ably mated to a 6-speed torque converter and the shifts are ever so smooth. Couple this to AWD tech and this Mazda will not only pick up the kids from the school but is also ready to play some football.

Mazda offers two petrol engines - a 2.0-litre DOHC 16-valve with variable valve timing that is good for 162 PS and 210 Nm. There is also the bigger 2.5-litre that makes 192 PS and 257 Nm. Both the engines are available only with a 6-speed automatic. Mazda offers the bigger petrol motor with AWD. Now take a look at the efficiency numbers - 14.2 kmpl for the 2.5-litre petrol, 14.7 kmpl for the 2.0-litre petrol, and 16.12 kmpl for the diesel. Users have claimed that these numbers are not a one-off in the testing environment but are near to the real world figures on a daily basis.

Features

Mazda doesn’t offer any unique features that you wouldn’t have heard otherwise. But they do give nearly all these features in the limited trims that they offer per car. The top-spec CX-5, for example, lets you enjoy the keyless entry, dual-zone AC, powered front seats, powered tailgate, head-up display, front parking sensors, traffic signal recognition, satellite navigation and radio, sunroof, 19-inch wheels and more. As part of the safety technology, Mazda offers quite a lot. The suite of life saving tech is called i-ACTIVSENSE. It brings along Driver Attention Alert, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Lane Departure Warning, Adaptive LED Headlights, Adaptive Cruise Control with stop and go, autonomous emergency braking, reverse camera with parking sensors, and a side camera. Phew! That’s a lot for even some premium car makers, let alone the competition like the Honda CR-V.

Ride and handling

It is hard to find a car that does pass the ride and handling with aplomb. Enter the Mazda CX-5. The SUV will be happy to trundle down the broken path and at the same time be ready to take on to the race track with ease. The McPherson struts at the front and multilink at the back help with the suspension duties. It’s just the right mix of tune that the Mazda engineers have been able to come up with. While the ride quality may seem a tad stiff at low speeds but at a higher rate, it absorbs all the road imperfections. The handling is primarily aided by the direct feeling of the steering wheel. The noise, vibration and harshness are well controlled. Its only at higher speeds that the diesel sounds coarse whereas the petrol sounds sporty enough.