2013 Mazda Cx-5 Sport Experts Review and Ratings
The Auto Connection Proficient Review
July 12, 2013
Likes
- Smart, sporty styling
- Excellent, neutral treatment
- Seating height halfway between car and truck
- Good rear-seat space and access
- Base of operations Sport model decently equipped
Dislikes
- Engine lacks power when you lot need it
- Hard acceleration gets noisy
- Rear quarter vision minimal
- Six airbags seems sub-par these days
Ownership tip
features & specs
AWD 4-Door Automatic Chiliad Touring
AWD iv-Door Automatic Sport
AWD 4-Door Automated Touring
The 2013 Mazda CX-v is an attractive and modern crossover with keen handling and surprising space, but sluggish acceleration.
The 2013 Mazda CX-v is the company'due south starting time all-new crossover utility vehicle in several years. It replaces the discontinued and low-book Mazda Tribute (a lightly modified sometime-way Ford Escape) and the CX-7, which is slightly larger just has no more than interior room and considerably worse gas mileage.
Aimed right at the centre of the compact utility market, the new CX-5 offers an attractive alternative to the perennial best-sellers—the new 2013 Ford Escape, the redesigned 2012 Honda CR-Five, and the Toyota RAV4 and Chevrolet Equinox, which take been with us now for a few years.
In its favor, the CX-5 is stylish, capacious, handles beautifully, and should render some of the highest gas mileage figures in the category. Its notable drawback is that the fuel economy comes at the expense of ability—in some circumstances, there'south just non quite enough oomph there to exist competitive.
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The CX-5'due south lines are typically Mazda, with expressive design, big wheel arches, and a rising window line. Up front, yet, Mazda has thankfully ditched the grinning "smile" look for a handsome trapezoidal grille shape. Inside, the look is pragmatic, with restrained silver trim and sporty red piping on the high-level leather seats.The auto is sensitive to colors, though, with lighter shades accenting the meridian of its doors and darker tones making it lower and sportier.
The 2013 Mazda CX-5 comes with only a single engine, a new 155-hp 2.0-liter 4 offered with either a six-speed manual gearbox (in front-cycle bulldoze only) or a six-speed automatic (which can exist ordered with all-wheel bulldoze besides). The entire powertrain is tuned for maximum efficiency, equally is the vehicle design, the showtime Mazda to be completely designed under the visitor'due south SkyActiv philosophy of maximum efficiency from every component and feature.
The fuel efficiency is remarkable for a vehicle this size--EPA combined ratings are 28 mpg with all-wheel drive, 29 mpg for forepart drive--and we saw 27.4 mpg on a 350-mile road test of nigh 2-thirds highway mileage. Merely the transmission is strongly biased toward depression engine speeds, and to get operation out of it, drivers must accelerate hard and the manual usually has to be downshifted non once but twice.
That said, we found the CX-v to be simply the best treatment crossover we've driven. Mazda demonstrated its pride in the roadholding by inviting journalists to take the CX-5 around the notorious Laguna Seca racetrack, where information technology acquitted itself admirably. If you lot've come out of a sports sedan or a hot hatch and are moving up to a meaty crossover, this is the one for you.
Inside, the seats are comfy and well-bolstered upwards front, and in that location'due south enough of room in the dorsum seat for even vi-foot adults. The load floor is long and flat, with a clever folding system for the 40/20/forty split rear seat. And the CX-5 is quiet under most circumstances--though difficult acceleration and engine revving bring out more engine noise than we'd expected.
The CX-v comes in three trim levels: Sport, Touring, and Grand Touring. The base Sport starts at $20,695 (plus a mandatory $795 delivery fee), and the highest level K Touring with navigation and other options runs just above $30,000--a good price against some other competitors.
The 2013 Mazda CX-5 is one of the virtually attractive crossovers effectually, though its interior is business-similar rather than luxurious.
The 2013 Mazda CX-5 is the company's first new design executed under its 'Kodo: Soul of Motion' design philosophy, and it sets a promising direction for time to come products. Less overwrought than previous smile-faced Mazdas, the CX-5 has a strong but not aggressive forepart with a long hood and windshield pillars set further back than other crossovers—giving it more of a sports-car profile.
The upright five-point Mazda grille and swept-dorsum headlights are distinctive, and the side profile stands out as well. Parked nose in, though, and despite its raked tailgate and deep abaft roof spoiler, the CX-5 vanishes in a row of similarly proportioned crossovers.
Inside, the new Mazda has a calm, business organization-like interior that's functional and bonny—and, once more, not nearly as overdesigned as some competitors' dashboards. The dash and centre stack are black, surfaced in soft-impact plastics, with either black or "sand" beige upholstery (in material or leather), the latter providing a nice ii-tone interior.
Instrument faces are some of the simplest we've seen, with black needles, blackness backgrounds, and white numbers. They're just this side of severe, but work well—our just complaint being that a 160-mph speedometer in a family unit vehicle makes little sense and crams the department you need to watch into less than one-half the needle sweep.
Mazda'southward color palette remains stunningly basic: two reds, two dejection, two whites, silver, gray, and black. They all piece of work fine, only with other crossovers using more adventurous hues—Root Beer, anyone?—we wonder whether the CX-5 won't seem overly plainly in comparison.
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The 2013 Mazda CX-5 handles superbly and is a smash to bulldoze, but it's permit downwards past a lack of power in situations where drivers need it well-nigh.
In that location'south no getting past it: The 2013 Mazda CX-five may be the best bulldoze of whatever compact crossover. Mazda engineers spent a great deal of fourth dimension working on linear command feel, and it shows. The CX-v is sure-footed enough that drivers can cease upward traveling 15 mph faster than they realize. It corners flat and its acceleration, braking, and handling all experience thoroughly integrated and reassuringly predictable—so much and so that it'south difficult to observe anything to say except that they're merely right.
As the sportiest compact crossover on the marketplace, the 2013 Mazda CX-5 handles well just rides firmly. The ride quality can get decorated and nervous on a few route surfaces, and house to choppy over state highway expansion joints, but those conditions simply occur on a small number of roads, and overall the Mazda crossover feels solid and reassuring.
The CX-5 is fitted with a 155-horsepower two.0-liter engine that produces 150 lb-ft of torque and features a 13:one combustion ratio, the highest of whatsoever gasoline engine on sale in the U.S. The engine is paired with either a vi-speed manual or six-speed automatic, with all-wheel drive offered in every trim level. The company says it expects about 10 percent of CX-v buyers to opt for the manual.
The major drawback to the CX-5 is that it feels underpowered in situations where more than power means safer driving. Uphill freeway on-ramps, for instance, require thought and pre-planning, and information technology'south still a game to wring enough ability out of the engine to keep upwards with traffic. Mazda quotes 0-to-60-mph acceleration times of 8.8 seconds (for the half dozen-speed manual) to 9.iii seconds (for the all-wheel-bulldoze model).
Mazda has tuned its automatic to friction match revs advisedly on shifts, and then while information technology sounds most like the engine noise slurs temporarily during shifts, in that location's no jolt whatsoever when the power re-engages. The manual mode on the automatic holds the designated gear indefinitely, unlike most other cars, which revert to automatic after a set menstruation of time. Novice drivers will take to go accepted to pushing the lever forward to downshift, dorsum to upshift—the reverse of the usual setup, but one which Mazda feels very strongly is "the right manner" to set it up.
Despite a fairly flat torque curve, the engine is most powerful higher up 3000 rpm, so making it sing is the best way to advance swiftly. Whether that'due south how crossover buyers want to drive is another question.
The new CX-5 is the first complete Mazda to incorporate "SkyActiv" technologies, in which every component of the vehicle is designed to exist as lightweight and high efficiency as possible. This sounds similar simple stuff, just Mazda expects to go some of the highest fuel-economy ratings in the class without resorting to turbocharging, hybrids, or any of the other pricey ways carmakers can boost mileage.
Instead, the engine has a large and complex 4-into-2-into-one exhaust manifold that improves combustion efficiency but requires the engine compartment to be designed around it, and every component is lightened. The CX-v's curb weight varies from 3210 to 3430 pounds, lighter than almost competitors, and it quotes a elevate coefficient of 0.33, low for a crossover.
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The 2013 Mazda CX-five has more space inside than you might imagine, for people and stuff, and the driving position is well-nigh perfect.
Mazda has put a lot of effort into making the CX-v a usable SUV, enlarging door openings for easy entrance and exit to both the front end and rear seats. The seating height is halfway between that of a car and a sport-utility, high enough for practiced visibility and confidence but low enough so occupants don't have to pace upwards but can simply swing themselves in through the opening.
The seats themselves are comfy both front and rear, with adept bolstering in front end to hold occupants in place. Hollowed-out seat backs in the front give plenty rear-seat legroom for 4 six-foot adults to sit comfortably without contortions. Mazda says rear-seat legroom is the best in the grade, though we'd wait for last 2013 Escape figures before cracking the champagne.
For the driver, the manual shift lever is in the right place and offers Miata-manner short throws, while a bottom-hinged accelerator pedal reduces foot fatigue on longer trips. A cell phone fits into the arm-rest recess, which has a rubber mat at the bottom, and there'south a console bin, a sunglasses holder, and another flat tray at the front of the console. The interiors include a handsome soft-touch dashboard acme surface, and our test vehicles appeared well assembled.
The CX-5 offers a long load bay with a low lift-over meridian and no protruding shapes; again, Mazda says its volume is best in class. Single-pull releases for the 40-20-40 separate rear seat-back cushions are standard in the cargo surface area, though the system (which moves the rear seat cushion forward and downwardly) requires the rear headrests to be removed starting time. On the other hand, Mazda provides 2 dished trays outboard of the load expanse into which those headrests fit neatly—a very dainty bear upon we wish every maker would copy.
I passenger-friendly characteristic that Mazda has carried over from its larger seven-seat CX-9 crossover is door bottoms that extend down around effectually to cover the door sill. This keeps dirt, slush, and h2o off the sill, which in turn keeps it off passengers' article of clothing as they climb in and out.
Noise is well suppressed until the engine has to rev—which information technology will do often to motility the automobile along expeditiously—and at higher speeds, information technology'south quiet plenty within that current of air dissonance from mirrors is apparent. It'southward especially silent at idle, when a glance at the tachometer may be needed to see if the engine is running.
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The 2013 Mazda CX-5 gets tiptop IIHS ratings for crash prophylactic, but its six airbags seem minimal and its rear-quarter vision is dreadful.
Dissimilar other makers who now fit up to 10 airbags, the 2013 Mazda CX-5 has six: two for the front passengers, two side bags, and ii window curtains.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the CX-v its highest ratings of "Good" for frontal offset and side impact crash tests, for roof strength, and for rear crash protection. The IIHS also designated the CX-5 a "Acme Safety Pick." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the CX-5 four out of five stars on frontal rollover ratings, and a five-star rating for side-impacts, averaging for a four out of v star overall rating.
The 2013 CX-5 has the usual complement of electronic aids, including stability and traction control, anti-lock brakes, and other safe control systems. And its handling is so predictable that we wait more drivers than usual only to bulldoze around or away from potential dangers. Mazda is besides peculiarly proud of the stiffness of the entire body shell, despite its light weight.
Visibility to the front end and sides is very good, with clearly defined corners visible from the driver'southward seat, a depression hoodline revealing a lot of the road ahead, a low beltline, and large door mirrors mounted low and far enough back that there'due south a gap betwixt them and the windshield pillar—improving the commuter's ability to see pedestrians and road shoulders to the side.
Rear quarter vision is as bad as the front end visibility is good, though. Over their shoulders, drivers will see only gigantic blind spots on the corners, with the small triangular windows offer little help. A rearview camera for reversing is offered on the college trim levels, simply this is a machine in which we call up it's an accented necessity.
The 2013 Mazda CX-five focuses its features on the passengers and leaves the driver to bulldoze, and the decently equipped low-finish Sport model is a plus.
The 2013 Mazda CX-5 comes in three trim levels: the base Sport, the mid-level Touring (which is expected to make up the bulk of sales), and the luxurious Grand Touring. To Mazda'due south credit, information technology offers all-bicycle drive on all three models.
The Sport includes a tilting and telescoping steering wheel with audio controls, remote keyless entry, a Offset push button, power windows and doors, and 17-inch blend wheels (on the automated model). An optional Bluetooth package for the Sport only adds Bluetooth pairing, an in-dash colour monitor, Hard disk drive radio, and Bluetooth controls on the steering wheel.
The Touring adds a vi-mode ability commuter's seat, bullheaded-spot monitoring, a v.8-inch in-dash touch screen with a reversing camera, HD radio, Bluetooth phone and audio pairing, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. On the Touring, a Moonroof/Bose packet combines a 9-speaker Bose audio arrangement with a power moonroof.
At the elevation of the lineup, the Grand Touring offers larger 19-inch blend wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery, an eight-way power driver'southward seat with lumbar support, heated forepart seats, the nine-speaker Bose audio system and power moonroof as standard, rain-sensing wipers, and car-on/off headlights..
Options include a Tomtom navigation system equally function of a Applied science bundle on the Touring and One thousand Touring models that likewise adds keyless entry, automobile-leveling HID headlamps, an automobile-dimming rear-view mirror, a infiltrator alarm and, on the Touring only, rain-sensing wipers.
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The 2013 Mazda CX-5's EPA ratings of 28 mpg with all-wheel bulldoze and 29 mpg for FWD are very adept for a non-hybrid crossover.
The EPA rates the front-bike drive versions of the 2013 CX-5 at a combined 29 mpg, which is remarkably good for this class of meaty crossover. If you social club it with the six-speed manual, you'll get a slightly higher highway rating (35 mpg vs 32 mpg) than with the half-dozen-speed automatic, but both versions get the same 26-mpg urban center rating.
Adding all-wheel bulldoze (available simply with the automatic) imposes a slight penalty: It's rated at 25 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 28 mpg--perhaps even better comparatively for compact crossovers with all-wheel drive.
Our test bulldoze covered 140 miles in total, split betwixt pike travel and winding two-lane hilly roads. Our automatic CX-five returned 24.6 for the first leg, up into the mountains around Los Angeles, and a more rewarding xxx.3 mpg descending dorsum into the 50.A. basin.
Mazda also plans to introduce a 2.2-liter diesel engine for 2014, and while the company was coy about which vehicle information technology would power, odds are it's the CX-5. It will be the showtime diesel-powered Mazda in three decades (the company sold a handful of diesel fuel pickups in the early Eighties), and it should return fuel economy figures considerably higher than the gasoline model.
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April 26, 2016
2013 Mazda CX-5 AWD 4-Door Automatic Touring
A Bang-up Compromise
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2013 Mazda CX-5 AWD 4-Door Automatic Chiliad Touring
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April 14, 2015
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Source: https://www.thecarconnection.com/overview/mazda_cx-5_2013
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