2013 Mazda CX-5 Maxx Sport And Grand Touring 2.5-litre Petrol AWD Review
MAZDA CX-5 2.5 LITRE PETROL AWD REVIEW
What's hot: Familiar CX-5 winning formula with a healthy dollop of extra power.
What's not: Fuel-saving priority means slow to kickdown (without a shoefull).
X-Factor: That rare feeling of elan: a small SUV with wagon space and an 'alive' driving feel.
Engine: 2.5 litre SkyActiv petrol | Power/torque: 138kW/250Nm
Transmission/drive: Six-speed automatic / all-wheel-drive
Price (plus on-roads): Maxx Sport - $36,620 Grand Touring - $43,780
Fuel economy listed: 7.4 l/100km
OVERVIEW
When you're riding a winner, best not to muck around with it. With its CX-5 petrol range, Mazda had only one thing to attend to - putting a few more neddies under the bonnet.
So that's what it's done, and aside from a couple of trim and feature tweaks, the rest of the car is much as it was.
And not that the former 2.0 litre SkyActiv was especially slow, it wasn't (it could manage mid-nines in the 0-100km/h dash). It just huffed and puffed a bit under load and was 'doughy' underfoot in rolling acceleration - like when needing to overtake or accelerate out of a hole.
No such problems with the new 2.5 litre SkyActiv petrol under the bonnet. Its numbers aren't huge - 138kW and 250Nm - but the extra power and torque is immediately evident.
And, with little impact on fuel consumption, it makes a very good car a better one.
Queensland threw up the perfect weather conditions for a test of this type of car... it absolutely bucketed down all day (like, all day).
Sudden streams of water cascaded over the roads through the hilly sections, there were sheets of it on the flat, rivers running bankers everywhere and visibility reduced to metres.
Perfect driving conditions for a test of all-wheel-drive handling and stability, with a new more potent engine powering the show.
The 2.0 litre SkyActiv engine remains available but only in FWD models of the CX-5 Maxx and Maxx Sport. It gets a small power and torque boost (a fiddle with the engine management) which knocks margins off acceleration times.
The bigger 2.5 litre is not available in 2WD, it enters the range with the AWD Maxx Sport and mated to a six-speed automatic only.
We drove both the 2.5 litre Maxx Sport and Grand Touring. You won't pick them from the badge, there is none; externally, it's the wheels that separate them.
THE INTERIOR
Of the Japanese brands, Mazda seems to get its interiors 'rightest'. Where the new CR-V has a light hollow dash, the CX-5 has an appealing soft-touch surface anchored with a neat, shiny-black faux-carbon strip running left to right.
And where the new and vastly improved RAV4 is a mix of elements and shapes inside, the clean understated lines of the CX-5 give it a feeling a class and elegance.
This is why buyers like the CX-5, and why it is so easy to enjoy: spend your money on this car and you'll feel you've spent well - that it's a quality purchase.
2013_mazda_cx_5_maxx_sport_australia_05