Audi Q5 vs Mazda CX-9

What's the difference?

Audi’s latest Q5 Sportback brings mild-hybrid power, updated underpinnings, more technology and a genuinely impressive interior glow-up. 

It’s clearly aimed at buyers drawn to a more athletic take on the mid-size SUV, where style plays a bigger role than outright practicality. We're testing the base petrol spec to see how it sits alongside the BMW X4 xDrive20i, Genesis GV70 2.5T and Mercedes-Benz GLC300 Coupe.

The second-generation Mazda CX-9 may have been on sale in Australia for nearly five years now, but it remains the second best-selling large SUV using unibody construction (as opposed to old-school, off-road-focused body-on-frame).

That said, it is getting on a bit, so Mazda’s given it an update with a twist for 2021, hoping to inject a little bit more life into its flagship model.

And when we say twist, we mean it. After all, who would’ve thought there’d ever be a six-seat CX-9? Well, we’ve checked it out to see if it’s the version we needed all along. Read on.