Ford Bronco vs Mazda CX-5

What's the difference?

In many respects the reasons the Bronco is not available to Australian buyers are clear and understandable - demand remains high in the US market and it’s unclear just how many Ford Australia could sell. A pessimist would point to the modest sales of the Jeep Wrangler but an optimist would point out the sales gap between the Ford Ranger and the Jeep Gladiator and ask why Ford doesn’t think it could out-sell its competition.

Having spent so much quality time with the Bronco it’s clear it would have some major appeal to Australian buyers. The strong sales of the Ranger and Everest, as well as the entire off-road SUV market - the likes of the Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, etc - it’s obvious we love a rugged, adventurous vehicle.

Ford’s strength in that area, with the Ranger/Everest combination, would seemingly strengthen the case for the Bronco to join its ‘T6’ siblings, but only time will tell.

Having spent an extended period behind the wheel I’m more convinced that the Bronco would find a strong market in Australia. Both with the off-road set and those who like a Land Rover Defender to take the kids to school. 

This is an SUV with capability and personality and that should be enough to make it a success in Australia. But for now, we need to play the waiting game…

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The Mazda CX-5 Akera G35 offers small families a great host of premium features, as well as solid power and handling – all in an attractive package. But the emphasis here is on ‘small’ families because it’s on the compact side for a mid-sized SUV and its rivals offer more back seat space.

Its ongoing costs are reasonable and I enjoy driving it, so it gets a 7.6/10 from me.

My son calls out the back seat as a bit squishy but he otherwise likes it. He gives it a 7.0/10

While we don’t have a history with the Bronco in Australia, it’s an iconic model in the US that was introduced in the 1960s to compete with the likes of the Jeep CJ-5 and Toyota LandCruiser.

It evolved throughout the 1970s, ‘80s and into the ‘90s eventually becoming an F-150-based SUV before being discontinued in ‘96.

For this revived Bronco Ford has gone back to its roots, taking inspiration from the ‘60s and ‘70s but also creating a car that is also very much contemporary.

It’s a great example of using retro design elements without getting lost in nostalgia.

It’s also hugely functional, with a removable roof and doors, which is a popular feature in the US where it’s legal to drive without the doors in place, and has deliberately short front and rear overhangs for improved approach and departure angles.

The Heritage edition takes this a step further with its pumped out Sasquatch flared guards, which are both functional and add to the chunky look of the Bronco.

Notably, the Bronco does not feature a Ford ‘blue oval’ badge, instead it only uses the ‘F-O-R-D’ on the grille and the rest of the badges are the ‘bucking Bronco’ - an alternative take on the ‘striding Mustang’ logo used for the iconic pony car.

The interior of the Bronco is interesting, showing very little commonality with the Ranger and instead embracing its unique history and design language.

The Heritage version also pops with its Oxford White dashboard inset, complete with bright red ‘Bronco’ lettering in front of the passenger.

The Mazda CX-5 hasn’t seen much change to the exterior other than a more horizontally-styled grille. It’s a medium SUV with a handsome kerb-side presence thanks to its full-suite of LED lights and 19-inch alloy wheels. It’s an inoffensive design that should appeal to a wide audience.

The interior looks premium with the brown Nappa leather upholstery and black leather trims. The plethora of soft-touchpoints throughout reinforces that the Akera is the top model.

There's one thing I really like about Mazda and that's how it manages to balance the traditional with the new. The cabin is a seamless blend of the two elements.

The instrument panel features a 7.0-inch digital display but still has analogue dials. There's a 10.25-inch multimedia system on the dash but still a bunch of control buttons and dials to press. The gear shifter is coupled with an electric brake, the sunroof is coupled with a manual blind. You get it.

This duology between high-end tech and traditional elements makes the interior feel up to date but very accessible.

The Bronco is a big vehicle so you do need to climb up into it, but Ford has considered that and integrated handles into the side of the dashboard to help you in.

That’s just one of several small but thoughtful touches around the cabin that show the company has been very considered in designing the Bronco.

The option to have either removable soft- or hard-top is another one of those design touches that show Ford was determined to ensure the Bronco appealed to a broad market of buyers.

It does mean some peculiarities, though, such as the window and mirror controls being on the centre console, instead of the doors.

It also cuts down on small item storage space, as the doors only have small netted areas rather than any meaningful space.

In fact, small item storage is limited to just two cupholders and two small areas up front and in the car there are no cupholders at all in the rear.

Instead, rear passengers are left with the small nets in the doors and nothing else. However, rear passengers do get a USB and power outlet which will no doubt come in handy for owners.

Back in the front the instrument display combines an analogue speedo with a small digital screen that displays the rest of the information.

It’s not a particularly clear layout, with a vertical rev counter next to several other readouts making it tricky to glance at on the move, and unfortunately it cannot be changed like some other digital displays.

The 8.0-inch media screen is a good size and offers Ford’s intuitive SYNC 4 operating system, which is a plus.

In terms of space the Bronco offers reasonable interior room, albeit less than you might expect when you look at how big it is outside.

The front seats are comfortable and offer good visibility of the road ahead, while the rear offers adequate legroom and generous headroom thanks to the tall and squared-off roofline.

The boot measures a very healthy 1008 litres according to Ford, which seems generous based on our real world experience.

It certainly coped well, accommodating several large suitcases and smaller bags, though, so it doesn’t lack for luggage capacity even if its on-paper claim may be grandiose.

Obviously there’s the full-size spare mounted on the rear tailgate in case you need it. The tailgate itself opens in two parts, with the lower half coming out to the side while the glass lifts up, which is necessary because of the removable roof (with the glass section coming off with the top).

Despite sitting in the medium-SUV segment, the CX-5 is on the compact side for cabin space and front passengers benefit the most in terms of leg- and headroom.

Back rowers get a decent amount of headroom but legroom is squishy and my legs press into the back of the drivers seat when its in my driving position, and I'm only 168cm tall!

My seven-year old complained about his space and asked Dad to slide forward for more room, which is something to consider if you have gangly teenagers.

The seat comfort sits on the firmer side for both rows and the electric front seats are narrower and shorter than I like for long journeys but for the A to B trips, they’re comfy enough.

Only the driver’s seat gets powered lumbar support but they both have heat and ventilation functions.

Individual storage is average for this class with a smallish glove box and middle console that has a removable shelf. A deep utility tray, which houses the wireless charging pad and a 12-volt port, sits in front of the gearshift and there are two cupholders in the centre console.

Each door has a shallow storage bin and the front doors also get a skinny drink bottle holder.

For individual storage in the rear, you get map pockets on the rear of the front seats and two cupholders in a fold-down armrest.

The armrest also houses two USB-A ports and the heat function buttons for the outboard seats and it's because of this positioning and the narrower width of the seat, that the back row feels more suited to two, rather than three passengers.

The technology on the whole is easy enough to use but the rotary dial operation of the multimedia system is a bit annoying to access while on the go.

The wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is a great feature and means one less cable to worry about but the built-in satellite navigation with 10-year map updates is a highlight. The head-up display pulls through the nav directions, too, which is always handy.

You also get two USB-C ports and another 12-volt outlet up front, so everyone should be sorted for charging.

The boot features a powered tailgate which is a handy family feature and a temporary spare tyre is located underneath the level floor.

You get 438L of storage capacity with the second row seat upright, which is plenty for my errands and grocery shop. That jumps up to 1340L (VDA) when the rear seats are folded. 

The cargo cover attaches to the lid, meaning it stays out of the way when you're loading stuff into the boot.

There are five grades for the CX-5. The top two grades, the GT SP and Akera, have a choice between a 2.5-litre petrol or turbo-petrol engine.

On test here is the flagship Akera grade with the 2.5L turbo-petrol engine. Before on-road costs, it is priced at $55,000. That positions it towards the top-end of its competitors with the Kia Sportage GT-Line AWD coming in at $49,920 (MSRP) and the Toyota RAV4 sliding in just under at $54,410 (MSRP). However, the new Honda CR-V is more expensive by $2.0K.

The Akera is well-equipped with premium features like a sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear outboard seats, a heated steering wheel and brown Nappa leather upholstery.

The technology is well-rounded with a 10-speaker Bose sound system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a 10.25-inch multimedia system with built-in satellite navigation (including map updates for 10 years).

There are some good practical features, too, like a powered tailgate, keyless entry and start as well as powered lumbar support on the drivers' seat.

The Heritage edition is powered by Ford’s EcoBoost 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and can be paired with a 10-speed automatic. 

However, our test car was equipped with a seven-speed manual gearbox, but not in the way you might think. Instead of seventh gear being an overdrive for highway cruising, the extra ratio is actually for extremely low-speed off-road use.

Known as the ‘Crawler’ gear Ford says it makes the Bronco ‘almost unstallable’ when you find yourself in a tricky spot.

Specifications for the engine aren’t quite as straightforward as you’d like, with Ford offering power and torque figures for US standard and premium grade fuels.

With the former the 2.3-litre makes 205kW/427Nm, while if you put better petrol in you’ll get 223kW/440Nm - so it will pay to spend a bit more at the pump.

The Akera is an all-wheel drive with a six-speed auto transmission and our test model has the 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that produces a maximum power output of 170kW and 420Nm of torque. The turbo ensures it never feels sluggish, even when you’re hitting hills.

Not surprisingly a large SUV powered by a relatively small, turbocharged petrol engine is not particularly fuel efficient.

The USA’s Environmental Protection Agency estimates the EcoBoost four-cylinder will use 11.7 litres per 100km on the combined urban/highway cycle.

That didn’t ring true in our real-world test, which did include long highway stretches as well as a lot of urban running around, with the car’s trip computer saying we’d used 13.6L/100km.

While that’s not particularly miserly, at least there’s a 64-litre fuel tank to provide a driving range of nearly 550km, so you can cover some distance.

The compromise for getting extra power from the turbo is fuel efficiency takes a hit.

The official combined fuel cycle figure is 8.2L/100km but my real-world usage came out at 10L/100km. That’s after mostly open-road driving this week, too, so it’s a bit thirstier than I was expecting.

Based on the combined cycle number and the 58L fuel tank, expect a driving range of around 784km – which is still great for the odd road trip.

The Bronco is designed for off-road use, it isn’t a ‘soft-roader’ and has been created specifically for those who enjoy getting off the beaten path.

Ford claims an approach angle of 43.2 degrees, a breakover angle of 29.0 degrees and a departure angle of 37.2 degrees, plus 294mm of ground clearance and up to 850mm of water fording capability. 

We, unfortunately, didn’t get a chance to drive the Bronco that way, instead spending three days behind the wheel driving it through US cities, along highways and winding our way through some picturesque mountain roads.

But despite being out of its element, the Bronco felt perfectly at home.

The fundamental qualities of the ‘T6’ platform, that makes the Ranger such a capable and popular offering with Australian buyers, shines through with the Bronco, too.

It steers with accuracy and has nicely weighted steering, rather than feeling too heavy and slow as some off-roaders can.

The ride is comfortable, too, which isn’t too surprising as it rides on 17-inch alloy wheels with huge 35-inch tyre, with bumps soaked up with ease.

Ford’s drive select system has modes for on-road - 'Normal', 'Sport' and 'Eco' - as well as off-road - 'Mud/Ruts', 'Sand' and 'Rocky' - so you’re covered whatever you want to do.

As for the powertrain, the EcoBoost engine does an admirable job most of the time, feeling powerful enough around town to move this sizable SUV.

However, there are times it will struggle and labour, most obviously when needing to overtake or climb a hill. There were several instances when we found ourselves shifting down from sixth to fourth gear to keep momentum up.

The Akera turbo-petrol delivers a decent well of power to dip into and it feels peppy in most situations. Even when you’re overtaking or getting up to speed you don’t feel like you’re nearing the bottom of the power barrel.  

Steering is responsive and the car is agile when you tackle narrow car parks or streets. However, you still get some roll in corners which my passengers felt more than I did.

The cabin is quiet, even at higher speeds and the suspension is firm enough that you feel the bumps but you’re not jostled about. The ride comfort is still good.

I’ve said it before but I love parking medium SUVs because their size is so forgiving in a car park! The Akera is no different and it’s especially easy thanks to the ultra-clear 360-degree view camera system. You also get front and rear parking sensors to help out when needed. 

The Akera has a bunch of safety features that are always great to have on a family SUV and a standout is the 360-degree camera system. It’s super clear and well-positioned on the dashboard for easy viewing.

Standard safety items on the Akera include LED daytime running lights, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, a head-up display, adaptive cruise control, a driver fatigue monitor, AEB, forward collision warning and traffic sign recognition.

The previously awarded five-star ANCAP safety rating for this model has just expired and models built from January 2024 onwards are thus unrated. The CX-5 features six airbags, which is a little low for a family car but I like how many safety features this has overall.

There are ISOFIX child seat mounts on the rear outboard seat positions and three top-tethers but two seats will fit best. Front occupant comfort is compromised when a 0-4 rearward facing child seat is installed.

These are questions for another time unfortunately, with Ford Australia still unlikely to add the Bronco to the range in the near future.

The CX-5 comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, which is average cover for the class but some of its rivals offer longer terms.

There is a five-year, or up to 75,000km capped-price servicing program and services average $423 per workshop visit, which is competitive.

Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.