Kia Rondo vs Mazda CX-5

What's the difference?

If you're thinking of getting an SUV because you like to sit a little higher up and want a car with plenty of room and a big boot, but don't head off-road ever, then you may be better off in a Rondo S which drives more like a car and has much of the benefits of an SUV.

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

The Rondo has a mini-people mover shape with a horizontal and high roof, an upright back and a heavily raked windscreen and pointy nose. The headlights look too big for its face but that's kind of cute in a manga-cartoon way.

Take a look at the dimensions for the Rondo S - it's bigger than you might think.  At 4525mm end to end it's 45mm longer than a Kia Sportage mid-sized SUV, and 35mm shorter in height at 1610mm tall. It's 35mm narrower than the Sportage, too, at 1805mm across. 

Clearance is about the same as a regular car at 151mm but the driving position is higher – though not as high as the Sportage's.

Inside the dashboard and steering wheel are low, the windscreen is enormous and those A-pillars either side of it are long.

On the outside you can tell a Rondo S from the top spec Rondo Si by the wheels – the S has plastic hubcaps and the Si has alloys. You can spot a Rondo S from the inside by the tiny media screen and the chunky plastic steering wheel – the Si gets a bigger screen and sleeker looking wheel.

The cabin is stylish with the brushed aluminium look trim and dark materials. The CarsGuide photographer told me he liked its '80s retro look – thing is I'm pretty sure the designers weren't trying to go for an ironic retro feel.

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 Rondo has enormous rear doors that are light and easy to swing open and when they do you have a wide and tall entrance which makes getting in and out easy. That's good news if you're not as agile or young as you used to be or if you're a parent putting kids into car seats. I find I almost double over when putting my toddler into his car seat in small cars, but the Rondo's seat height is elevated enough that there's less of a bend needed. The step to get in is low, too.

The second row is made up for three individual seats rather than a single bench seat. The legroom in all of them is excellent and even at 191cm tall I can sit behind my driving position with two finger-gap between my knees and the seatback.

Headroom is outstanding and even with my big hair I still have about 20cm of clearance.

The Rondo was already so impressively practical and roomy that it could have been terrible to drive and it still would be worth buying.

The cargo volume of the Rondo S is 536 litres, and that's 44 litres more than the boot space in the seven-seater Rondo Si which loses luggage capacity because of the foldable third row seats and 130 litres more than the Sportage's boot.

Under the boot floor is like a giant bento box of storage compartments with three equal-sized large rectangular areas big enough for handbags, shoes and laptops, a smaller shoe boxed-sized area and a tiny hidey hole big enough for my phone. Also in the boot on the right-hand side wheel are elasticised straps for – picnic blankets or whatever else you don't want flapping about in there.

There's shoe-boxed sized storage under the floor in the second row, on both sides, too.

The centre seat in the back folds flat and being hard-backed can act as a table, it also has three cup holders moulded into it. There's another two cup holders up front and giant bottle holders in all doors.

The Rondo is just as practical as many SUVs if not more so.

And here's a random Rondo fact for you – the Rondo is pretty popular with dog owners because the height of the roof means their hounds can stand up and turn around. Yup dogs love the Rondo.

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.

There's one engine in in the Rondo range – it's a 122kW/213Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol and it comes with a six-speed automatic transmission. A manual gearbox isn't available.

You may hear the engine called a GDI, don't let then name throw you – it's not a diesel. The acronym stands for Gasoline Direct Injection.

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.

Kia says the Rondo's average combined fuel consumption is 7.9L/100km or 10.8L/100km if you're keeping it urban. Our test vehicle was thirstier and was driving at a rate of 10.1L/100km according to the trip computer over a week of highway and urban use, while our city commuting saw usage jump to 17.4L/100km.

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.

You know what? The Rondo was already so impressively practical and roomy that it could have been terrible to drive and it still would be worth buying, but its on-road performance was pretty impressive.

Look, the brakes can be a bit bitey, acceleration on take-off is sharp and then the engine seems to run out of oomph and just get noisier at higher speeds, but those are my only real complaints, because the ride is composed and comfortable, the steering feels smooth and light, while the handling is impressive. I took the Rondo through the same test loop as all my test cars and it performed better than many in this price range.

Being lower to the ground gives the Rondo better dynamics than many SUVs, too. Corners that cause a good degree of body roll and tyre chirp in a Sportage or RAV4 saw the Rondo coast through perfectly stable and unfussed.

The A-pillars do obstruct visibility and at one set of traffic lights, the only way I knew I had a green arrow was because the bloke behind me was leaning on his horn. But there are small port-hole windows integrated into the A-pillars that help with visibility.

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.

The Rondo is covered by Kia's seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty. There's capped price servicing for seven years, too. Servicing is recommended every 12 months or 15,000km and is capped at $299 for the first service, $375 for the second, $361 for the third, $398 for the fourth, $336 for the fifth, $470 for the sixth and $357 for the seventh.

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.