2017 Mazda CX-5 vs BMW X1

What's the difference?

The new CX-5 has certainly picked up where the old one left off, and is better in every way. The new diesel is a cracker and the safety package belongs on a much more expensive car. 

Mazda has lead the way for so long and the CX-5 was such an accomplished car, a face-lift barely seemed necessary. While it's not all-new from the ground up, this is the kind of thing Mazda has taken to doing really well - every time we drive a freshened-up machine, it's those little details that add up to the feeling a lot of work has gone on to build on a solid base.

And with this diesel engine, the big wheels and those sharp looks, the CX-5 has something for pretty much everyone.

The X1 sDrive 18d is practical and spacious, yet still engaging to drive. Value for money is great, but the quality and reputation that comes with the BMW brand makes this a special small SUV. 

If the first CX-5 impressed with its understated good looks, the new one goes further by being a very pretty car. Mazda's 'Kodo' design language looks good at just about any size, but this latest evolution puts the CX-5 in genuinely beautiful territory.

The slimmer headlights work well with a longer-looking nose and a body that looks more pulled down over the wheels. Despite bearing more than a passing resemblance to the old car, all the panels are new and that's partly because a shift of the A-pillars of just 35mm was enough to make everything move.

The cabin has come in for a much bigger change. There wasn't a great deal wrong with the old one, but it was feeling a bit old, and some of the materials weren't quite there. As ever, the CX-5's first generation launched into a completely different, rather more sparse segment. With competition from all sides, the new interior had to deliver a more premium feel.

With improved plastics and fittings, a more cohesive design (something simple like consistent fonts go a long, long way to giving that impression) and the sort of detail improvements I've come to expect from Mazda, the new interior is lighter, feels better, and looks better. Job done.

Having said all of that, I can't really recommend the white leather. It looked pretty good with the red exterior and well-judged interior materials, but it's unlikely kids will be kind to it.

An Australian, Calvin Luk, designed this second-gen X1. That’s something interesting you can tell people. It has tougher more angular styling than the first one, but still looks very much a part of the BMW X family, with those feline headlights, the famous kidney grille, those tail-lights and the upright profile, which is more brick than slick, but gives it a solid presence and stance.

The X1’s dimensions are 4439mm long, 1821mm wide, and 1598mm high. The X3 is about the length of your foot (300mm) longer, about 70mm wider, and close to 80mm shorter in height. For comparison, a Mazda CX-5 is 4550mm long.

Audi’s Q2 is much smaller than the X1, we’re talking 250mm shorter. The Q3 is still a bit shorter at 4338mm long, but the Benz GLA SUV is almost the same length at 4424mm end-to-end.

Our X1, clad in its M Sport pack, stood out alongside more docile looking X1s in the shopping centre carpark thanks to that angry looking aero kit and wheels.

Inside, the M-Sport package lifts the regular, fairly basic X1 sDrive18d’s interior to a much higher level. Those seats look amazing with the red and blue stitching, the steering wheel is very similar to the hi-po M2’s tiller, and there’s the fancier headlining, too. 

Do you need the M-sport package or any other interior package? Put it this way, I have a feeling you might be a little underwhelmed by the X1sDrive 18d’s cabin without it.

Never a class-leader in the spaciousness department, this CX-5 is still at the rear of the pack, but it hardly seems to matter. Boot space is up by 39 litres to 442 (VDA) with the seats up, tripling to 1342 litres with the seats down. The seatback is split 40/20/40 and you can drop each section individually, which is unusually generous.

The CX-5 has four cupholders (a pair up front and a pair in the rear centre armrest), a tray for your phone, bottle holders in each door and vents for the rear seat. Courtesy of a new higher centre console, the storage bin is deeper and also hides two USB ports.

The new car isn't any bigger, so the rear door aperture is still on the tight side compared to, say, Volkswagen's Tiguan or Hyundai's Tucson. It doesn't seem to bother owners I've spoken to, but it's worth noting. 

Once you're in, there is plenty of leg and headroom for rear passengers, providing the driver or front passenger isn't a Canadian Redwood.

This second-gen X1 is more spacious than the bigger BMW X3. Yes, you read that right. The smaller SUV has more room in it than the larger SUV. That’s because the X1 is based on the 2-Series Active Tourer which was cleverly designed to be a versatile sort of people mover. The X1 got the functionality benefits without the people movery looks of the 2 Series Active Tourer.

Get this: the X1 has more legroom and more headroom front and back than the X3. I won’t quote the actual specs because it’ll send you to sleep.

But what you should know is that even at 191cm tall, I can sit behind my own driving position with about 40mm from my knees to the front seat back. Headroom is outstanding too – even with a sunroof which reduced the ceiling height.

There are four cupholders – two in the back and two up front – and bottle holders in all the doors. Cabin storage is good with a bucket under the armrest for keys and purses and wallets, and a decent-sized glove box.

The X1’s boot is 505 litres (VDA) while the X3’s is 550 litres - that’s not much bigger. To show you just how impressive that is, take the Audi Q3 – it has a cargo capacity of only 460 litres, while the Merc GLA has just 421 litres of boot space.

The BMW X1 sDrive 18d lists for $50,600 which makes it the entry-point into the X1 line-up which tops out at $59,000. Still, the standard features list isn’t bad with LED headlights, auto parking, a 6.5-inch display with sat nav and rear-view camera, front and rear parking sensors, digital radio, five-speaker stereo and power tailgate.

Is that good value? It is for a BMW, but you could buy a Mazda CX-5 which is larger and has similar standard features for about $10K less or a top-spec Akera CX-5 for the same price with far more standard features.

There’s also the Volkswagen Tiguan, which is about the same size as the CX-5 and for the same price as the X1 sDrive 18d you’ll get more standard features including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which you won’t get on the Bimmer. The 6.5-inch screen is tiny when the norm is becoming 8.0-inch, too. 

Did you want me to compare it to a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V? I didn’t think so. But they’re bigger and better value. Yes, I know, but they aren’t BMWs.

That’s the point here – you’re buying a BMW which comes with the heritage, reputation for outstanding driving dynamics and refinement of that German brand. Really, if you were going to compare the X1 with anything it’d be the Mercedes-Benz GLA, Audi’s Q3, a Mini Countryman or Infiniti QX30.

Our X1 sDrive 18d was a bit special, thanks to the $2300 'M Sport' package which brings 18-inch, two-colour, double-spoke light alloy wheels, glossy roof rails, cloth upholstery with the signature blue and red M stitching, sport front seats, aluminium trim, M-Sport aero kit, M leather steering wheel and adjustable dampers.

On top of the M Sport pack our car also had the $2700 'Comfort' package which adds proximity unlocking and power seats.

The panoramic sunroof isn’t standard either. That costs $1790. Oh, and the 'Mineral Grey' metallic paint is $1190.

The grand total is $58,590 before on-road costs.

What about a Subaru XV. It’s about the same size and far less expensive? Okay, I’ll shut up.

The 2.2-litre 'SkyActiv' diesel is the only turbo in the range, for now at least. Developing 129kW and a very decent 420Nm, it has a portly 1744kg to move. Power reaches the road through all four wheels via a traditional six-speed automatic.

The diesel is also fitted with technology to reduce the clatter reaching the cabin, start-stop tech and Mazda's 'G-Vectoring Control'.

Towing capacity is rated at 1800kg for braked trailers and 750kg unbraked.

The X1 sDrive 18d has a diesel engine (that’s what the d stands for), it’s a 110kW/330Nm 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder and this car is FWD only (that’s what the s stands for – the AWD version is called the xDrive).

An excellent eight-speed auto transmission shifts the gears for you.

The sticker on the windscreen reckons you'll get 6.0L/100km on the combined cycle while exhaling 158g/km of CO2. With a 58-litre tank, that suggests a range just short of 1000km. And you know what? You might be able to do that if you don't spend too much time in traffic.

Mazda's 'i-stop' technology meant that over three weeks, we averaged 7.8L/100km in mostly urban and suburban driving. While that's a bit above the combined figure, it's not far off the urban number, 7.0L/100km.

BMW says the X1 sDrive18d needs just 4.7L/100km of diesel under combined driving conditions, we stuck mainly to the city and saw 10.6L/100km. But keep in mind, that’s probably the upper end of worst case scenario for fuel usage – heavy peak-hour, CBD traffic, suburban hills and me at the wheel.

What’s the point of a diesel engine? It uses less fuel, and produces high torque. In other words you’ll get further than petrol on the same-sized tank, and the engine can haul bigger loads without sweating as much.

Diesel does have some enviro-nastiness attached to it. NOx emissions and diesel particulates are significant pollutants. Just saying, don’t consider yourself an environmental warrior by picking a diesel – that’s what hybrids and EVs are for.

The CX-5 has always been at or near the top of the medium SUV heap when it comes to the drive. The same couldn't be said for overall refinement. The old car suffered quite a bit from a classic (and fading) Mazda fault - cabin noise. The front suspension was the worst offender, with every bump, thunk and pop reaching your ears, along with tyre roar. 

It wasn't insurmountable - you could just turn up the stereo - but around town you got used to a cacophony of noise.

The new CX-5 - as with most major updates - has changed all that. While the underbits have barely changed (testament to the popularity of the car and the quality of its fundamentals), every spare gap has been filled with noise deadening materials, there's more carpet and just more stuff to reduce the racket. While it's not exactly silent, it's not far off the Tiguan, which is arguably the class benchmark.

As before, it's a lovely thing to drive. Easy-going but accurate steering, a firm but compliant ride (this car is not intended for off-roading) and a responsive transmission all combine to make life very relaxed behind the wheel.

The star of this car is the 2.2 diesel. Quiet, smooth and distinctly un-diesel in its aural character (inside at least), it makes the CX-5 a proper all-rounder. It cruises at speed in sixth, overtakes with just a little bit of toe pressure and is quite frugal, coming reasonably close to matching its claimed figures. Around town there is little lag to deal with and the power comes on nice and smooth.

The only complaint we had was that the blind spot monitor is perhaps a little over-enthusiastic, seemingly beeping every time we used the indicator to change lanes.

Okay, apart from the badge the other reason you should be buying a BMW is the driving dynamics – this is BMW’s schtick and while the X1 is no M3 it’s more fun and engaging to drive than more affordable SUVs in this same size class.

The ride is refined – it’s composed and comfortable. The handling is impressive, too. Corners which cause many other cars to generate tyre squeal, saw the X1 sDrive 18d grip while remaining flat and silent.

The diesel engine is relatively noisy, but you’ll only notice it with the door open or the window down – so the cabin is insulated well.

Steering is smooth and accurate, although an 11.4m turning circle is on the larger side.

Now, do you need AWD? No, but I’d recommend it if you can afford it. Here’s why. My test hill is steep, and the X1 sDrive 18d’s front wheels struggled to maintain grip under heavy acceleration when pulling away from a standstill. An AWD doesn’t have the same problem because the rear wheels, which have a lot of weight on them, help push without losing grip, while the fronts pull.

So, AWD isn’t vital but it can be a helpful safety addition.

The BMW X1 has the maximum five-star ANCAP rating, but there’s not much in the way of advanced safety equipment, such as AEB, lane keeping assistance or rear cross traffic alert, in any grade . This is a gap in the X1’s defences which even many of the far less costly Japanese rivals have covered.

Mazda's three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is part of the CX-5 package, along with capped price servicing. Roadside assist is offered at $68.10 per year.

Your dealer will expect to see you every six months or 10,000km and will charge you between $317 on three of the five scheduled services, $387 for the second and $359 for the fourth. Extra items include $69 for the cabin air filter (every 40,000km) and $64 for brake fluid every 40,000km or two years.

The X1 is covered by BMW’s three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is 'condition based', meaning the car will actually let you know when it needs maintenance, but you can also opt for a five-year $1140 capped price servicing plan.