2018 Mazda CX-5 vs 2022

What's the difference?

The CX-5 GT is a triumph of style and substance. The range is generally a tremendous value-for-money line-up and this upper-echelon offering is no different because a GT buyer will want for nothing – except perhaps Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and if we can live without those, you can too. More of a city-friendly SUV than a rough-and-ready off-roader, the GT is still capable of getting you to where you want to go, as long as you have a realistic notion of AWD-suitable terrain: think formed trails, well-maintained National Parks tracks and perhaps even, at a stretch, very firm sand.

Is the CX-5 a legitimate Adventure vehicle, or should it stay in the suburbs? Tell us what you think the comments below.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's clearly Mazda's approach to the CX-5, which is no longer the newest kid on the block, but remains a strong option in the segment.

The cabin tech and the lack of electrification options certainly carbon-dates it, but the drive experience and style are still very much up to the job.

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

People who know me, know that I put more stock in what’s under the bonnet than appearance but, having said that, I am still capable of appreciating attractive things. The previous version of the CX-5 looked good; this new one looks damn good. Everything is simply neater, sleeker and more streamlined than before, inside and outside.

Fit and finish is tighter and all materials and designs complement, rather than clash with, each other. That bright white leather – adding a real overall touch of class – doesn’t hurt either.

This CX-5 looks and feels like it sits more comfortably in the realm of sports cars than that of family-friendly SUVs – but I spend zero time in sport cars, so what do I know?

Short answer? If you like the outgoing CX-5, you're going to like this one, too. And if you don't? Well you're bang out of luck.

Me? I'm in the former camp. The CX-5 was, and thus still is, a handsome and understated offering in the mid-size SUV space, somehow managing too look smaller, sportier and a little more polished than some of its key rivals.

This is the Where's Wally of design updates, though. You'll find the changes in a new-look grille, which has a new textured design that's intended to look and feel more three-dimensional.

The lights, front and rear, have been tweaked to better match the incoming the CX-60, too. Oh, and there's some body-coloured or gloss-black – depending on the trim – elements, too.

We also welcome a new trim level, the Touring Active, which includes some bright green grille and interior elements, and a new colour in Zircon Sand.

Inside, it's largely business as usual, too. There's new and more supportive seat materials, and wireless charging across some grades, but that's it really.

Still, I'd argue the CX-5's cabin is ageing like a fine wine rather than a glass of milk, and it still fills plenty polished and premium inside – even if the tech offering (led by the 8.0-inch central screen which is crying out to be made touch sensitive) is starting to feel a little off the pace.

From the front to the back everything is pretty well suited for day-to-day life.

There is ample room for driver and passenger up front with electric adjustment for those forward pews.

Second-row travellers also get stacks of leg and headroom and the driver seat goes nowhere near encroaching on space behind. When it comes time to collapse those second-row seats, it is a 40/20/40 split.

Storage solutions include a space for phones and loose change in front of the shifter, four cupholders (two up front and a pair in the second-row centre arm-rest), and a bottle-recess in each door. Annoyingly, there are two USB ports in the glovebox, which is deep enough for a dog to sit in (only joking!), so it is difficult for the driver to readily access those as a charging point.

There are air vents for both rows.

Down the back, cargo space is 442 litres with the second row up; and 1342 litres with that row flat.

The Mazda CX-5 range stretches 4550mm in length, 1840mm in width and around 1680mm in height. It rides on a 2700mm wheelbase, and has been pretty cleverly packaged to deliver enough cabin and boot space to satisfy most people.

Speaking of which, the (auto-opening in some trims) boot opens to reveal a usable, though not massive, 438 litres with the rear seats in place, and that number swells to 1340 litres with the back pews folded flat, with both those numbers measured in VDA.

Backseat riders will find enough leg and headroom to stay happy, especially if they're my height, 175cm, or less. But the way the centre console and rear tunnel cut into the middle seat's leg room means its pretty much ruled out for adult riders.

I do love the pull-down divider's hidden USB charge points and twin cupholders in all but the base model, and the rear-sear air vents.

Elsewhere, you'll find the usual accompaniment of bottle and cup holders, as well as twin ISOFIX attachment points, one in each window seat in the back.

There has been some juggling of the CX-5 range for 2022, which has now resulted in five trim levels, four engine options, two fuel types and two transmissions offered across the CX-5 range, with prices spanning $32,190 for the entry level Maxx manual – or $2k more for the automatic – and $53,680 for the top-spec Akera auto. And to save you doing the math, that means prices are up somewhere between $800 and $1300 across most of the range. 

The Maxx cars deliver things like 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, black cloth seats, an 8.0-inch central screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a six-speaker stereo and leather on the steering wheel and shifter.

Maxx Sport models than add LED fog lamps, dual-zone climate, sat nav and hidden USB charge points in the pull-down seat divider in the back.

Next up is the Touring, which will give you keyless entry, a wireless charger for you mobile, front parking sensor and a neat boot floor which can be reversed when you’re carrying muddy gear for easier cleaning.

New for this update is the Touring Active, which seeks to up the style a bit with 17-inch alloys finished in a grey metallic, gloss-black side mirrors and Maztex seats with fluoro-green accents in the cabin and on the body work.

Still with me? Don’t worry, we’re almost there. Next comes the sporty-looking GT SP, which adds 19-inch alloys, a cool looking gloss-black treatment to the mirrors and grille, a black interior trim, a sunroof and powered boot, heated front seats, and a 10-speaker Bose stereo. You also get Mazda’s clever Adaptive Front-Lighting system, which turn with the vehicle to ensure the road ahead is always illuminated when cornering.

Finally, there’s the top-tier Akera, with it silver 19-inch alloys, ventilated Nappa leather front seats, adaptive LED headlights, and a second 7.0-inch screen.

Mazda CX-5 2022 Price List:

The GT has a 2.2-litre SkyActiv diesel engine – producing 129kW@4500rpm and a chunky 420Nm@2000rpm – matched to a six-speed automatic transmission. No complaints about this pairing.

There are four engines on offer here, and we’ll pop the details down below. But what you really need to know is that the pick of the bunch is the punchy 2.5-litre turbo, which is such a good fit for this vehicle. It pairs exclusively with a six-speed automatic and AWD, and it's a peach.

Elsewhere, you’ve got a choice of petrol or diesel, manual or automatic, and two- or all-wheel drive. Choices, choices, choices. There are plenty of them here. 

Mazda CX-5 2022 engine options:

We recorded 8.3L/100km for about 160km of daily driving (country, suburban, city and freeway) and 8.7L/100km for 150km of AWD-appropriate touring (including a substantial amount of dirt-road driving). The CX-5 has a 58-litre fuel tank

Non-turbo vehicles are equipped with a 56-litre tank, while the turbocharged models nab and extra two litres for 58 in total. There’s no electrification on offer in the CX-5 family, and with petrol prices increasingly horrific these days, that’s also something that weighs on your mind. 

The good news is that petrol-powered examples of the CX-5 run on the cheapest 91RON fuel. The bad news is that with no electrification on offer (like hybrid or PHEV), and fuel prices reaching skyward everyday, there's no real way to mitigate those costs.

We were putting the 2.5-litre, turbocharged models to harder work than they would normally be subjected to, but we also retuned fuel use figures north of 10.0L/100km. And on today's prices, that means $21 every 100km.

This CX-5 is 4550mm long, 1840mm wide, 1675mm high has a claimed kerb weight of 1744kg and an 11.2m turning circle. It feels low and long – even though it’s not really – and is rock-steady to drive, at any speed.

This CX-5 never feels like anything but a supremely well put-together unit and that makes for a smooth driving experience. Steering is light at the right time and takes on a real weight when you need it to; the 2.2-litre engine is eager and works well off changes in the six-speed auto.

It’s better suited to open-road cruising, than stop-start city driving as it tends to lag off the mark when you actually need it to swiftly budge.

Mazda reckons its staff have worked hard to make the current CX-5’s NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels much better than those in the previous model, but we’d never noticed anything in that earlier thing, and nothing in this latest model, so we have to take their word for it.

The GT is on 19-inch alloys, shod with Toyo Proxes R46 rubber.

Who says that buying a family SUV means waving goodbye to any sense of driver enjoyment from behind the wheel? 

Mazda has done a stellar job of making the updated CX-5 feel connected to the road below it, sit nice and flat through corners, and – with the right drivetrain equipped – deliver enough lusty grunt for easy overtaking or simply shortening the distance between bends.

It's no performance car, and nor is it trying to be, but it's also not some big and boat-like SUV that tips and rolls through bends and disconnects the driver from the experience.

Instead, it sits somewhere in the middle of those two polls, offering a firm-ish but comfortable enough ride in town, and a sense of athleticism when you're outside the city limits. 

One of the focuses for Mazda this time around was on the NVH (how much of the outside world enters the cabin when you're the road), and while I can't offer up a direct comparison with the outgoing model – it's been too long since I've driven one – I can report that this new car is mostly quiet and comfortable, even at speed, with very acceptable levels of wind and road noise in the cabin.

That sense of smoothness is helped along by really predictable steering, and a fairly seamless gearshift from an automatic 'box that swaps its cogs quickly and without much fuss. 

So, more of the same really from the CX-5. But to be fair, that's not a bad thing here.

Even the cheapest Mazda CX-5 gets blind spot monitoring, a driver attention alert, forward collision warning with AEB front and rear, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, active cruise, a reverse camera, rear parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert.

Springing for the Touring Active adds front parking sensors and a head-up display with traffic sign recognition, while the GT SP adds Mazda's Adaptive Front-Lighting.

The entire CX-5 range wears a five-star ANCAP safety rating, but was last tested back in 2017.

Mazda offers a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the CX-5; capped price servicing is included. The servicing schedule is set at six months/10,000km and will cost from $317 to $387.

The Mazda CX-5 is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty - which is about middle of the road by today’s standard. You also get capped price servicing, and a trip to the dealership will be required every 10,000kms.

You can expect to pay around $350 for each of the first five services.