2017 Mazda CX-5 vs Subaru Outback

What's the difference?

The Mazda CX-5 was a genuine phenomenon. It pretty much came out of nowhere and knocked off a few cars we previously thought had an unassailable grasp on the Australian SUV budget.

Even more extraordinary was the fact the stylish CX-5 came from a company that had given us a fairly bland decade of cars, after a flourish in the late '90s descended into a series of dull boxes (although the 3 did signal a revival).

I drove a first-gen CX-5 late in its life and found it hard to believe it needed replacing. But in 2017 that's exactly what Mazda did. Fresh sheetmetal, lots of detail work, and a new interior were all dropped on to a lightly updated chassis to give us the second-generation CX-5.

And a lot faces ended up buried in hands at other car companies because it turns out Mazda did a smashing job second time around.

Australians get a pretty good deal from Subaru. We have not one but two cars named especially for us. The Liberty is known everywhere else as Legacy and frankly, I reckon we got the better name, so we can thank that venerable veteran's organisation for that one.

Second is the Outback. Essentially a jacked-up Liberty station wagon, Subaru obviously liked the name and so we got our second Australian-themed moniker, this time exported all over the globe. The Americans are particular fans of this one.

It's no secret Australians love a wagon that can go places (we're not alone in that regard, just make sure you call it an SUV if it looks like one!), and as the Outback has evolved it has leaned towards being more rugged, a bit like what Subaru has done with the Forester.