By Derek Price
Automotive Writer
If you want a crossover that makes you feel connected to the road — not isolated from it — it’s hard to beat the Mazda CX-5.
This mid-size family hauler was the first vehicle to get Mazda’s Skyactiv treatment, which involves trimming the weight and refining the drivetrain and handling to make it more fun and more fuel efficient.
Now for 2016, Mazda is refining it even further with tweaks to the body styling and a heavily revamped interior.
The changes to the outside are notable but relatively modest. It has a bolder, higher front grille that stands out more, along with a new headlight design that looks almost like eyes. That may sound creepy, but I think the CX-5 pulls it off with grace.
New LED lighting gives it a unique look in back, too.
The biggest changes, though, come on the inside. The 2016 CX-5 has a higher quality cabin than ever before, not that the old car was any slouch in that department.
Added soft-touch materials and a more seamless, almost luxury-car-like assembly tightness take it a notch above many of its competitors.
The Mazda CX-5 gets new styling for 2016, including more modern headlights and a bolder, higher grille.
Even the ominously named Human Machine Interface — which uses a rotating knob doodad to select items on the digital screen — is better designed than in most vehicles. I generally prefer a well-designed touchscreen interface over a knob or selector, but Mazda designed it to be intuitive enough and respond fast enough that I didn’t mind it in this car.
There are other crossovers that look pretty and have nice cabins, though. The real reason you’d want to buy a CX-5 is because of the way it drives.
More than any other crossover in this class, the CX-5 is infused with the spirit of a sports car. It stays relatively flat in corners and responds instantly, predictably and beautifully to driver input, letting you feel the road and get a good sense for what it’s doing at any given moment on the pavement.
Power comes from your choice of a 2.0-liter or 2.5-liter direct-injected gasoline engine. My test car came with the 2.5-liter version, called the Skyactiv-G, and it felt much quicker than you would expect from its 184-horsepower number.
The CX-5’s cabin gets a heavy overhaul with lots of soft-touch materials and a tight, seamless design.
That’s the magic of Mazda’s Skyactiv engineering process. Because the CX-5 is lighter than many of its competitors and is refined for that fast response feeling, it seems like it makes something on the order of 230 horsepower. But it doesn’t, which is a big reason it earns a 33-mpg highway rating for fuel economy.
For people who like that firm, fast Mazda driving feel, the CX-5 a family-friendly way to get it.
At a Glance
What was tested?
2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring FWD ($28,220). Options: Cargo mat ($60), rear bumper guard ($100), retractable cargo cover ($200), door sill trim plates ($125), GT i-Activesense Package ($1,500), Grand Touring tech package ($1,605). Price as tested (including $880 destination charge): $32,590
Wheelbase: 106.3 in.
Length: 178.7 in.
Width: 72.4 in.
Height: 65.7 in.
Engine: 2.5-liter Skyactiv-G (184 hp, 185 lbs.-ft. torque)
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Estimated Mileage: 26 city, 33 highway
RATINGS
Style: 8
Performance: 9
Price: 9
Handling: 10
Ride: 5
Comfort: 6
Quality: 9
Overall: 9
Video Review:
2016 Mazda CX-5
bit.ly/2016cx5
Why buy it?
It’s the sportiest handling crossover in its class, with a zippy, powerful driving feel. It’s seems like a fast car from the driver’s seat but still earns an impressive 33-mpg rating on the highway.