Mazda CX-5 a classy and economical SUV

The design of the front of the Mazda CX-5 is inspired by the cheetah

If you’re after something totally new and fresh in the compact SUV market then you should check out the Mazda CX-5.

Although a latecomer to the compact crossover segment, the Japanese manufacturer has struck gold with this handsome cheetah-inspired vehicle.

The sporty-looking cockpit in the Mazda CX-5 is well laid out

We got a chance to drive this car in Austria at the European launch earlier this year and were impressed with it on the flat winding roads of the Austrian countryside.

However, we were keen to get it home and try it out on Irish roads – and we weren’t disappointed.

The Mazda CX-5 is the kind of car that you enjoy more and more on each drive.

A five-seater, the CX-5 has a large cabin, with loads of legroom both back and front. The centre rear seat stores a pull-down double cup holder, thus turning it into a four-seater.

The boot is also very large and can fit four full-sized suitcases. Extra luggage space can be created by lowering the rear seats.

The mechanism for lowering the seats is the easiest we’ve come across – simply pull a lever in the boot and hey presto, the seats fold automatically. There’s no messing around with head rests or pulling straps to push forward or anything. I loved it.

The boot in the Mazda CX-5 is best in class and can fit four full-sized suitcases

I had occasion to travel from Dublin to Limerick during my time with the Mazda CX-5 and so got in a mix of urban, rural and long motorway trips.

It’s a really comfortable car so it was great for the 2hour+ trip to the mid-west. The lumbar support in the driver’s seat made it extra pleasant on long journeys.

I loved the driving position, being nice and high up, you had great visibility. The Mazda CX-5 also proved itself to be, what I like to call, a dancing car – the position of the steering wheel being such that you have space to comfortably tap your foot along to the music when you have cruise control activated.

I’m generally not a fan of centre storage boxes, usually because they get in my way. However, the centre storage in the CX-5, which houses the 12V/USB/aux ports, was well positioned.

The cockpit in the CX-5 has a sporty feel to it and is very well laid out. The test car was also well specced, with i-stop stop/start technology; cruise control; SatNav; steering wheel mounted controls; Bluetooth; radio/CD/MP3; dual control air conditioning; auto lights and auto wipers; and front and rear parking sensors. It also had Smart City Brake Support, which is Mazda’s fender bender prevention system.

To lower the rear seats in the Mazda CX-5 all you have to do is pull a lever in the boot – it’s the easiest mechanism we’ve come across

In particular, I liked that the CX-5 gives you a digital readout of your speed and I also liked the TomTom SatNav feature which tells you the speed limit for the road you’re travelling on.

Mazda prides itself on producing drivers’ cars and driving the six-speed manual diesel CX-5 was a pleasure.

As previously mentioned, I spent a lot of my time in this car was on the motorway and it proved itself to be an accomplished motorway cruiser, with lovely smooth gear changes to get you to 120kph.

It was also very handy on city streets and it handled very well on the narrow, winding country back roads I took to avoid the seemingly never-ending tailbacks in Adare.

Acceleration was also great in the CX-5, even from a standing start and it acquitted itself at the lights.

It was also very easy to park, despite its size, and I was very impressed with its fuel economy. In fact, I think Mazda has done well with the CX-5, with very little to detract from it.

Overall, I found it to be a handsome looking, comfortable, family car that’s well designed and well specced. It was also fun to drive.

The Mazda CX-5 is available in Ireland in three trims, with three 2.2litre diesel engine options, including an automatic, as well as a 2.0litre petrol. Prices start from €25,195.

The 2.2litre diesel Sport model I was driving costs from €29,495 and falls into Tax Band A.

Tech spec:
Engine: 2.2l 150PS Diesel
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 9.2seconds
Maximum Speed: 202km/h
Combined fuel consumption: 4.6l/100km
CO2 emissions: 119g/km
Annual road tax: €160 (Band A)

Visit mazda.ie or the Mazda Ireland Facebook page for further information.