Clean thing

Chic, spacious and a long-haul specialist: The Mazda CX-5 is a compact SUV, as it should be. Also, because he has filed an interim weakness meanwhile.

SUVs are just not cars for the city. This is confirmed by the compact Mazda CX-5, which suffers from the typical weaknesses of its species in the city. Overland, however, the competitor of VW Tiguan and Nissan Qashqai beats splendidly. And since the summer also really clean.

Externally, the compact SUV is a round thing: The elaborately modeled grille with its formative chrome trim looks high-quality, the strong flanks and the consistent rear design make the Mazda stand out from the still growing mass of medium-sized crossover. Since the generational change in the middle of 2017 also fits the interior to the outer appearance, the materials are more expensive than its predecessor, processing and ambience must not hide from VW and the Koreans. The instruments are clearly legible, the operation is after a short familiarization no mystery. Only the unusually small screen on the dashboard does not look contemporary in times of display gigantism.

When it comes to space especially the two front seats and the trunk can convince. The latter is not only spacious, but also good to load over the big flap. If you fold the rear seats over the handles on the side of the luggage compartment, you can get up to 1.608 liters of bulky goods. Smaller parts are secured in a compartment under the loading floor from flying around. Point deduction is available for the very high loading sill - a common phenomenon in this vehicle class, which makes loading heavy objects power-consuming. By contrast, entry through the wide-opening doors on the comparatively high-mounted seats is easy. Especially in the front, it is airy, the back space is indeed good for even larger adults, the high shoulder line and the massive C-pillar, however, make the rear look narrower than it really is. Which also addresses a general weakness of the CX-5: the moderate clarity, especially to the rear. The optional reversing camera is therefore a clear buy recommendation.

But even with the video from the vehicle rear, the CX-5 is not a handy city car. The 2,12 meter width from the exterior mirrors to the outside mirrors and the turning circle of 12 meters already stand in the way. That the city is not the preferred run of the SUV is also the chassis to understand, which acts at low speed with bad roads a bit stiff-legged and bumps bumps only moderately. Significantly better is the speed of travel comfort out of town. There, the quite agile vote of the Mazda, who can handle fast corners better than many others of his kind.

The mounted in the test car 2,2-liter diesel with 110 kW / 150 horsepower provides for powerful passage, making the Mazda a more confident and sportier impression than the bare technical data suggests. For the power transmission ensures in the specific case, a precise to be switched six-speed transmission. Who wants an automatic, must take with a six-speed box Vorlieb, but already in the standard specifications for a hefty fuel consumption of half a liter. And the diesel is not a special economy engine even in the manual version: In the test vehicle with four-wheel drive, he was at 6,5 liters and thus clearly above the manufacturer of very optimistic 5,2 liters (NEDC).

After all, Mazda has improved the exhaust behavior of the four-cylinder engine. The Japanese did not use an SCR catalytic converter for exhaust gas purification in the first year after their market launch in Europe, but since the summer of this year, they have been 2018 standard. In the US, he has always been, in this country initially meant to be able to do without. Now that the problem with the exhaust gas is solved, there's little against buying a CX-5 diesel. Even the price is not: 28.290 Euro costs the 150-PS diesel engine with front-wheel drive and basic equipment, 35.490 Euro with all-wheel technology and the then mandatory top equipment. Extras are almost only in packages, which makes them relatively expensive.

Specifications - Mazda CX-5 2.2 Skyactiv-D AWD:
Five-door compact SUV: Length: 4,55 meters, Width: 1,84 meters (with exterior mirrors: 2,12 meters), Altitude: 1,68 meters, Wheelbase: 2,70 meters, Boot volume: 506 liters (with folded-back 1.608 liter rear seats).

2,2-liter diesel engine, all-wheel drive, six-speed manual transmission, 110 kW / 150 PS, maximum torque: 380 Nm at 1.800 - 2.600 rpm, 0-100 km / h: 10,1 s, Vmax: 199 km / h, average consumption: 5,2 l / 100 km (WLTP: 6,6), CO2 emissions: 137 g / km (WLTP: 175 km / h), emissions standard: Euro 6d-temp, efficiency class: A, test consumption: 6,5 , 100 l / 35.490 km, price from: XNUMX euros.

Short description - Mazda CX-5:
Why: because he is one of the most beautiful models in his class
Why not: because it is too clunky for frequent city traffic
What else: VW Tiguan, Hyundai Tucson, Nissan Qashqai