2023 Mazda CX-5 G25 Touring Active AWD Review

Upon its release way back in 2012, the first generation Mazda CX-5 became an instant hit with the Australian car buying public. The CX-5 marked the start of Mazdas pivot towards focusing on SUVs, with no less than eight different SUV models in its local range. Now in its second generation, the CX-5 continues to be a favourite in Australia – in 2022 it was the fifth best selling vehicle in Australia. For the 2023 model year, Mazda has updated the CX-5 with a new engine naming structure and some additional equipment. We tested the 2023 Mazda CX-5 Touring Active with the naturally aspirated ‘G25’ petrol engine to see if it’s a medium SUV that deserves to be on your shopping list.

Being in one of (if not the) most lucrative segments on the new car market, the CX-5 has some stiff competition. There are plenty of competitors to the CX-5 including the Toyota RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Subaru Forester, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Haval H6, Nissan X-Trail and the Honda CR-V. Let’s find out how the Mazda CX-5 stacks up to its rivals.

Price & Equipment: 7.5/10

These days you can step into a Mazda CX-5 for $36,110 plus on-road costs – but that’s for the base Maxx. In the middle of the local line up is the 2023 Mazda CX-5 Touring Active, which is priced at $44,600 plus on-road costs (roughly $49,000 drive away, depending on location). Adding $3,000 to the price is the optional ‘D35’ twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine not fitted to our test car.

The Touring Active variant of the Mazda CX-5 does come well equipped. The standard equipment list includes 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic all-LED lighting with automatic wipers, heated and auto-folding mirrors, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, keyless entry and start, a leather steering wheel with paddle shifters, six-way manually adjustable front seats, ‘Maztex’ artificial leather and synthetic suede upholstery (with lime green accents), a 7.0-inch digital driver’s display, a heads-up display, an 8.0-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation and digital radio, a six-speaker sound system, a wireless phone charger and dual-zone climate control with rear air vents. 

Safety equipment includes six airbags, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert, auto high beam, road sign recognition, tyre pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, auto emergency braking (AEB) in both forward and reverse, driver attention monitoring, traffic sign recognition, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. The CX-5 range was awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2017.

The only option available on the 2023 Mazda CX-5 Touring Active is metallic paint. The standard no cost colour range includes ‘Deep Crystal Blue’, ‘Eternal Blue’, ‘Sonic Silver’ and our test car‘s ‘Jet Black’, but for an additional $795, you can choose from ‘Zircon Sand’, ‘Machine Grey’, ‘Polymetal Grey’, ‘Soul Red Crystal’ and ‘Rhodium White’.

The CX-5 Active Touring is reasonably well equipped, but we would like to see an electric driver’s seat, a power tailgate and heated seats added to the standard equipment list.

The closest rivals we would put up against the CX-5 Touring Active are the Subaru Forester 2.5i Sport that costs $44,840 plus on-road costs and the Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire that’s priced at $46,740 plus on-road costs. All of these cars are mid-sized SUVs with naturally aspirated petrol engines and all-wheel drive.

Despite costing $240 more than the CX-5, the Subaru gains larger 18-inch alloy wheels, an extra airbag, a front and side camera, a full-sized alloy spare wheel, lane trace assist, Matrix adaptive high beam, front and rear fog lights, a power tailgate, an electric driver’s seat with memory settings and rear privacy glass. Is that extra level of equipment worth the extra spend? In our opinion, definitely.

The Outlander Aspire AWD is $2,140 more expensive than the CX-5 Touring Active but gains two extra airbags, a 360-degree camera, larger 20-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, a power tailgate, electric driver’s seat with electric lumbar, heated front seats and a third row of seating. Like the Forester, the Outlander proves that the CX-5 Active Touring could offer more standard equipment and therefore, better value for money.

Engine & Performance: 8/10

The standard engine available on the 2023 Mazda CX-5 Touring Active is a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol unit that is used in a plethora of other Mazda models. In this guise it produces 140kW of power at a high 6,000rpm and 252Nm of torque at 4,000rpm. In the Touring Active, power is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed torque converter automatic transmission. Those outputs put the CX-5 in a good position against rivals – the Forester makes 136kW/239Nm and the Outlander makes 135kW/245Nm, but both are larger and heavier than the CX-5, and both use CVT automatics.

The engine code has now changed to ‘G25’ (Mazda talk for a Skyactiv-G petrol engine that has a capacity of 2.5-litres) and is used in the majority of the CX-5 range. While a turbocharged version of this engine making 170kW of power and 420Nm of torque is available in higher-spec CX-5 models, we think that the G25 engine is more than enough for most buyers because it provides sufficient performance around town, while it’s also refined for the segment as well.

The six-speed automatic transmission could use an extra ratio or two, but we still think that it’s one of the best on offer in the segment, especially compared to the CVTs on offer in the Outlander and Forester. It’s very well tuned to react to driver input – like most other transmissions on the market today, it’s tuned to keep revs low to aid in saving fuel so it shifts up as early as possible, but a slight change in throttle position makes it quickly downshift a gear or two to get into the engine’s power band. If that’s not reactive enough for you, the paddle shifters are there for extra control.

The claimed combined fuel consumption of the 2023 Mazda CX-5 G25 Touring Active is 7.4L/100km with claimed CO2 emissions of 172g/km, which is reasonable in the segment – by comparison, the equivalent for the Forester is the same 7.4L/100km and the Outlander is rated slightly more at 8.1L/100km. In our testing, we achieved 8.9L/100km through mostly urban driving. The CX-5 fitted with the G25 engine can run on 91RON fuel and has a 58-litre fuel tank.

Ride & Handling: 8.5/10

As you’d expect for one of the best-driving mid-size SUVs since its inception, the 2023 Mazda CX-5 drives quite well – especially for an enthusiast – thanks to its keen driving dynamics, firm but comfortable ride and excellent noise suppression efforts. As with most other Mazda products, the CX-5 offers lots to the enthusiast but, importantly, it’s not uncomfortable with a nicely supple ride quality regardless of the surface (especially on the smaller 17-inch wheels of the Touring Active). The driver is definitely more connected to the driving experience than in the Forester or, in particular, Outlander.

The road noise levels in the CX-5 are pleasingly low compared to previous CX-5 models, though the visibility isn’t amazing – thankfully the active safety systems are great. We appreciate how subtle they are, and if you want them to be more or less attentive, you can change them in the car’s settings. One new feature for the CX-5 is a new off-road setting in the car’s drive mode selection, which tunes the stability control and other elements of the driving experience for greater off-road ability than other CX-5 models. It’s great for dirt roads, but a serious (or even moderate) off-roader the CX-5 is not – those wanting more off-road ability in this segment will be quite happy in a Forester.

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

While this generation of Mazda CX-5 has been on sale for six years now, the cabin is still a pleasant place to spend time thanks to quality materials and great integration of technology. While it does feel older than much newer cars like the Mitsubishi Outlander, Mazda has kept it nicely updated over the years with upgrades to its materials, technology and trims to keep it fresh. Even in a mid-spec model like the Touring Active – which features less luxurious materials than top-spec GT SP and Akera models – the CX-5’s cabin quality is great with lovely soft touch materials on the dashboard and door tops and quality switchgear.

Storage in the CX-5 is what we would call average. There are deep door pockets, a good-sized centre console, two cupholders, a place for your phone on the wireless charging pad in the centre console and a glove box – but there are no other storage spots for your wallet or for the car keys, so in the deep centre box they go. The CX-5’s seats could also be larger too – we found them to be a bit short for taller drivers, and having electric adjustment would make the driving position better too.

The 10.25-inch infotainment screen that sits atop the 2023 Mazda CX-5 dash looks nicely premium compared to its rivals. The quality is nice and crisp, which is welcome as Mazdas of past have had somewhat grainy screen quality. Navigating the infotainment system is done solely through a click wheel in the centre console – it’s not a touch screen, unfortunately – and that can be annoying for going through smartphone mirroring, though it’s great for navigating the native menus. The wireless Apple CarPlay and Android auto smartphone mirroring worked flawlessly for us as well.

While the front cabin of the CX-5 is impressive, the rear is not quite as positive. The seats themselves are very comfortable and the doors open quite wide to 90-degrees for easier insertion of child seats, but the space on offer just isn’t as plentiful as its rivals. Having said that, rear amenities are generous and include a centre armrest with cupholders and storage, map pockets, door pockets and rear air vents.

The soft touch materials from the front carry into the rear and there are two USB charging ports – though they’re annoyingly located in the arm rest, which means that it has to be lowered for them to be used.

Opening the boot reveals a reasonable 438-litres of cargo space, though that is smaller than the 478L Outlander and 498L Forester. Folding down the rear seats opens the cargo space up to 1,340L, which is not huge in the segment – a Forester offers a full 400L more at 1,740L with its seats folded, for example. However, it is a well finished boot and there are some helpful features like hooks and tabs to fold the seats. There is also a handy dual-level boot that can be reversed from a carpet floor to more durable plastic, which is great for carrying dirty loads. Underneath the boot floor is a space-saver spare wheel.

Service & Warranty: 8/10

Mazda offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre with all its new vehicles, which is the same warranty that is offered with the Subaru Forester – Mitsubishi offers a similar five-year/100,000km warranty but if you service through the brand’s dealer network, that can be extended to 10 years and 200,000km in total. The Mazda CX-5 also comes with five years of roadside assistance – more than the Forester’s 12 month offering and the Outlander’s (up to) four year offering.

The 2023 Mazda CX-5 Touring Active requires being serviced every 12 months or 15,000km, which is the same as the Mitsubishi Outlander though the Subaru Forester has odd 12-month/12,500km intervals. The cost of servicing the 2023 Mazda CX-5 Touring Active over the span of five years or 75,000km is $2,114 (or $422.80 annually on average). This is higher than the $1,595 ($319 annually) Mitsubishi charges to service the Outlander over the same period, but less than Subaru charges for the Forester over five years or 62,500km ($2,674.64 or an average of $534.92 per service).

2023 Mazda CX-5 G25 Touring Active DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.0/10

Regardless of spec, the 2023 Mazda CX-5 is a great offering in the mid-size SUV segment that offers a lot to buyers, like a comfortable and good quality interior, great driving dynamics for the segment, a reasonably punchy and efficient engine, a long list of standard equipment and, in the case of this new Touring Active model, some more flair in the way of the lime green highlights. Add in healthy stock levels and Australia’s love for the Mazda brand and it’s easy to see why the CX-5 has remained so popular.

Having said that, the Touring Active is not the model we would choose in the CX-5 range – while we like the more off-road look and feel of it, it’s missing out on equipment found in price point rivals like electric front seats, a power tailgate and a 360-degree camera. Because of that, we’d actually head north to the GT SP, which costs more but adds a lot of extra equipment. Out of the plethora of mid-sized SUVs, would the 2023 Mazda CX-5 be towards the top of our list? Yes, it may be older compared to other more recent models but it still feels like a quality and fresh offering.