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Selwyn Times: August 29, 2018

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SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />

Wednesday <strong>August</strong> <strong>29</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>29</strong><br />

Motoring<br />

Facelift keeps Mazda CX-5 fresh<br />

• By Ross Kiddie<br />

MAZDA NEW Zealand is well<br />

pleased with the performance of<br />

its sport utility vehicle range.<br />

So much so, that a new model<br />

has just recently joined the lineup<br />

- the CX-8. In total Mazda has<br />

four sport utility vehicles in varying<br />

sizes, but the most popular<br />

by far and consistently topping<br />

the sales charts in medium SUV<br />

market is the CX-5.<br />

The CX-5 has been around<br />

since 2012, and early last year<br />

it underwent a huge life cycle<br />

change, reinforcing its desire to<br />

buyers and not relinquishing its<br />

command in the market.<br />

That’s no surprise to me, if you<br />

take any vehicle out of the Mazda<br />

stable today you’ll find quality,<br />

and one which is pleasing in<br />

almost every respect.<br />

Mazda hasn’t rested on its<br />

laurels with CX-5, just a short<br />

time after the latest generation<br />

model was released, the SUV has<br />

had a bit of a makeover, there’s<br />

a realignment of specification,<br />

and an increase in specification<br />

for safety. There’s also an engine<br />

upgrade across all driveline variations<br />

– 2-litre petrol, 2.5-litre petrol<br />

and 2.2-litre diesel. Economy<br />

has been improved, emissions<br />

lowered further and refinement<br />

further increased.<br />

The latter is important, for the<br />

MAZDA CX-5: Major makeover for 2019.<br />

CX-5 has become a vehicle which<br />

thrills with its sophistication, it is<br />

smooth, quiet and amazingly civilised<br />

for what would be deemed<br />

a mainstream car.<br />

Mazda offers the CX-5 in six<br />

variants ranging from $39,995 for<br />

the entry-level 2-litre, and ending<br />

at $57,995 for the range-topping<br />

Limited diesel. Incidentally,<br />

Mazda’s prices include on-road<br />

costs and a three-year/100,000km<br />

free servicing programme.<br />

The evaluation car was the<br />

range-topper, albeit with the 2.5-<br />

litre petrol engine. Column space<br />

doesn’t allow comprehensive<br />

detailing of the engine’s combustion<br />

changes, but I can report<br />

the new unit is a work of art, it is<br />

strong, responsive, and delivers<br />

without vibration nor harshness.<br />

With outputs of 140kW and<br />

252Nm, the 2488cc four-potter<br />

also has power and torque which<br />

will satisfy under most conditions.<br />

The CX-5 is quick for an<br />

SUV, it will scamper to 100km/h<br />

from a standstill in around<br />

9sec and will make an overtaking<br />

manoeuvre in 5sec. Drive<br />

is channelled to all four wheels<br />

through a conventional six-speed<br />

automatic transmission.<br />

The latter has also had some<br />

technical changes so that it<br />

works more in harmony with the<br />

engine, the result is a fluid and<br />

balanced change of ratios, bearing<br />

in mind, too, that the driver<br />

can enhance engine urgency<br />

through a console-mounted sport<br />

mode.<br />

Personally, I used the standard<br />

• Price – Mazda CX-5 Ltd,<br />

$55,745<br />

• Dimensions – Length,<br />

4550mm; width, 1840mm;<br />

height, 1675mm<br />

• Configuration –<br />

Four-cylinder, fourwheel-drive,<br />

2488cc,<br />

140kW, 252Nm, six-speed<br />

automatic.<br />

• Performance –<br />

0-100km/h, 8.9sec<br />

• Fuel usage – 7.4l/100km<br />

normal mode for most of my<br />

evaluation at city speeds, it works<br />

intuitively and doesn’t load the<br />

engine greatly, further enhancing<br />

that economy equation.<br />

Of course, if you like the speed<br />

of sport mode the CX-5 takes on<br />

a lively personality that is useful<br />

on the long highway trek, overtaking<br />

for example, or if the driver<br />

feels like a bit a push through<br />

the tight and twisties.<br />

I had a Trade Me item to<br />

deliver to an address in Rangiora,<br />

so on return to my home in<br />

the city I used the roads from<br />

Loburn to Oxford, crossing the<br />

Waimakariri Gorge bridge to<br />

the Old West Coast Rd. While<br />

the vast majority of this route is<br />

straight, there are some tricky<br />

corners and it was nice to feel the<br />

CX-5’s clingy road manners.<br />

At almost 1.7m tall the CX-5<br />

could be excused for being a<br />

little unbalanced in a corner, but<br />

that’s not the case, with sensible<br />

spring and damper rates and a<br />

sophisticated fully independent<br />

suspension set-up there is<br />

controlled body movement and<br />

decisive suspension absorption.<br />

To be fair, the CX-5, and all<br />

others of its ilk, are not serious<br />

off-road vehicles. The CX-5 is a<br />

handy wagon that will take you<br />

cross-country in style, and it is<br />

useful when the seal runs out.<br />

However, the CX-5’s fourwheel-drive<br />

system is more for<br />

the benefit in low-grip situations,<br />

and on my journey I had<br />

to make a detour through a long<br />

gravel section, the test car felt<br />

well attached to the road and<br />

comfortable when pushed on the<br />

greasy surface. That being the<br />

case, I have no hesitation in saying<br />

that it is a car which will suit<br />

the ski-field access road, and I’m<br />

sure many owners use it for that<br />

purpose.<br />

On that subject, the CX-5’s<br />

popularity doesn’t stop with just<br />

new car buyers, the range also<br />

commands good coin in the preowned<br />

market, which is testament<br />

to the quality of product<br />

and the way buyers view Mazda<br />

vehicles in total.<br />

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