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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