Honda CR-V vs Mazda CX-5

What's the difference?

The Honda CR-V L7’s redesign wins in my book. It looks modern and its tech feels up to date. The boot is a bit awkward to use and the comfort with that back seat could improve, but otherwise it is a solid family car. The bonus of having those two extra seats in a medium SUV is great for families who need the flexibility.

My son didn’t gush about this one but did mention how awesome his view was!

Despite being far from the most modern option on the market, I'm surprised to see how well the CX-5 is holding up, particularly compared to more recently launched rivals when it comes to driving dynamics and cabin ambiance.

In fact, this car still feels so up to the task it's hard to believe Mazda is already moving its styling upwards and onwards with spiritual successors on the way like the CX-50 and CX-60.

For now, it's hard to go wrong in the CX-5 range, and actually, the Touring Active is the value pick of the bunch if you're willing to do away with certain small luxuries which this design feels like it should have.

Honda has absolutely nailed the design of this generation CR-V! The previous model was nice to look at but by getting rid of all of the bulbous cutaways (especially in the rear) and lifting the old sloping nose, we now have a design that seems far more purposeful for this SUV class.

The LED exterior lights, including sequential turn signals and daytime-running lights at the front, are long and enhance the larger shape. The L7 sports a few black intake vents and an extended grille, which makes it look more robust, as well.

What has always sold the CX-5 is its understated but upmarket-looking design. Even after all these years it oozes cool with its big trend-setting and deeply three-dimensional honeycomb grille, tasteful chrome highlights, and sleek light fittings, which of course are all elements now emulated by other brands.

The recent update brought with it new shapely LED lights front and rear, a tweaked face, new wheel designs and some updated features for the interior.

For a medium SUV, the cabin is fairly practical with its use of space but front passengers definitely benefit the most.

I have plenty of head- and legroom for my 168cm (5'6") height and while the seats feel a tad narrow, they’re extremely comfortable.

The black leather-accented trims are nice under hand and its great that both front seats feature electric adjustments but it’s a shame that only the driver’s side has adjustable lumbar support.

The heat function is also a nice touch and helps elevate the premium feel of the interior.

There are two cupholders in the front and middle rows, as well as drink bottle holders in each door.

The third row also gets a couple of cool fold-out drink bottle holders but if your drink is skinny, it may move around a little as the base doesn’t have a raised lip.

Charging options are good with a wireless charging pad, a 12-volt port, as well as, a USB-A and USB-C sockets up front while the middle row gets a couple of USB-C jacks. Third rowers miss out completely, though.

The rest of the technology is modern and is easy to use, which to me is the perfect combo. The 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is responsive to touch and looks great.

It’s easy to connect to the wireless Apple CarPlay and there is also wired Android Auto for those users. The 7.0-inch partial digital instrument panel is easy to read and has traffic sign recognition.

The only space which feels awkward is the boot space. The third row doesn’t fold flat and that makes a ledge. You can flatten it out with a small panel that slides into position at the front but it's dicky to look at and use.

That said, it is a good size at 472L with the third row stowed and you can bump that capacity up to 1457L.

You get a temporary spare tyre in the L7 and a hands-free powered tailgate, which is always handy!

As one of Australia's most popular mid-size SUVs, you'd hope the CX-5 is up to family duties, and the good news is it mostly aces the brief.

Up front, there's plenty of room for adults, with a good amount of adjustability, and great visibility despite a relatively high belt-line and dash.

The seats in this Touring Active grade are manual adjust only, which may be a downside for some, while the blended seat trim of ‘Maztex' synthetic leather and suede isn't my preference.

I'm more in favour of a basic cloth seat, which will be much easier to clean and will probably wear better, or the lovely real leather seats which appear on higher grades.

Still, I appreciate the very straightforward climate panel, which consists of physical buttons and dials for all of its controls. Far preferable to the trendy touch panel, or worse, multimedia-screen interfaces on some rivals.

The rear doors open nice and wide, making it easy to fit child seats, and room back there is more than sufficient for adults in the outer two rear seats, as well.

I had plenty of legroom and headroom behind my own driving position at 182cm tall.

The quality trims continue in the doors, and there's a large bottle holder in each one, alongside a further two in the drop-down armrest.

Interestingly, this part also has a flip-open tray with two USB 2.0 connectors, a tidy way to get power to the rear passengers, but one which can't be used if the middle seat is occupied.

There are no additional outlets on the back of the centre console, although there is a set of air vents back there.

The boot measures in at 438 litres, which is not on the larger end for the mid-size SUV space, and may cause some families to run into issues, particularly if they need to carry a pram on top of regular luggage.

As it is though, it fit our CarsGuide demo luggage set with minimal room to spare. There is a space-saver spare wheel under the floor.

Since it arrived Down Under in 2022, the updated CX-5, thanks in large part to its ongoing popularity, is available in a long list of confusingly labelled variants.

To be precise, there are now 11 different versions of this SUV, two basic front-wheel drive variants, and nine all-wheel drive models with three different engine options.

Despite the swish look, there are things missing here. For example, my partner was surprised the seats were manually adjusted in a car which looks this nice inside, and I have to agree.

Plus, you have to spend significantly more to get into a version with the turbocharged engine. There's also no sunroof at this grade, nor is there a powered tailgate.

Unless you're looking at the hybrid variant, all CR-V's share the same 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. The L7 is a front-wheel drive and has maximum outputs of 140kW and 240Nm.

The L7 features a continuously variable auto transmission but it’s delightfully smooth and the engine has enough guts to make it a pleasant open-roader but you have to be consistent with the accelerator on hills.

For such a contemporary looking car, things feel a little dated when it comes to engine tech.

Rather than employing a fancy hybrid or downsized turbo unit with a tricky transmission, Mazda relies on a regular 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine, mated to a traditional six-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

The engine produces 140kW/252Nm, hardly on the high end for the segment, and it needs to drive all four wheels.

If this doesn't sound like enough punch for you, there's also a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine (140kW/450Nm) available on the Touring Active grade, but it carries a roughly $3000 premium.

The L7 has an official combined cycle fuel economy figure of 7.3L/100km and my real-world usage averaged 8.3L/100km.

That's after a week of mostly open-road driving, so I would expect it to be higher in an urban setting but it’s a solid result.

Honda recommends minimum 91 RON petrol and based on the combined cycle figure and the 53-litre fuel tank, expect a driving range of around 780km.

As you'd imagine, a 2.5-litre engine with no electrical or turbocharged assistance can punish you at the fuel pump.

While the hybrid RAV4 has managed to bring fuel efficiency as low as 4.8L/100km to the mid-size SUV space, our Mazda has a comparatively high official combined efficiency of 7.4L/100km.

After 400km of driving in real-world suburban conditions, my test car consumed 9.0L/100km, decidedly higher again.

Thankfully, the CX-5's relatively low-tech engine is capable of consuming entry-level 91 unleaded. It is only compliant with Euro 5 emissions standards, and has a 58-litre fuel tank.

Using the official economy figure, driving range comes in at just over 780km.

The CR-V has pleasant road manners and is fairly responsive with power without sounding too tinny when you have to put your foot down. It can lurch a little in stop/start traffic but is otherwise a very easy car to get around in.

The CVT is smooth and there’s no lag as can be the case with other CVTs at lower speeds. The suspension is medium-feeling and while you’ll feel the bumps, it’s pretty well-cushioned.

The L7 has active noise cancellation technology and that means the cabin is quiet, even at higher speeds, and you can chat easily with all occupants.

If you've driven any Mazda in the last decade or so, this latest CX-5 won't throw up any surprises. The drive experience adheres to the sporty, firm and purposeful ethos which Mazda has cultivated over a long period of time.

This is defined by nice accurate steering, an overall light and springy feel for the car, and a firm ride.

There are no optional pieces of safety equipment in the CX-5 range, and thankfully the active systems are minimally invasive for the driver, too, letting the drive experience shine further.

Standard equipment includes auto emergency braking (works high speed going forward, and low speed in reverse), lane keep assist with lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring with rear-cross traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, as well as adaptive cruise control and front and rear parking sensors.

As a bonus, there's a nice high-def reversing camera, although you'll have to spend more for the 360-degree version, and a tyre pressure monitoring sensor, too.

The CX-5 has five airbags, dual ISOFIX and three top-tether mounting points across the rear row, and maintains a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from when this generation launched back in 2017.

Honda shows up some of its competition with its ownership costs! With the CR-V you’ll enjoy a five-year/unlimited km warranty, as well as, a five-year capped price servicing program.

Services are a flat $199 per service, which is cheap for the class but servicing intervals could be annoying if you put a lot of kays on your car because they’re set at every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first (15,000km is more common).

Mazda keeps things simple here with five years of warranty, five years of roadside assist, and a five-year capped price service program.

For the latest update, the service intervals have been pushed out from 10,000km to 15,000km and 12 months, and the average cost works out to be $423 per year for the 2.5-litre petrol engine option as tested.

This is not the cheapest servicing in the segment, but it's not unusually expensive, either.