2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera 2.5L Turbo Review

The mid-sized SUV market is currently booming with nearly every manufacturer offering a piece into the segment. One of the biggest success stories from it has been the humble Mazda CX-5, which has sold very strongly in Australia since its release in 2012. It’s now well into its second generation, but it continues to sell well. But is it worth such high sales and consideration over a plethora of rivals? We tested the top-spec 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera Turbo to find out.

There are so many cars that rival the Mazda CX-5: the Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-Trail, Volkswagen Tiguan, Skoda Karoq, Subaru Forester, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage among many others. Despite this, the CX-5 sells well – over 14,000 have been sold locally so far this year despite supply issues – and second only behind the hybrid-equipped RAV4.

Price & Equipment: 8/10

The 2022 Mazda CX-5 range kicks off with the Maxx priced at $32,390 plus on-road costs but the model we have here is the top-spec 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera, which starts from $50,880 plus on-road costs. Choosing the turbocharged petrol engine with all-wheel drive we tested here brings that price up to $53,380 +ORC (around $59,000 drive away, depending on location).

This top spec CX-5 comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, all-LED lighting, auto lights and wipers, dual-zone climate control with rear vents, keyless entry and start, auto-folding/heated mirrors, electrically adjustable front seats with driver’s memory functionality, heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, heated outboard rear seats, wireless phone charging, a 10.25-inch infotainment screen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, digital radio, a 10-speaker Bose sound system, a sunroof, paddle shifters and a power tailgate.

Safety features are aplenty in the 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera. They include six airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, rear auto braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist with lane departure warning and lane trace assist, a 360-degree surround view camera with front and parking sensors, a heads-up display, an auto-dimming rear mirror, Matrix headlights with adaptive high beam functionality, driver attention monitoring, tyre pressure monitoring, traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality.

While the CX-5 Akera is very well equipped, we would like to see the addition of a proper panoramic sunroof, roof rails, rear occupant alert and a fully digital driver’s display added to the spec as both the Hyundai Tucson Highlander and Kia Sportage GT-Line have these features as standard.

Standard colours include ‘Snowflake White Pearl’, ‘Sonic Silver’, ‘Eternal Blue’, ‘Jet Black’ and ‘Deep Crystal Blue’. For an additional $695 you can choose from ‘Soul Red Crystal’, ‘Polymetal Grey’, ‘Machine Grey’ and our test car’s new ‘Zircon Sand’ colour.

The main rivals to the 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera 2.5-turbo are the Hyundai Tucson Highlander 1.6L turbo ($50,400), the Kia Sportage GT-Line ($49,370), the Toyota RAV4 Edge ($50,200) and the Volkswagen Tiguan 162TSI Elegance ($54,490). At this price point, all offerings are fairly evenly equipped with a huge list of standard kit, 360-degree cameras and leather trim, though the CX-5 seems like good value against the Tiguan in particular, which requires the $2,600 Sound and Vision package and a $2,100 panoramic sunroof to match the CX-5’s standard equipment list, pushing it to over $65,000 drive away.

Performance & Economy: 8/10

The standard engine available on the 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera is a naturally aspirated 140kW/252Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine but the engine in our test car is the optional 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that produces 170kW of power and 420Nm of torque, which is priced at a $3,500 premium over the standard engine. Also available is a 140kW/450Nm 2.2-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine, itself priced a further $500 over the 2.5T.

The turbocharged 2.5-litre engine has been in the CX-5 for a few years now and we like it. There is lots of low end torque (peak torque is offered at just 2,000rpm), which makes the engine feel punchy. It’s also a somewhat lazy engine as you don’t have to rev it to get the most out of it. Unlike the 162kW 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine in the Tiguan, it’s not a performance engine with a 7.7 second 0-100km/h sprint time. It was developed for the larger CX-9 and its performance is quite diesel-like with peak performance hitting low in the rev range and at 5,000rpm, the power almost drops off completely.

The sole transmission option is a six-speed torque converter automatic, which does a good job of keeping the CX-5 in its power band while keeping the revs low to aid fuel economy. Mazda’s automatic transmissions are generally excellent and this one is no different with a generally quite intuitive nature. We’d love to see an eight-speed transmission, though, to help drivability, economy and performance.

The claimed average fuel consumption for the CX-5 Akera turbo is 8.2L/100km. Our week spent driving a mixture of city and motorway driving saw an average of 9.8L/100km, which is better than we expected based on previous testing, though still not great. Run it solely in urban conditions and it will easily climb into the 12L/100km range. Helping costs is that it runs on 91RON regular unleaded and it has a 58L tank.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

Known for being one of the most dynamic offerings in the mid-size SUV segment, the ride on the 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera is on the firmer side, especially when compared with the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson. The ride is not uncomfortable by any means but it’s definitely on the sportier side and offers a good balance for those seeking some sportiness from their SUV. The steering (like most other Mazdas) is on the heavier side, which can be annoying at low speeds but it’s reasonably feelsome otherwise.

Long a Mazda bugbear, the road noise levels in the CX-5 are pleasingly low, though the visibility isn’t amazing – thankfully the active safety systems are great. The lane keep assist works well to help you stay in the lanes, the adaptive cruise control does a good job of keeping the distance between you and the car in front of you and the blind spot monitoring will illuminate a triangle in the wing mirror to help notify when something is there. We appreciate how subtle they are, unlike Subaru’s sensitive EyeSight system.

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

The interior of the 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera has been in the CX-5 since this models release in 2017. It is more conventional in its design compared to all new models such as the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and the Mitsubishi Outlander. In saying this the quality of materials used in the CX-5’s cabin are rather good. The nappa leather used throughout the cabin is excellent, makes it worth choosing the Akera.

Storage in the CX-5 is what we would call rather average. There are deep door pockets, a good sized centre console, two cupholders, a place for your phone on the wireless charging pad and a glove box. There is no other storage for your wallet or for the car keys (unless you use the cupholders).

The 10.25-inch infotainment screen sits atop the CX-5 Akera’s dash looks rather premium. The quality is nice and crisp. Navigating the infotainment system is done through a click wheel in the centre console. The in-built navigation is rather good and easy to set, the wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto looks great and the 10-speaker Bose sound system is excellent – and is much better than the JBL sound system in the Toyota RAV4.

While the front cabin of the CX-5 is great, the rear isn’t quite as positive because it’s just not as spacious as its rivals, like the RAV4 and Sportage. The seat itself is comfortable and the doors open to 90-degrees, but the space on offer just isn’t as plentiful as its rivals. Having said that, rear amenities are plentiful and include heated outboard seats, a centre arm rest with USB ports, cupholders and storage, map pockets, door pockets and rear air vents. The soft touch materials from the front carry into the rear as well. We just wish it had a full-length sunroof to add light and make the space feel more airy.

Opening the power tailgate reveals a reasonable 442-litres of cargo space, though that’s still less than the 542L RAV4 and 543L Sportage. Folding down the rear seats opens up the cargo space to 1,342L, a lot less than the 1,829L Sportage. It is a well finished boot, however, and there are some helpful features like hooks and tabs to fold the seats. New for 2022 is a dual-level boot that can be reversed from a carpet floor to a plastic one, which is great for carrying dirty loads.

Service & Warranty: 8/10

Like all other Mazda products, the 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is the same period of warranty offered on the Hyundai Tucson and Toyota RAV4, but the Kia Sportage trumps them with seven years of coverage. The Mazda comes with five years worth of roadside assistance as well, as does Hyundai and Kia if you service them at a dealer. Toyota, on the other hand, gives you no roadside assistance.

Servicing occurs every 12 months or 10,000km (which is the same interval as Hyundai Tucsons and Kia Sportages fitted with the 1.6T engine), which is short – the Toyota RAV4 and Volkswagen Tiguan only need servicing every 12 months or 15,000km. The cost to service the 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera over the span of five years/50,000km is $1,875 ($375 per service). The Hyundai Tucson (with the 1.6-litre turbo engine) will cost $1,595 over five years/50,000km and the Toyota RAV4 is the segment winner for cheap servicing, as it costs just $1,150 over five years/75,000km.

2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera Turbo DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.0/10

So you’re in the market for a mid-sized SUV and don’t want to wait the 12-28 months for a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, do you also want a powerful SUV that can outrun the other parents? The 2022 Mazda CX-5 Akera may just be the mid-size SUV for you. The engine is powerful, the interior quality is excellent, it’s reasonably practical, very well equipped and it also drives quite well.

It’s not perfect, however. It feels a touch dated, the rear seat isn’t that spacious compared to some rivals and the turbo petrol engine can be quite thirsty. But out of the large selection of mid-sized SUVs would the CX-5 be our pick? It would certainly be up there. The RAV4 hybrid’s efficiency and spacious cabin are hard to look past, while the Tucson and Sportage are better value for money. But the CX-5 is still a great car and it’s very much worthy of consideration – just don’t choose this colour, please!