As Mazda prepares to roll out its new CX-5 compact crossover, MICHAEL McALEERjoins engineers tweaking suspensions and testing seat runners on a mountain in Iceland
ON AN ISOLATED mountainside in rural Iceland, Mazda’s engineering development team is making the final adjustments to the new crossover CX-5, which also heralds the arrival of its new clean-technology strategy. It’s a windy, isolated location with only a few hikers and the odd Icelandic horse to cast an eye on the new car as it drives past.
Testing the four prototypes on empty mountain passes and holed up in a mountainside BB, the firm’s engineers debate everything from the tactility of radio switches to the smoothness of the seat runners. It’s not just the heavy-duty powertrain changes that concentrate their minds.
However, overshadowing all their efforts is a focus on Mazda’s new SkyActiv strategy, heralding an evolution in the way every element of future models will be revised in order to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. It’s a terrible title, with hints that someone in marketing adopted the “blue sky thinking” buzzwords and no one had the heart to tell them that it’s too tired and trite to be taken seriously by buyers.
Perhaps our frustration with Mazda’s SkyActiv approach has been that not only does it seem contrived, but it lacks the headline-grabbing appeal of revolutionary new technology. Instead it focuses on the incremental savings.
Yet, according to Mazda’s director of research and development, Hirotaka Kanazawa, that is the kernel of the innovation. He patiently walks us through what the strategy means to everyday motorists. Unlike its rivals, the firm is not creating an environmentally-friendly sub-brand within its range, a select group of cleaner models such as VW’s BlueMotion vehicles, Volvo’s e-Drive range or Skoda’s Greenline range. Every new model from Mazda, starting with the CX-5 and soon to include a new Mazda6, will benefit from the SkyActiv approach.
It is an ethos more than just a technology. It incorporates everything from dramatically improved engine compression ratios that cut fuel consumption, through to lighter materials used on the chassis and bodywork in order to significantly shed kilos in the car’s weight. It might be evolution rather than revolution, but it delivers on the road and doesn’t cost the earth to implement.
Every future Mazda owner will reap the rewards in their pockets without having to dramatically change their driving styles or habits, or pay a premium. We might not like the name but we will appreciate the end result, Kanazawa says.
In that regard he’s right. The CX-5 is a real surprise. Its looks are smart, if not very different from the rest of the SUV market. Its rear is a bit bland, more similar in styling to the Mazda2 than is necessary for a car its size, but overall it’s a decent effort.
Where the CX-5 really shines, however, is on the road. It all starts with a smooth and responsive throttle, a gorgeous short-throw manual gearbox, and a steering feel that’s completely at odds with the car’s scale and stature. Ride quality is well measured between the requirements for handling and comfort. This car doesn’t wallow or lean when you throw it into corners at speed, while the suspension only bottoms out on the extreme road bumps. For all the claims by premium manufacturers to offer dynamic driving in a small SUV format, the CX-5 is arguably the closest we’ve experienced in delivering on that.
The beauty of the new 2.2-litre diesel engine is that with oodles of torque you find yourself in third or fourth for most of the time, regardless of the changes in topography. The automatic diesel is just as responsive and for suburban traffic will prove the best buy.
The good news for Mazda is not simply a potential hit in the crossover stakes. The real boon is that this is but the first of a complete revamp of the firm’s model line-up. The underpinnings of this CX-5 will form the foundations of a new Mazda6 late next year.
The 2-litre petrol engine has a nice rasp and is well-mated to the manual transmission, but it’s hard to look beyond the diesel, even in terms of everyday performance. The mix of torque, refinement and economy make it the obvious choice. When it arrives in Ireland, the petrol CX-5 will fall into tax band B, but the diesel will have emissions below 120g/km, qualifying it for the lowest motor tax band of just €104 a year.
Mazda has yet to receive official certified fuel economy figures, but the engineers are confident it will better equivalent rivals from the VW Tiguan and the Skoda Yeti. Clearly the small Japanese brand has the Tiguan in its sights, for many of the comparisons are made with the VW in mind. That’s unsurprising given its success in the vital US and Chinese markets.
From the initial impression in Iceland, Mazda certainly seem to have a hit on their hands. Perhaps that’s why the engineers were so content to give us a sneak peakbefore its official unveiling. Now in the final stages of refinement, their job is largely done.
While our drive was limited to an hour in each of the four prototypes, the impression is of a very entertaining drive and perhaps proof that there’s plenty of scope for efficiencies in the standard combustion engine before we make the leap to electric or hydrogen power sources. Managing the evolution is as important as leading the revolution.