Review: 2024 Mazda CX-5

A brand-new trim of one of my favourite and most-recommended vehicles.

Review and photos by Tom Sedens. There are always more photos at the end of my reviews.

Pricing: 2024 Mazda CX-5

Base price (Suna trim): $44,200

Options: none

Freight: $2,095

A/C tax: $100

Price as tested: $46,395

If you’re a regular reader, you already know I love the Mazda CX-5. As of the last half-dozen years or so, it has been my most recommended vehicle as it does so much right for so many consumers, that it can’t help but become a favourite. There’s a reason there are so many of them on the road – and Mazda’s recent debut at the top of the reliability charts certainly makes it feel an even safer bet.

Exterior

While the 2024 CX-5 is unchanged, this new trim makes for a fantastic looking rendition of an already attractive crossover. A take-off from then slightly lower Sport trim, the Suna combines sportiness and upscale looks. The two trims share glossy blacked out trim around the windows, the grille, front and rear lower bumpers, wheel arches and side sills, the side mirrors along with black metallic wheels. It’s the paint colour, Zircon Sand Metallic, that’s unique to the Suna. This is a love-it-or-hate-it colour, and I believe I have never had so many onlookers come up to me to comment on it. Most really liked it, some really did not. Of note, it’s also the only paint colour you can get with it. So if you want the Suna trim, you better be in the love-it camp.

All exterior lighting is LED, including headlights, driving signature lights and tail lights. The headlights are bright and very effective for night driving.

The Turbo badge and slightly bigger exhaust tips are little hints at what lies under the hood.

Those nice black rims are 19-inchers, shod with 225/55-sized tires.

Interior/Tech/Convenience

Unique to the Suna trim is the special blend of interior materials and colours. It gets stunning Terracotta Nappa leather seats with black perforated suede-like accents and gunmetal accents. The combination is really nice and brightens up the CX-5’s otherwise dark interior.

As can be expected from Mazdas, materials are excellent. Lots of soft-touch plastics, lots of stitched panels on the dash and doors along with excellent fit and finish. As someone who rests my leg on the centre console, I appreciated the upholstered panels there as well.

The power-adjustable, heated and ventilated front seats are excellent – they’re highly comfortable and have plenty of bolstering too, when you want to throw this puppy into the corners and have a bit of fun.

The heated steering wheel is fantastic – it feels great in hand. The digital hybrid dash with analog gauges on either side handling the tachometer on the left and temperature and fuel on the right and a 7-inch screen in the middle for the speedometer and numerous different displays you can choose from.

The newest version of Mazda’s in-car entertainment is on the wide screen, controlled by the rotary knob on the console. It’s the best version yet, but it still feels behind the competition. I wish they would just switch to a well-done touchscreen design instead. The 10-speaker Bose sound system is outstanding and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto work beautifully – I didn’t have any connectivity issues during my entire time with the CX-5.

The dual-zone automatic climate control system is on the lower part of the dash, and still uses buttons and knobs – which I love! Overhead is a standard-sized sunroof.

There is plenty of driver assistance technology to be found here, and everything works beautifully. The Suna has a back-up camera, advanced blind-spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, forward pedestrian detection, automatic high-beams and a heads-up display.

Rear Seats

These seats are very comfortable and spacious enough. Sitting behind my own driving position, at 5’10”, I had a few inches of leg room to spare and plenty of head room. The outboard seats are heated. The middle seating position is tight and straddles a floor tunnel.

Rear passengers get adjustable air vents at the back of the centre console. The middle seatback folds down to become an armrest with two cupholders and an armrest. Under the armrest lid are a shallow carpeted storage bin and two USB-A plugs. The rear seat heater buttons are also found here. While it’s a nice slick place to put them, if you have a third passenger in the back, you won’t be able to access those buttons.

Storage

Below the dash at the front of the console is an open bin with an angled wireless charging space for phones, and I thought this worked really well. There’s also a 12V port there. The armrest lid pops up to reveal a smaller carpeted tray at the top and an open bin below, complete with two USB-C plugs and another 12V plug.

The power trunk lid opens to a spacious 871L trunk with a nice high load floor. A flexible tonneau cover attaches to the trunk lid so it swings up and out of the way when in use. I really like how they’ve implemented this. It’s a very clean solution.

Fold the second-row seats down (they split 40-20-40) using release levers in the trunk and the space expands to a huge 1680L.

Under the Hood

The CX-5 line’s upgraded turbo engine is the only one available in the Suna – it’s a turbocharged 2.5L 4-cylinder. On 93-octane fuel, it puts out 256 HP and 320 lb.ft of torque. It will happily run harm-free on regular fuel, where those number drop slightly to 227 HP and 310 lb.ft of torque. The transmission is a 6-speed and all-wheel drive is standard.

Mazda’s turbo engine isn’t the most efficient thing out there – it’s rated at 10.8/8.7 L/100 km (city/highway). We ended up with an average of 10.4 L/100 km after a week of nearly all slow city driving and commuting with no effort to save on fuel.

The Drive

I have always loved the CX-5’s driving position. It feels high up over the road with a great view, without feeling like a giant 4×4.

The turbo powertrain offers up plenty of jam in every driving situation. I have said it before – it doesn’t quite feel like it puts out 320 lb.ft of torque, but that isn’t a slam on the engine. It has tons of power, and more than enough in almost every situation. It’s very smooth as well.

The transmission is slick and very intelligent – although it has been down a gear or three from the competition for many years, Mazda’s 6-speed automatic puts on a clinic in transmission performance. Gears can be shifted manually using paddle shifters if you like that kind of thing.

There are some drive modes to choose from – Normal, Sport and Off-Road. Off-Road is unlikely to get used much, but Sport tightens up the vehicle’s responsiveness even more.

Mazda updated the CX-5’s suspension for the 2024 year – it has a modified front stabilizer bar and revised spring rates, making the front ones softer and the rear springs stiffer, all of which works together to enhance the vehicle’s handling – which was already top-of-the-class. The ride remains sporty, firm and well-controlled but still highly comfortable.

Braking is excellent – grabby enough to feel powerful but always easy to modulate and use around town. Visibility out of the vehicle is good – the three rear headrests impede a bit of the rear view but it’s not bad. Noise levels are exemplary – the CX-5 is nice and quiet.

If you tow stuff, the CX-5’s capacity is limited to 2,000 pounds.

Nitpicks

There are very few of these – but I might as well put this out there. I hate that there are no trajectory lines for the back-up camera – they are so helpful while backing up into tighter spaces, and I can’t think of another manufacturer that doesn’t include these nowadays. An odd oversight.

Continuing on the camera front, if you want the surround-view camera with front and rear parking sensors, you’ll need to step up to the top Signature trim.

The Verdict

WAF (Wife Approval Factor) was high. She really liked the unique look of the Suna trim and we are big fans of the CX-5 as it is.

The Suna trim is a visually striking addition to the CX-5 line and if you like the looks, this is a unique way to stand out in a sea of CX-5s. It’s a great vehicle, with very few faults, and I continue to love it and recommend it to anyone who asks. I would happily have a CX-5 in our own garage and this one is a beauty!