That said Mazda says its AWD system is designed to keep the vehicle moving even if a front and back wheel are off the ground. I even toggled into Off-Road mode to see if that might help. I could still spin the tires and slip-slide around corners.

That also includes Sport and Comfort modes, the latter of which you’ll be using 99% of the time.įunny though, we had an 8-inch snow dump while I was testing the CX-50, and I found the standard AWD was only partially effective and not nearly as helpful as my wife’s Subaru Outback AWD. It’ll do that and even has an off-road setting on its M-Drive toggle on the console. No, the CX-50, even with 8.6 inches of ground clearance is meant for towing a small camper or boat to a state park camping site, not going axle deep in mud. OK, I know some folks bang ditches, mash mud and straddle boulders, but really? Mazda also followed the lead of every other crossover/SUV maker and raised CX-50’s ride height to enable marketers to tout it as more off-road worthy. So now comes the CX-50 (don’t be confused), which is about six inches longer, rides on a four-inch longer wheelbase, weighs 50 pounds more, and will tow 3,500 pounds, up 1,500 from the slightly smaller CX-5. Well, it’s still making the CX-5, but Mazda imagined if could be even better, well, at least bigger. That is until the Mazda CX-5 hit the market and gave compact crossover buyers a sportier looking and handling option that’s still below luxury pricing.īingo, CX-5 moves to the top of Mazda’s success list. But unlike the MX-5 Miata sports cars, their other options rarely garner many buyers. The Japanese car maker has constantly been putting stylish and superb handling vehicles on the road. Make another slightly larger version of it, right? What do you do when you’re a smaller auto manufacturer, but you have one big hit in the hot crossover market?

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