SECOND ACT
Car and Driver|June 2022
MAZDA'S NEW U.S.-BUILT COMPACT SUV OFFERS MANY OF THE BEST TRAITS OF THE 10BESTWINNING CX-5 WRAPPED IN A NICELY SHAPED WAGON-ESQUE BODY.
Joey Capparella
SECOND ACT

Mazda has never been short on original ideas. This is the company that is still trying to make the Wankel engine work and that stubbornly insists on selling a tiny two-seat roadster even as most other affordable sports cars have gone the way of Triumph, MG, or, well, pretty much the British car industry. So maybe that's why it seems unoriginal for Mazda to chase the exact same outdoorsy, rugged image that Jeep, Subaru, and many others have done to death.

Marketing images of the new 2023 CX-50 show the SUV plowing through the forest festooned with all manner of off-road and camping accessories. For this model Mazda even came up with a new exterior color called Zircon Sand, which is meant to make adventuresome shoppers think they can conquer the dunes or at least imagine doing so.

If we were to hazard a guess, we'd say Mazda is doing all of this to differentiate the CX-50 from its other compact SUV, the CX-5. The company asserts that there's enough room in this popular segment for two similarly sized vehicles, and Mazda won't be the first to double up: Jeep sells the Cherokee and the Compass, and Ford has both the Escape and the Bronco Sport.

In 2021, Mazda sold more CX-5s in the U.S. than all other models combined.

U.S. Mazda sales (all other models): 164,373 UNITS

We decided to ignore the outdoorsy shtick and instead found the CX-50 to have a pleasant on-road driving demeanor, an appealing design, and class-above refinement-all for about the same price as its mainstream competitors. If that sounds like a familiar refrain, it's because we've heaped similar praise upon the CX-5, which has won multiple 10Best awards and is Mazda's bestseller by far.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2022 من Car and Driver.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2022 من Car and Driver.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من CAR AND DRIVER مشاهدة الكل
The Best Odds
Car and Driver

The Best Odds

SOMETIMES-NOT OFTEN, BUT sometimes-car manufacturers create something semi-wondrous that is also borderline irrational and three-quarters inexplicable to their own marketing types.

time-read
3 mins  |
January - February 2025
Mileage Booster
Car and Driver

Mileage Booster

Kia Carnival Hybrid HIGHS: Big mpg bump, no CVT weirdness, solid ride and handling. LOWS: Shared HVAC and audio controls, second-row loungers can't be removed, changing brake-pedal feel.

time-read
2 mins  |
January - February 2025
Medium Spicy
Car and Driver

Medium Spicy

Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo HIGHS: Lengthy list of features, spacious interior, generous trunk. LOWS: Uncomfortably flat seats, rivals are quicker, only modest grip.

time-read
2 mins  |
January - February 2025
Drivelines
Car and Driver

Drivelines

HORACIO PAGANI IS A visionary designer and self-taught engineer.

time-read
3 mins  |
January - February 2025
Suspensions of Disbelief
Car and Driver

Suspensions of Disbelief

It's easy to say a vehicle rides well but much more difficult to explain the nuanced implications of that highly subjective statement.

time-read
4 mins  |
January - February 2025
PUMPED-UP KICKS
Car and Driver

PUMPED-UP KICKS

NISSAN ISN'T SHY about experimenting with its subcompact of ferings. In the recent past, it briefly gave us the adorable Cube, seemingly designed by Hello Kitty, followed by the frog-eyed Juke that somehow spawned a six-figure R-badged super-SUV in other markets.

time-read
5 mins  |
January - February 2025
THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO. THE BMW M3 COMPETITION. AND THE CADILLAC CT4-VBLACKWING HEAD SOUTH ONA ROAD TRIP TO FIND OUT WHICH ONE BEST DELIVERS ON THE SPORTS-SEDAN PROMISE.
Car and Driver

THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO. THE BMW M3 COMPETITION. AND THE CADILLAC CT4-VBLACKWING HEAD SOUTH ONA ROAD TRIP TO FIND OUT WHICH ONE BEST DELIVERS ON THE SPORTS-SEDAN PROMISE.

One of us, gassing up the 2025 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, says, \"No, we drove from Michigan.

time-read
8 mins  |
January - February 2025
SINCE WE APPRECIATE GREAT TALENT IN ALL ITS FORMS, WE ALSO HONOR THE 10BEST TRUCKS, SUVS, AND VANS. INCLUDING ONE WINNER WITH LITERAL BUZZ.
Car and Driver

SINCE WE APPRECIATE GREAT TALENT IN ALL ITS FORMS, WE ALSO HONOR THE 10BEST TRUCKS, SUVS, AND VANS. INCLUDING ONE WINNER WITH LITERAL BUZZ.

THE DISCUSSION AROUND this year's 10Best Trucks competition had some editors wishing the award were called 12Best.

time-read
7 mins  |
January - February 2025
OUR VERSION OF A 2024 AUTOMOTIVE AWARDS SHOW (SOMETIMES HUMOROUS, SOMETIMES NOT).
Car and Driver

OUR VERSION OF A 2024 AUTOMOTIVE AWARDS SHOW (SOMETIMES HUMOROUS, SOMETIMES NOT).

America's fastest senior citizen made the save of the year when his Funny Car's engine exploded at Virginia Motorsports Park.

time-read
5 mins  |
January - February 2025
"A ROMANCE THAT BUILDS WITH SPECTACULAR PASSION. THE LONGER YOU DRIVE IT, THE BETTER IT GETS."
Car and Driver

"A ROMANCE THAT BUILDS WITH SPECTACULAR PASSION. THE LONGER YOU DRIVE IT, THE BETTER IT GETS."

When the history of the sports sedan is written, the late-narrative plot twist that few would have seen coming is the emergence of CadillacCadillac!-as the keeper of the flame. And yet, that's exactly what's happened.

time-read
4 mins  |
January - February 2025