Quick & silver

THESE TURBO MID-SIZE SUVS PACK THE PUNCH OF YESTERYEAR’S HOTTEST HATCHES. BUT FORD OR MAZDA, WHOSE IS FASTER – AND SMARTER?

- JAMES WHITBOURN

IT’S HERE. THAT part of the year when Aussies go AWOL while the days are long and the weather’s warm, and take pause to reflect.

From the Wheels banana lounge, I’m pondering the things that were awesome about 2020. Erm, spending more ‘quality time’ with the family? A new normal that did away with rush-hour and the need to trouser-up, like… ever. The welcoming of a pricey pup into your pack, minus the literal teething problems. And now, with 2020 confined to the rear-view, hopefully never hearing the expressions ‘new normal’ or ‘home schooling’ ever again.

Add to that list of highs today’s top-spec medium SUV.

Really? Yep.

Just five years ago, a comparison of flagship soft-roaders from our brands here wouldn’t feature half the good stuff today’s iterations do, in part because some of it was yet to be invented, but mostly because the SUV stakes today are damn high.

Escape and CX-5’s former selves boasted of no such inclusions as ventilated seats, heated steering wheels, adaptive headlights, head-up display (HUD), radar cruise with stop and go, a 360-degree view monitor, virtual instrument cluster or colour touchscreen display. Yet they still cost most of $50K.

Thinking back further, to a decade ago, when we were still bemoaning that the SUV looked like it might catch on – despite making the average station wagon feel like something Colin Chapman himself would happily cop – the safety spec topped out at ABS and airbags. ESC if you were lucky. (At least Mr Lotus would be familiar with the level of occupant protection.)