Compare the2023 Mazda CX-50VS 2022 Honda CR-V

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The Mazda CX-50 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus has standard Smart Brake Support-Reverse that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-50. But it costs extra on the CR-V.

The CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360° Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The CR-V only offers a rear monitor.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CX-50 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Braking on the Turbo Premium Plus automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Only the CR-V EX/EX-L/Touring offers Cross Traffic Monitor and the CR-V’s Cross Traffic Monitor does not include automatic braking.

The CX-50 has standard E911 Automatic Emergency Notification, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The CR-V doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the CX-50 and the CR-V have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mazda CX-50 is safer than the CR-V:

	CX-50	CR-V
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	982 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	251	352
Neck Compression	67 lbs.	134 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	1.02 in	1.85 in
Shoulder Force	379 lbs.	402 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.83 in	1.69 in
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	446 lbs.	1004 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CX-50 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The CR-V last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2022.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. With 3 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mazda higher than Honda.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda above average in long-term dependability. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Honda is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda fourth in overall reliability. Honda is ranked fifth.

Engine

The CX-50’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 7 lbs.-ft. more torque (186 vs. 179) than the CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The CX-50’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 66 more horsepower (256 vs. 190) and 141 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 179) than the CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Mazda CX-50 4 cyl. is faster than the Honda CR-V:

	CX-50	CR-V
Zero to 60 MPH	8.5 sec	8.6 sec
Quarter Mile	16.5 sec	16.7 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the CX-50 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The CR-V doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The CX-50 has 1.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the CR-V (15.8 vs. 14 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the CX-50’s brake rotors are larger than those on the CR-V:

	CX-50	CR-V
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.3 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	12.2 inches

The CX-50 stops shorter than the CR-V:

	CX-50	CR-V
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	165 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	118 feet	119 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the CR-V (245/45R20 vs. 235/65R17).

The CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the CR-V Touring’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo has standard 20-inch wheels. The CR-V’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The CX-50 has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The CR-V doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-50’s wheelbase is 6.1 inches longer than on the CR-V AWD (110.8 inches vs. 104.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CX-50 is 2.1 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the CR-V.

The CX-50 2.5 Turbo handles at .87 G’s, while the CR-V Touring pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the CX-50’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the CR-V’s (36 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CX-50 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the CR-V (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the CX-50 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The CX-50 Premium/Turbo’s minimum ground clearance is .4 inch higher than on the CR-V (8.6 vs. 8.2 inches).

Chassis

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the CX-50 2.5 Turbo is quieter than the CR-V Touring (37 vs. 40 dB).

Passenger Space

The CX-50 has .4 inches more front legroom and 2.6 inches more rear hip room than the CR-V.

Cargo Capacity

The CX-50’s cargo area is larger than the CR-V’s in almost every dimension:

	CX-50	CR-V
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	42.6”/75.4”	37.5”/71”
Max Width	55.6”	54”
Min Width	40.2”	41.5”
Height	30.2”	41”

Towing

The CX-50’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the CR-V’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Honda CR-V is only 1500 pounds. The CX-50 offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The CX-50 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The CR-V uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo Premium has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The CR-V doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The CX-50’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The CR-V’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. With the CR-V SE/EX/EX-L/Touring’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

The CX-50’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The CR-V LX’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The CX-50’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the CR-V’s standard halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

Consumer Reports rated the CX-50’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the CR-V’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the CX-50 Turbo has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The CR-V doesn’t offer cornering lights.

When the CX-50 Premium/Turbo is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The CR-V’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The CX-50’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The CR-V offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the CX-50 and the CR-V offer available heated front seats. The CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the CR-V.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo Premium keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The CR-V doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Mazda CX-50 and the Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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