For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-5 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X2 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The CX-5 has standard Whiplash-Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The X2 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Smart City Brake Support in the CX-5 as “Superior.” The X2 scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CX-5 Turbo Signature has standard Smart Brake Support-Rear that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The X2 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-5. But it costs extra on the X2.
The CX-5 Turbo Signature has a standard 360° Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The X2 only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
The CX-5’s blind spot warning system uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. The X2 doesn’t offer a system to reveal objects in the driver’s blind spots.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CX-5’s standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The X2 doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
The CX-5 Turbo Signature’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The X2 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the CX-5 and the X2 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.
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-5 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The X2 has not been fully tested, yet.