Compare the2023 Mazda CX-5VS 2022 Honda CR-V

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 CR-V doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

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 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-5. But it costs extra on the CR-V.

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 CR-V only offers a rear monitor.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CX-5 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the CR-V EX/EX-L/Touring offers Cross Traffic Monitor.

The CX-5 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-5 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 available driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Mazda CX-5 is safer than the Honda CR-V:

	CX-5	CR-V
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	82	141
Neck Injury Risk	23%	27%
Neck Compression	23 lbs.	70 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	156	309
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	37%	37%
Neck Compression	86 lbs.	96 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mazda CX-5 is safer than the Honda CR-V:

	CX-5	CR-V
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.6 inches
Abdominal Force	126 lbs.	142 lbs.
Hip Force	189 lbs.	310 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	524 lbs.	567 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	35 G’s
Hip Force	435 lbs.	543 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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-5 is safer than the CR-V:

	CX-5	CR-V
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Tension	223 lbs.	290 lbs.
Neck Compression	45 lbs.	67 lbs.
Shoulder Deflection	.51 in	.79 in
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	848 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	307	352
Neck Tension	22 lbs.	45 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	1.42 in	1.85 in
Torso Max Deflection	1.26 in	1.69 in
Torso Deflection Rate	9 MPH	11 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	602 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-5 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-5’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-5’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-5 is faster than the Honda CR-V:

	CX-5 4 cyl.	CX-5 turbo 4 cyl.	CR-V
Zero to 60 MPH	8.3 sec	6.4 sec	8.6 sec
Quarter Mile	16.3 sec	14.9 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-5 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The CR-V doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The CX-5 has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the CR-V (15.3 vs. 14 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the CX-5 Turbo’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the CR-V:

	CX-5 Turbo	CR-V
Front Rotors	12.6 inches	12.3 inches

Suspension and Handling

The CX-5 has engine speed sensitive 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-5’s wheelbase is 1.5 inches longer than on the CR-V AWD (106.2 inches vs. 104.7 inches).

The CX-5 handles at .81 G’s, while the CR-V Touring pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The CX-5 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the CR-V Touring (27.8 seconds @ .59 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the CX-5’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the CR-V’s (36 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

Chassis

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the CX-5 is quieter than the CR-V Touring:

	CX-5	CR-V
At idle	38 dB	40 dB
Full-Throttle	76 dB	78 dB
70 MPH Cruising	66 dB	69 dB

Passenger Space

The CX-5 has .1 inches more front hip room and 5.8 inches more rear hip room than the CR-V.

The front step up height for the CX-5 is 1.4 inches lower than the CR-V (17.6” vs. 19”).

Towing

The CX-5’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the CR-V’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

Ergonomics

The CX-5 Premium Plus/Turbo 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-5’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-5’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-5’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-5’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-5 Premium/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.

Both the CX-5 and the CR-V offer available heated front seats. The CX-5 Premium Plus/Turbo 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-5 Premium Plus/Turbo 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.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the CX-5 owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the CX-5 with a number “1” insurance rate while the CR-V is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the CX-5 is less expensive to operate than the CR-V because typical repairs cost much less on the CX-5 than the CR-V, including $18 less for a water pump, $233 less for a starter, $165 less for a fuel pump, $10 less for front struts, $20 less for a timing belt/chain and $146 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Mazda CX-5 and the Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance.

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its May 2020 issue and they ranked the Mazda CX-5 first. They ranked the Honda CR-V Touring third.

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