Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2023 Mazda CX-5

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The CX-5 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Mazda CX-5 has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Acadia are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The CX-5 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The GMC Acadia has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The CX-5 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The CX-5 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Acadia AT4’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The CX-5 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Compared to metal, the Acadia’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Mazda CX-5 has a metal gas tank.

Both the Acadia and the CX-5 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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

	Acadia	CX-5
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	23%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	274 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 GMC Acadia is safer than the Mazda CX-5:

	Acadia	CX-5
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	51 G’s	65 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	381	449

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

Warranty

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the CX-5’s (6 vs. 5 years).

There are over 3 times as many GMC dealers as there are Mazda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 220-amp alternator (155-amp - Acadia V6 and 170 V6). The CX-5’s standard 100-amp alternator and largest (GT Reserve/Signature) 150-amp alternator aren’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Acadia third among upper midsize suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The CX-5 isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Mazda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC above average in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mazda is rated lower.

Engine

The Acadia’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 41 more horsepower (228 vs. 187) and 72 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 186) than the CX-5’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 54 more horsepower (310 vs. 256) than the CX-5’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The CX-5 doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Acadia’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The CX-5 doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the CX-5 (19.4 vs. 15.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 6.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the CX-5 (21.7 vs. 15.3 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The CX-5 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the GMC Acadia higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Mazda CX-5 (5 to 7). This means the Acadia produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the CX-5 every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the GMC Acadia, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the CX-5.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Acadia’s brake rotors are larger than those on the CX-5:

	Acadia	CX-5
Front Rotors	12.6 inches	11.7 inches
Rear Rotors	12.4 inches	11.9 inches

The Acadia’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the CX-5 are solid, not vented.

The Acadia stops much shorter than the CX-5:

	Acadia	CX-5
70 to 0 MPH	173 feet	184 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	136 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia has larger standard tires than the CX-5 (235/65R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Acadia AT4’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the CX-5 (255/65R17 vs. 225/65R17).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Acadia offers optional 20-inch wheels. The CX-5’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Mazda CX-5 only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The CX-5 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The CX-5’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 6.3 inches longer than on the CX-5 (112.5 inches vs. 106.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Acadia is 1.7 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than on the CX-5.

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the CX-5 Turbo Signature pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the CX-5 (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.5 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The CX-5 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The CX-5 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Acadia offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the CX-5 can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 40.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CX-5 (143.8 vs. 103.6).

The Acadia has .3 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front hip room, 2.3 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, .1 inches more rear legroom and 3.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the CX-5.

Cargo Capacity

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the CX-5.

	Acadia	CX-5
Third Seat Folded	41.7 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	30.8 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79 cubic feet	59.3 cubic feet

The Acadia’s cargo area is larger than the CX-5’s in almost every dimension:

	Acadia	CX-5
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	18.5”/48”/83”	n.a./38”
Max Width	50”	57”
Min Width	42.5”	41.3”
Height	33”	32.4”

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Acadia’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The CX-5 doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Mazda CX-5 is limited to 2000 pounds. The Acadia offers up to a 4000 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The Acadia uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The CX-5 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.

The Acadia has a maintenance free battery for long life without checking the battery’s water level. The CX-5 doesn’t have a maintenance free battery, so the water level in the battery’s cells must be checked often to prevent damage.

Ergonomics

The Acadia (except SLE)’s optional easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The CX-5 doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The power windows standard on both the Acadia and the CX-5 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Acadia is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The CX-5 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The CX-5 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Acadia’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The CX-5’s power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Acadia’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Mazda only offers heated mirrors on the CX-5 Premium/Turbo.

When the Acadia with available tilt-down mirrors 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 CX-5’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Acadia SLT/AT4/Denali’s standard rear view mirror and optional 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 CX-5 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Acadia has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the CX-5 Select/Preferred/Carbon Edition/Premium/Turbo.

Both the Acadia and the CX-5 offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Acadia has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The CX-5 doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Acadia offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The CX-5 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Model Availability

The Acadia is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The CX-5 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the CX-5 because typical repairs cost less on the Acadia than the CX-5, including $1 less for a starter, $48 less for fuel injection and $45 less for front struts.

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