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 Q3 doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
The CX-50’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 Q3 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the CX-50 and the Q3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all-wheel drive, 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 and available around view 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 Q3:
|
CX-50 |
Q3 |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
174 |
190 |
Neck Tension |
290 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Pelvis Force |
982 lbs. |
1406 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
251 |
329 |
Neck Tension |
89 lbs. |
112 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.02 in |
2.01 in |
Torso Max Deflection |
.83 in |
1.73 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
446 lbs. |
1049 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 54 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Q3 last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2018.