Compare the2024 Mazda CX-50VS 2023 GMC Terrain

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

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-50 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 GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

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 Terrain 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 Terrain 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 Terrain.

The CX-50 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Terrain’s blind spot costs extra.

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. GMC charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Terrain and the Terrain’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

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 Terrain doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the CX-50 and the Terrain 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, rearview cameras 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 Terrain:

	CX-50	Terrain
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Compression	67 lbs.	112 lbs.
Shoulder Deflection	1.54 in	1.73 in
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Injury Criterion	251	733
Head Peak Forces	no contact	101 G’s
Neck Compression	67 lbs.	491 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	1.02 in	1.65 in
Shoulder Force	379 lbs.	402 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.83 in	1.57 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	446 lbs.	669 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL

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 Terrain last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

The CX-50’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Terrain’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the CX-50’s reliability 24 points higher than the Terrain.

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 GMC 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, GMC is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda fourth in overall reliability. GMC is ranked 21st.

Engine

The CX-50’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 12 more horsepower (187 vs. 175) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The CX-50’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 81 more horsepower (256 vs. 175) and 117 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CX-50 gets better mileage than the Terrain:

			MPG
CX-50
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	24 city/30 hwy
Terrain
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/29 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/28 hwy

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 Terrain doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The CX-50 has a gallon more fuel capacity than the Terrain FWD’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 14.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The CX-50 has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Terrain. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	CX-50	Terrain
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	11.3 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Terrain (245/45R20 vs. 235/50R19).

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 Terrain’s optional 50 series tires.

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

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-50’s wheelbase is 3.5 inches longer than on the Terrain (110.8 inches vs. 107.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CX-50 is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Terrain.

The CX-50 handles at .81 G’s, while the Terrain Denali AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the CX-50’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the Terrain w/17” wheels’ (36 feet vs. 37.4 feet). The CX-50’s turning circle is 5.6 feet tighter than the Terrain w/19” wheels’ (36 feet vs. 41.6 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CX-50 has a 1.4 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Terrain SLE (8.3 vs. 6.9 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 .7 inch higher than on the Terrain SLT/AT4/Denali (8.6 vs. 7.9 inches).

Passenger Space

The CX-50 has .8 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more rear headroom, .1 inches more rear legroom and .3 inches more rear hip room than the Terrain.

Cargo Capacity

The CX-50 has a much larger cargo volume than the Terrain with its rear seat up (31.4 vs. 29.6 cubic feet).

Towing

The CX-50’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Terrain’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the GMC Terrain 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 Terrain 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’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Terrain’s passenger windows don’t 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 Terrain’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the CX-50’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Terrain’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 Terrain doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The CX-50 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 costs extra on the Terrain.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Mazda CX-50, based on reliability, safety and performance. The GMC Terrain isn't recommended.