Compare the2024 Mazda CX-50VS 2024 Hyundai Kona

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

Safety

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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 Kona 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 Kona doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-50. But it costs extra on the Kona.

Both the CX-50 and the Kona 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, driver alert monitors 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 Kona:

	CX-50	Kona
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	114	251
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	47	282
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.87 in	2.09 in
Shoulder Force	201 lbs.	335 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.71 in	1.61 in
Torso Deflection Rate	8 MPH	10 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	491 lbs.	759 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Hyundai is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda 4 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

Engine

The CX-50’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 40 more horsepower (187 vs. 147) and 54 lbs.-ft. more torque (186 vs. 132) than the Kona SE/SEL’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The CX-50’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 66 more horsepower (256 vs. 190) and 125 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 195) than the Kona N Line/Limited’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Mazda CX-50 turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Kona N Line/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder:

	CX-50	Kona
Zero to 60 MPH	7 sec	8.5 sec
Quarter Mile	15.4 sec	16.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	89.7 MPH	85.6 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CX-50 with its standard engine gets better fuel mileage than the Kona N Line/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder 8-speed Auto AWD (24 city/30 hwy vs. 24 city/29 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 Kona doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The CX-50 has 3.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Kona’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 12.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The CX-50 has 2.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Kona N Line/Limited’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 13.2 gallons).

Brakes and Stopping

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

	CX-50	Kona SE	Kona AWD/SEL/1.6T
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	11 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	11.2 inches	11.2 inches

The CX-50 stops much shorter than the Kona:

	CX-50	Kona
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	172 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the CX-50 has larger standard tires than the Kona (225/65R17 vs. 215/60R17). The CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Kona (245/45R20 vs. 235/45R19).

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

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-50’s wheelbase is 6.1 inches longer than on the Kona (110.8 inches vs. 104.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CX-50 is 2.6 inches wider in the front and 2.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Kona.

The CX-50 2.5 Turbo handles at .87 G’s, while the Kona N Line AWD pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The CX-50 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Kona N Line AWD (26.8 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the CX-50 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Kona (8.3 vs. 8.1 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 .3 inch higher than on the Kona N Line (8.6 vs. 8.3 inches).

Passenger Space

The CX-50 has .3 inches more rear headroom and 1.6 inches more rear legroom than the Kona.

Cargo Capacity

The CX-50 has a much larger cargo volume than the Kona with its rear seat up (31.4 vs. 25.5 cubic feet).

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the CX-50’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Kona doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

The CX-50 has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The Kona has no towing capacity.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo, the memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Kona doesn’t offer a memory system.

The CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo Premium 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 Kona doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The CX-50’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 Kona’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically. With the Kona’s optional power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

On a hot day the CX-50’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Kona can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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 Kona’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The CX-50’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Kona’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

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 Kona doesn’t offer cornering lights.

When the CX-50 Premium/Turbo 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 Kona’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The CX-50’s optional rear and 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 Kona offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the CX-50 and the Kona offer available heated front seats. The CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Kona.

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 is only available on the Kona SEL/N Line/Limited.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Mazda CX-50, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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