Compare the2024 Mazda CX-50VS 2024 Toyota Rav4

Safety
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-50. But it costs extra on the Rav4.

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 Rav4’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. Toyota charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Rav4.

Both the CX-50 and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the CX-50 is much safer than the Rav4:

	CX-50	Rav4
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	148	307
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg/foot Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Thigh Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL

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 Rav4:

	CX-50	Rav4
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	114	120
Neck Compression	22 lbs.	67 lbs.
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	982 lbs.	1093 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	47	542
Head Peak Forces	no contact	104 G’s
Neck Tension	67 lbs.	312 lbs.
Neck Compression	45 lbs.	223 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Deflection	.87 in	.94 in
Shoulder Force	201 lbs.	290 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.71 in	.83 in
Torso Deflection Rate	8 MPH	8 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	491 lbs.	692 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL

The Mazda CX-50 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Rav4 was last only a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023 but no longer qualifies.

Engine

The CX-50’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 53 more horsepower (256 vs. 203) and 136 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Mazda CX-50 is faster than the Toyota Rav4:

	CX-50 4 cyl.	CX-50 turbo 4 cyl.	Rav4
Zero to 60 MPH	8.5 sec	7 sec	8.8 sec
Quarter Mile	16.5 sec	15.4 sec	16.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	84.1 MPH	89.7 MPH	83.8 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The CX-50 has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rav4 (15.9 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the CX-50’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Rav4:

	CX-50	Rav4
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	11.1 inches

The CX-50 stops much shorter than the Rav4:

	CX-50	Rav4
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	176 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Rav4 (245/45R20 vs. 235/55R19).

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 Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo has standard 20-inch wheels. The Rav4’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The CX-50 has 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-50’s wheelbase is 4.9 inches longer than on the Rav4 (110.8 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CX-50 is 2.4 inches wider in the front and 1.9 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Rav4.

The CX-50 2.5 Turbo handles at .87 G’s, while the Rav4 TRD Off-Road pulls only .79 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 2.1 seconds quicker than the Rav4 Limited (26.8 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the CX-50’s turning circle is .1 feet tighter than the Rav4 LE/XLE’s (36 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The CX-50’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road’s (36 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

Chassis

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the CX-50 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus is quieter than the Rav4 TRD Off-Road:

	CX-50	Rav4
At idle	38 dB	41 dB
Full-Throttle	78 dB	78 dB
70 MPH Cruising	69 dB	70 dB

Passenger Space

The CX-50 has .7 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more rear legroom and 4.4 inches more rear hip room than the Rav4.

Cargo Capacity

The CX-50’s cargo area is larger than the Rav4’s in almost every dimension:

	CX-50	Rav4
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	42.6”/75.4”	40”/73.4”
Max Width	55.6”	59”
Min Width	40.2”	39.4”
Height	30.2”	36.6”

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the CX-50’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Rav4 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

The CX-50’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Rav4’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The CX-50 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rav4 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 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The CX-50 has standard Advanced Keyless Entry and Start that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road offers a Smart Key System.

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 Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

Consumer Reports rated the CX-50’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Rav4’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 Rav4 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 Rav4’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 Rav4 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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 Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Mazda CX-50 and the Toyota Rav4, based on reliability, safety and performance.

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its April 2024 issue and they ranked the Mazda CX-50 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus first. They ranked the Toyota Rav4 TRD Off-Road sixth.

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