For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-50 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Buick Envista doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
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 Buick Envista 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 Envista doesn’t offer knee airbags.
With its standard Smart Brake Support, the Mazda CX-50 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Buick Envista, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
CX-50 |
Envista |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-9 MPH |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-18 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-18 MPH |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-7 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.4 sec |
1.4 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
-35 MPH |
-5 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.8 sec |
1.3 sec |
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Mazda CX-50 achieved an “Acceptable” rating for its forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, outperforming the Buick Envista which scored “Poor” - the lowest rating - in these critical safety features.
The CX-50 has standard Secondary Collision Reduction System, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Envista doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
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 Envista doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The CX-50 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Envista doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360° Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Envista only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.
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 Envista’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. Buick charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Envista and the Envista’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 Envista doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the CX-50 and the Envista have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.
The Mazda CX-50 weighs 604 to 871 pounds more than the Buick Envista. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.
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 Envista:
|
CX-50 |
Envista |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
POOR |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 |
POOR |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Envista:
|
CX-50 |
Envista |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
114 |
476 |
Neck Tension |
268 lbs. |
379 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
22 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.34 in |
1.57 in |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
982 lbs. |
1227 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
47 |
424 |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
134 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
45 lbs. |
134 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.87 in |
1.77 in |
Shoulder Force |
201 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.71 in |
1.57 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
8 MPH |
9 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
491 lbs. |
892 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Mazda CX-50 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 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 a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Envista is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.