Compare the2025 Mazda CX-50VS 2024 Dodge Hornet

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 Dodge Hornet doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the CX-50 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Hornet doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 Hornet doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

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 Hornet 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.

Both the CX-50 and Hornet have Rear Cross Traffic Alert, but the CX-50 Turbo Premium Plus has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Hornet’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the CX-50 and the Hornet have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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.

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 Hornet has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

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 23 points higher than the Hornet.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are better in initial quality than Dodge vehicles. With 69 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mazda higher than Dodge.

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 Dodge 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, Dodge is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Dodge vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda 14 places higher in reliability than Dodge.

On the EPA test cycle the CX-50 gets better mileage than the Hornet running its gasoline engine:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the CX-50 (except Turbo/Hybrid)’s fuel efficiency. The Hornet doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The CX-50 Hybrid’s standard fuel tank has 3.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet R/T’s standard fuel tank (14.5 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The CX-50’s standard fuel tank has 2.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet GT’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 13.5 gallons).

The CX-50 has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Hornet doesn’t offer a CVT.

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

The CX-50 stops much shorter than the Hornet:

For better traction, the CX-50 has larger standard tires than the Hornet (225/65R17 vs. 215/60R17). The CX-50 Premium Plus/Turbo’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Hornet (245/45R20 vs. 235/40R20).

The CX-50 has engine speed sensitive 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 Hornet doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-50’s wheelbase is 7 inches longer than on the Hornet (110.8 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CX-50 is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 3.1 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Hornet.

The CX-50 handles at .87 G’s, while the Hornet GT pulls only .85 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 quicker than the Hornet GT (26.8 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the CX-50 Hybrid’s turning circle is 2.5 feet tighter than the Hornet R/T’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.9 feet). The CX-50’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Hornet GT’s (36 feet vs. 38 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CX-50 Hybrid Preferred has a 1.5 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Hornet R/T (7.6 vs. 6.1 inches), allowing the CX-50 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The CX-50 2.5 S Premium Plus’ minimum ground clearance is .5 inch higher than on the Hornet GT (8.6 vs. 8.1 inches).

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the CX-50 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus is quieter than the Hornet GT:

The CX-50 has 2.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Hornet (100.3 vs. 98).

The CX-50 has .3 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom and 1.8 inches more rear legroom than the Hornet.

The CX-50 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Hornet with its rear seat up (31.4 vs. 27 cubic feet). The CX-50 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Hornet with its rear seat folded (56.3 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the CX-50 easier. The CX-50’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.4 inches, while the Hornet’s liftover is 31.8 inches.

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

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

Maximum trailer towing in the Dodge Hornet is limited to 2000 pounds. The CX-50 offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

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 Hornet doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the CX-50 has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Hornet only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

Consumer Reports rated the CX-50’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Hornet’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

The Hornet’s optional cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The CX-50 Turbo’s standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

When the CX-50 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 Hornet’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 Hornet offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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

The CX-50 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the CX-50 will retain 53.88% to 56.04% of its original price after five years, while the Hornet only retains 51.34% to 51.35%.

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

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 Dodge Hornet GT fifth.

The Mazda CX-50 outsold the Dodge Hornet by almost five to one during 2023.