For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-70 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 Audi Q5 Sportback 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-70 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Mazda CX-70 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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer knee airbags.
With its standard Smart Brake Support, the Mazda CX-70 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Audi Q5 Sportback, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
CX-70 |
Q5 Sportback |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
-23 MPH |
-22 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-8 MPH |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-1 MPH |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-13 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-2 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-2 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
37 MPH Brights |
-33 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.4 sec |
No Warning |
37 MPH Low beams |
-26 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.5 sec |
No Warning |
Both the CX-70 and the Q5 Sportback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
The Mazda CX-70 weighs 685 to 1020 pounds more than the Audi Q5 Sportback. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
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-70 is much safer than the Q5 Sportback:
|
CX-70 |
Q5 Sportback |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
64 |
221 |
Neck Injury Chance |
16% |
25% |
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 |
ACCEPTABLE |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
GOOD |
POOR |
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-70 is safer than the Q5 Sportback:
|
CX-70 |
Q5 Sportback |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
45 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.28 in |
.71 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
513 lbs. |
1116 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
18 |
346 |
Neck Tension |
89 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.39 in |
1.73 in |
Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
402 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.75 in |
1.54 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
11 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
825 lbs. |
1249 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Mazda CX-70 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 a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Q5 Sportback was last only a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023 but no longer qualifies.