2014 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring

About this CX-5

The CX-5 is the small SUV for people who didn't really want to give up driving a car. It's the one road-test people kept picking over a CR-V or a RAV4, because Mazda gave it actual steering feel and a chassis that stays composed instead of leaning through every corner. In Deep Crystal Blue it looks far more expensive than it is - that paint goes nearly black in the shade and lights up blue in the sun.

This is the Grand Touring, which is the loaded one. Leather seating, navigation built into the center screen, a sunroof, push-button start, dual-zone automatic climate, heated front seats, and upgraded audio. Those were all options people paid real money for when it was new, and you're getting them now at a used-compact-SUV price.

The 2.5-liter SkyActiv four and six-speed automatic are the reason these have aged well. SkyActiv was Mazda's whole engineering bet - high compression, light weight, no turbo to fail later - and it delivered around thirty miles per gallon out of an SUV without any hybrid complexity. It's a genuinely low-stress vehicle to own.

Everything works, it drives well, and the body and paint are sharp. The parchment leather over Deep Crystal Blue is a combination Mazda charged extra for and it still looks upscale. Heated front seats for January mornings, a power driver's seat, dual-zone automatic climate, HD Radio and Bluetooth, a backup camera, and rear seats that fold 60/40 under that big hatch. Come see it in person - the paint has to be seen in sunlight.

Features & equipment