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Mazda’s CX-50 Hybrid – HIGHLY REGARDED

Car Reviews

Mazda’s CX-50 Hybrid – HIGHLY REGARDED

Mazda’s CX-50 Hybrid

HIGHLY REGARDED

As a longtime fan of auto shows, over the last decade I’ve had to recalibrate my expectations. Despite the descriptive, auto shows don’t capture the attention of automakers in the various ways they once did. You’d think, of course, that if you build and sell automobiles, the auto show – where carmakers can directly connect with car buyers – would be a no-brainer. And for this guy – with an admittedly small brain – it is. But the guys and gals with the big brains (and bigger salaries) have begun to resist the logic, opting to spend their promotional monies in other ways. That’s a long way of explaining Mazda’s absence at the Washington DC Auto Show. And that’s despite Mazda’s planned move upmarket, and the DC area’s decidedly upmarket population.

I did my part, driving Mazda’s CX-50 Hybrid into downtown DC and parking near the city’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Mazda’s CX-50 is perfect for these suburban-to-urban transitions, with a profile that’s more tall wagon than SUV, adequate ground clearance for DC’s declining infrastructure (but they want a new NFL stadium!) and a reasonably generous greenhouse, allowing me to keep tabs on the various crazies in the next lane. There’s a lot to like here in Mazda’s offshoot crossover, combining the reliability of an Asian platform with more than a little of Audi’s A4 Allroad vibe. 

Accessing the interior, you’ll find a step-in that’s neither up nor down; it’s just ‘in’. And once behind the wheel, you can enjoy a mix of traditional (gauges bring to the dash a whiff of last century, and HVAC controls are intuitive), along with an infotainment screen that’s easy enough once you get to know it – but a week isn’t really long enough to know if you know it. As I’ve mentioned in other Mazda reviews, my ’21 Miata has the same screen, and with it I have the same challenges.

I’m not, however, challenged by the functional aesthetic of the CX-50’s furnishings. Our Premium trim offered comfortable seats upholstered in an almost Germanic red leather (ausgezeichnet!), and while you wouldn’t call the space provided for rear passengers large, it is certainly acceptable for teens on a trip, or two adults for a lunch or dinner. And if you bring luggage, the hatch provides 29 cubic feet of space with the rear seat up, and up to 56 cubic feet with the rear seat folded.

In my previous test of the CX-50 I enjoyed the available turbocharged drivetrain, which reinforces the ‘Zoom-Zoom’ ethos of Mazda’s lineup. In its base (and admittedly less expensive) form, the CX-50 brings to the table just 187 horsepower, which is fine if driving in VA, less so when braving the freeways in CA. The turbo turns that base 187 into 250, and in combination with well-connected steering, reassuring brakes and a composed suspension, touring becomes Grand Touring. 

Mazda’s recently announced CX-50 Hybrid, with 219 combined horsepower, essentially splits the difference between the base 2.5 and the relatively spirited performance of the turbo’s 250. And it does so with a clear boost in efficiency, upping the EPA combined rating to 38 from the turbo’s 27. If you drive a lot that obviously adds up, and as a one-time owner of Toyota’s Venza hybrid I can appreciate the efficiency. The downside to that upside is the CX-50’s CVT transmission which, like the hybrid powerplant, is borrowed from Toyota. It’s one thing to be going down the road in your hyper-efficient RAV4 and experience the CVT’s drone; it’s quite another to sit behind the wheel of the CX-50, with your Zoom-Zoom expectations, and end up suffering the drone. You’ll get used to it, but in my view you shouldn’t have to adapt; that’s for the Mazda product team to have handled. 

On a wheelbase of 111 inches and an overall length of 186 inches, the CX-50 offers the perfect footprint for a youngish family or, like us, empty nesters with youngish grandchildren. Its extended roof offers room for the bike rack, while its semi-gnarly disposition wouldn’t make a hitch-mounted rack inappropriate. And if you’re a one-car family, this Mazda comes with a do-it-all disposition that is more than a little contagious. 

If doing the math, know that the Hybrid comes with a $4K bump when compared to the base CX-50, starting at $34K while the entry-level begins at just about $30K. If driving 15,000 miles a year you’ll burn about 430 gallons in the hybrid, and almost 600 in the base or the upmarket turbo. At $4/gallon that additional 170 gallons – give or take – will cost $680/year, or $50+ bucks a month, while the hybrid’s window sticker bump costs you $4,000. In short, it will take you six years of hybrid ownership to break even.

If opting for the turbo versus the CX-50 Hybrid with Premium trim, you’ll spend roughly the same $40K, and pay about the same $700/year in gas penalty, given the turbo’s thirstier EPA. You’re now paying more, but you’ll smile more. And regardless of your life stage, smiling can be contagious.

Boldt, a contributor to outlets such as AutoTrader.com, Kelley Blue Book and Autoblog, brings to his laptop some forty years of experience in automotive retail, journalism and public relations. He is a member of the Texas Auto Writers Association, The Washington Automotive Press Association and L.A.'s Motor Press Guild. David is the Managing Editor of txGarage, a regular panelist on the AutoNetwork Reports webcast/podcast, and the automotive contributor to Dallas' Katy Trail Weekly.

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