Mazda’s CX-50 Turbo Meridian Edition – CHANGES IN LATITUDES, ATTITUDES

Mazda’s CX-50 Turbo Meridian Edition

CHANGES IN LATITUDES, ATTITUDES

Santa Clarita, CA – Yeah, I know – and you know; with the ‘Meridian’ tag, Mazda marketers are referencing a ‘constant longitude passing through a given place on the earth’s surface and the terrestrial poles’. And, as with many of us, the team likes an alliteration, and is there a better one than Mazda and Meridian? So, even if the CX-50 Turbo’s tag has little to do with latitudes, it has everything to do with attitudes, and in the mash-up that is today’s SUV circus I think Mazda has created a newish subspecies. With the accent on sport, the company delivers an abundance of utility, along with a real ability to tackle fire roads and/or logging trails.

At the time of its launch for the 2022 model year, the CX-50 generated a lot of ass-scratching, propelled by Mazda already having a small crossover in its lineup, the well-received CX-5. Historically, Mazda had replaced a model – think CX-9 – when introducing an additional numeral to one of its models. The CX-9 was replaced by the CX-90 and the CX-7 – dropped much earlier – begat the CX-70; with that, you could assume the CX-5 would be discontinued as production of the CX-50 ramped up, but it wasn’t. 

Instead, the CX-50 – which shares a platform with Mazda’s CX-30 and not the CX-5 – shares the same showroom as the CX-5 and (ostensibly) competes for the same customers. But not me. Despite its reception in the marketplace I’m not drawn to the more upright – and conventional – CX-5, but I’d like nothing better to have a CX-50 Turbo Meridian Edition in my garage, paired with my ’21 Miata. Both benefit from a purposeful design and a driver-centric mission.

In contrast to the majority of today’s crossovers, the CX-50 is wagon-like in profile and less of a tall hatch. Given its lower height you can access its roof rack easily, even with my oft-mentioned 29-inch inseam. And while enjoying a slightly higher hip point than a conventional sedan or wagon, getting in is super easy, and getting out won’t require a running board. 

The overall proportions of the wagon-like CX-50 are spot-on (and made even better by the optional – at $450 – Zircon Sand color), and enhanced by its bulging wheelwells, the obligatory cladding and – for the Meridian – 18-inch rims and Falken’s Wildpeak A/T Trail tires in a 225/60 proportion. This aggressive tread will work well on those fire trails or logging roads, or – you’d know – our failing infrastructure. I’m only wishing for slightly less front overhang, which would supply a better balanced visual, as well as an improved approach angle.

Once inside, I am blown away by our CX-50’s Terracotta leather. This is what perforated leather should look like, and is amazing at the Turbo Meridian’s $40K price point. Front seats are supportive (the two hours of driving to the Roblar Winery in Santa Ynez were very comfortable), while the rear supplies adequate leg, head and shoulder room, even with the Meridian’s expansive panoramic moonroof. Rear seats are even heated, perfect for those readers in ‘North’ Texas. And while the middle passenger in the rear won’t want to stay long, it’ll work for lunch. 

Behind the driver’s nicely executed wheel (perfect diameter!) sits a digital representation of engine speed on the left, temp and fuel on the right and a digital speedometer front and center. Your HVAC controls are below the infotainment screen, while that screen is controlled by Mazda’s rotary dial on the console. This, in my view, remains a screwed-up way to access info, requiring too many steps to change a radio station. I don’t like it in my Miata, and four years after that purchase I don’t like it in this test CX-50. Could we not opt out and simply get analog controls?

Under the hood Mazda offers a choice of a relatively gutless 2.5 liter normally aspirated four with just 187 horsepower or our press example, a 2.5 liter turbocharged four with 256 horsepower, driving all wheels through a 6-speed automatic transmission. The saving grace of the base engine is its availability at just over $30K; this is a lot of platform at that price point. But the one to have is the turbo with its 256 horsepower, which – in the Meridian Edition – is the only powertrain available. Car and Driver arrived at 60 in just 6.4 seconds, while Mazda claims a top speed of 142. That, of course, is Autobahn territory – which California’s I-5 can sometimes duplicate. And while Mazda now offers a Toyota-sourced hybrid drivetrain for the CX-50, Car and Driver attained 29 miles per gallon in the turbo on its 75-mile loop; that 29 isn’t 40…but isn’t bad.

It’s been several years since, on a family trip to Yosemite, we wandered – via a few miles of gravel road – into California’s Brodie State Park. An abandoned mining town, it’s only accessible by that gravel road, and the conventional crossover we were in was a tad uncomfortable on that surface. Conversely, the CX-50 Meridian would have been transformative on that surface. I wouldn’t think of those few miles as a World Rally stage, but the CX-50 would have gone about the detour with a composure most car-based crossovers lack. 

So, peace of mind in the rough and competence on the highway for just over $40K. Mazda’s CX-50 Turbo Meridian: Marvelous.