Say what you will about Mazda’s earnest repetition of its mildly silly ‘jinba ittai’ (‘car and driver as one’) mantra, but the manufacturer has a proven track record for delivering mainstream models with an appreciable focus on proficient handling.
For an SUV of notable size and weight, the CX-5 has an impressively honed change of direction. There isn’t quite the initial bite that its pointy attitude probably deserves, but nevertheless, in the rate of response and broader accuracy, it’s worthier than most.
The lingering doubt, at any rate, is not in the wrists but in the hips and back. Generally speaking, the mechanical compromise between having a heavy, high-sided car corner adeptly on passive suspension and still ride satisfactorily is well struck.
The CX-5 is patently at the firmer end of the SUV market, yet its damping is considerate enough at speed to make the secondary ride seem consistently fluid.
About town, though, or when dealing with larger intrusions, less keen drivers might conceivably wonder if the concession to handling is one worth making.
Undeniably, the Volkswagen Tiguan on adaptive suspension would make a fairer fist of isolating its occupants from the average high street than the Mazda does.
On a hill route that has genuinely fast, sighted bends, the CX-5 demonstrates the same well-controlled roll as on the road.
However, it’s in the sharper bends, taken at unreasonable speed, that its initial and robust resistance to lean is overcome by its high roll centre and not-inconsiderable mass.
