Mazda is making big moves into North America with a new assembly plant and an all-new model for 2023 designed specifically for this market.
The newly opened $2.3 billion Mazda Toyota Mfg. facility in Huntsville, AL, is a joint venture between the two companies to share production and workforce resources. When it reaches full capacity, the plant is expected to employ 4,000 personnel and produce up to 300,000 vehicles a year.
Mazda North American Operations are headquartered in Irvine, CA, where the design and engineering teams worked with teams in Huntsville to design the CX-50, taking a new approach to style and handling. The low and wide design is meant to convey a tough and powerful image deemed attractive to North American buyers.
Most of Mazda’s presentation focused on the people who will use the CX-50 and how it can improve their life, safety and mobility. This human-centric approach is refreshing in an age when a vehicle’s features often are the main thrust of the marketing-speak rather than the driving experience.
The strategy is embodied in the phrase Jinba-Ittai that Mazda uses as its design philosophy. It means the experience of when a horse rider feels he has become one with his mount. The idea is that when a driver and car become perfectly in harmony, the driving experience is elevated to a new level. This is more than just words to the Mazda team. It can be seen in every aspect of the company’s design, thought and engineering as well as the end product and driving experience.
Impressions
We drove to Santa Barbara, CA, to test the CX-50 on mountain roads overlooking the Pacific Ocean and offroad trails in the hills west of the city. The powerful CUV did not disappoint.
The CX-50 is a pleasure to drive, responding eagerly with instant acceleration at any speed, excelling at braking and steering, and providing a sense of being in full control. It is at home on the highway, city streets or winding roads and is the first Mazda designed to have offroad capability.
The CX-50 strikes a successful balance of a vehicle designed for performance and style, while being comfortable and responsive in daily driving, at an affordable price.
With this model, I expect Mazda will expand its market to reach more Americans who want a good-looking CUV that delivers speed, safety features and quality usually found in vehicles costing twice as much.
Interior and HMI
From the exterior style and trim to the interior design, comfort, as well as power and drivability, the CX-50 could be mistaken for a CUV costing tens of thousands more than the $26,800 MSRP for the base model. The cabin features sleek and clean lines that speak luxury at a reasonable cost. The seats strike a good balance between support and comfort, even after six hours of driving on highways, winding roads and bumpy, hilly dirt trails.
The CUV provides plenty of head and legroom thanks to the CX-50’s generous dimensions. It is a full 6.7 ins. (170 mm) longer and 3 ins. (76 mm) wider than the CX-5, riding on a wheelbase 4.6 ins. (117 mm) longer. There is even legroom and headroom in the second row for this 6’1” (185-cm) driver. The panoramic moonroof is a nice feature when driving in the countryside.
HMI controls are fairly standard and are easy to find and use, except for the Commander Control knob in the center console. This provides access to the infotainment system, including information, entertainment, communication, navigation and settings.
This works well for basic top-level menu features. However, I sorely missed the lack of a touchscreen. Tuning to a particular radio station requires about five or six steps, most of which have to be repeated to switch to a different station. Give me buttons or a touchscreen to turn on the radio and find my station in two motions. I ended up using my phone for news and music while I drove.
Two other challenges struck me during the offroad portion of the drive. The driving mode indicator in the instrument cluster is quite subtle and therefore hard to see with sunglasses. A more distinct highlight or lining would be easier to see. I had to lift my shades to make sure I was in the right mode. And the button to set the air intake to recirculate does not light up. The center of the small icon changes very subtly from a straight line to a curve. So, one has to look closely to confirm it’s engaged. I miss the standard orange LED indicator for this.
Handling and Responsiveness
The engine, transmission, AWD, gearing and ride tuning provide powerful acceleration, excellent handling and traction. Even more impressive than the hardware is the extensive thought, testing and engineering design that went into the engine responsiveness, transmission, g-vectoring control and AWD coupling systems.
The acceleration is designed to instantly respond when the driver presses the pedal at any speed, rather than hesitate for a gear shift or engine lag. The team succeeded in creating a very responsive experience, which at first seems a bit touchy, but soon feels just right. Mazda chooses to keep a 6-speed automatic transmission rather than adding more gears so responsiveness doesn’t lag through one or more downshifts when the driver steps on the gas pedal.
The GVC and i-Active AWD systems work together to noticeably improve cornering, traction, braking and control. The CX-50 constantly adjusts the weight and torque delivered to each wheel to provide a superb driving experience. The all-weather tires grip the road so well that despite my efforts, I could barely make the CX-50 slide even on mountain roads with loose gravel and dirt, or on dusty offroad trails. The CUV just wouldn’t let go. It is actually quite impressive, especially for a vehicle weighing nearly two tons
Mazda takes an interesting approach for their driving modes. Instead of changing how the vehicle handles and responds, the modes are designed to provide a similar dependable experience in each driving condition: normal roads, sport mode for curves and offroad mode for offroad use.
By the way, only one offroad mode encompasses all surfaces including dirt, rock, mud and snow. That is how well the GVC and i-Active systems work and how intelligent they are, sensing and instantly responding to changing conditions of each tire on the road. Even offroad, the vehicle handles similarly to the on-road experience.
ADAS Features
The model we drove has blindspot detection, lane keeping assist, lane departure warnings, rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking and advanced adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability. The system also provides a nice feature: a subtle vibration of the steering wheel as a lane-departure warning.
The ADAS system is based on Mazda’s i-Activesense technologies that uses a front-facing camera for sensing and recognition, three near-infrared lasers for nearby objects, a milliwave radar for long-distance sensing, and radar on each side and the rear for sensing blindspots and rear cross-traffic.
The adaptive cruise control performed flawlessly in 99% of conditions, even on curves which challenge most other systems I have tried. The forward sensing reaches further as well, and starts tracking and responding to vehicles sooner than most other systems. The stop-and-go assistance is useful and dependable. Only once did I have to apply the brakes manually because I wasn’t sure if the system would stop in time. The rest of the time it brakes appropriately, smoothly and reliably.
View more photos in the 2023 Mazda CX-50 gallery.
