Driving the 2025 Mazda CX-50: Luxury Features at a Bargain Price
As I cruised down the highway in the 2025 Mazda CX-50, a compact SUV from a mainstream automaker, I was struck by its luxurious feel without the luxury car price tag. This vehicle boasts heated and ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, and adaptive headlights that adjust their brightness to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. The CX-50, particularly in its top trim Turbo Premium Plus version, offers a driving experience that rivals luxury cars from years past.
The 2025 Mazda CX-50 is priced competitively, with the test model costing $45,515, including $595 for Machine Gray Metallic paint and a $1,420 delivery fee. While this is on the higher end for a compact SUV from a mainstream automaker, it’s actually less than the average new car price last month. Buyers can opt for a more affordable CX-50 in the low-$30,000 range with many of the same virtues.
Handsome Looks and Upscale Cabin
Mazda’s best-selling model is the CX-5 SUV, a similarly sized crossover that shares the showroom with the CX-50. While the CX-5 has crisp handling and curvy looks, the CX-50 offers a refreshed design with a longer, flatter hood and more pronounced fender flares. The result is a vehicle that looks more capable without becoming overly rugged.
The interior of the Turbo Premium Plus model is quite premium, featuring leather-trimmed seats in an attractive two-tone pattern, with heating and ventilation in the front and heating at the rear outboard positions. The Bose 12-speaker audio system is impressive for an affordable compact crossover. However, the cabin isn’t without quirks, such as a somewhat awkward interface for the central screen and the lack of a digital driver’s instrument cluster.
Refined Driving Experience
Despite Mazda’s shift away from its “Zoom-Zoom” branding, the CX-50 still delivers a spirited driving experience. On both highway trips and winding back roads around Lake Erie, the CX-50 demonstrated composed handling, staying flatter than most similarly priced models in hard corners. The steering feel is firm, making it more enjoyable to drive than rivals like the Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V.
The i-Activ AWD system handled muddy dirt roads with ease, though it’s not quite a Jeep Wrangler rival. The available turbocharged engine provides a significant boost in power, though most buyers might find the base 187-horsepower engine sufficient for their needs.
Conclusion
The 2025 Mazda CX-50 offers a compelling blend of style, luxury features, and driving enjoyment at a competitive price. While it may not be perfect, with some quirks in its interface and less cargo space than some rivals, it stands out as a refined choice in the compact SUV market. For those seeking a premium driving experience without the luxury car price, the CX-50 is certainly worth consideration.
