CX-5 rugged, but no cowboy
ROUGH AND TOUGH: YET THE WILDS OF AFRICA COULD BE A BIG PROBLEM WITH ITS GEARBOX
Despite some shortcomings, this is still a reliable vehicle.
‘I’m not much of a cowboy, but I’m one helluva stud...” That’s one of the more memorable lines in the classic movie
Midnight Cowboy. The character played by Jon Voight figures that when he heads to New York to seek his fortune, city folks will be impressed by the image of a wild, untamed man of nature.
It doesn’t quite turn out that way, but he is correct in his feeling that those urban dwellers would exchange concrete canyons for the real thing in a heartbeat.
What I call the Cowboy ethos is driving the way the motor industry is heading these days.
The biggest growing sector of the car market in the last 10 years has been that of SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) ... those pieces of transport which allow the owner to dream of those far-off mesas and the wide, open plains.
These are the sort of vehicles which say to those looking at you: Yep, that’s right, I’m rough, tough and hard to bluff.
(The reality is that if you were such a person, or someone who loves wearing hairshirts to prove your toughness, you would be driving around in an old Land Rover, with oil-clogged fingernails from having to stop and fix it so often.)
These urban cowboy SUVs make you feel as though you could, if you wanted to, watch the sunrise from a crag in the Drakensberg.
You can’t of course, but cars have always been more about dreams than reality.
Mazda’s CX-5 fits squarely into that milieu. It looks rugged, with chunky flanks and muscle bulges here and there – although I am not sold on that wide, gaping gormless mouth at the front, though.
It looks as though it could actually climb hills rather than Hill Street.
The Mazda CX5 2.2L Akera AWD Auto (imagine writing that all out on the licence renewal form) which we had on test probably does have a modicum of off-road ability, thanks to a sophisticated part-time AllWheel-Drive system.
This electronically controlled piece of hardware is able to channel power and torque to individual wheels when one axle loses traction.
The electronic brain is also able to use braking and power modulation to improve the vehicle’s cornering.
But, don’t think of trying to head out to the real wilds of Africa in this car: Its ground clearance is limited, it has road-biased tyres and it doesn’t have a lowrange gearbox.
Having said that, though, the CX5 will allow you to tackle a bit of loose sand and gravel and will give you that little bit of extra piece of mind when you venture off the tar onto roads in rural areas ... roads which can often catch you out if you are in a two-wheel-drive.
The Akera is the top-of-the range CX5 and the other petrol-engined variants (a 2.0 litre and 2.5 litre) only have frontwheel-drive, with all that implies in terms of getting stuck in out-of-the-way places.
Mind you, you’re not likely to get stuck (other than in traffic) taking the kids to school and the extra cost of AWD is probably not worth if if you’re not really doing the real cowboy thing regularly.
That cost, like everything these days, is not small. The Akera 2.2 diesel comes in at a hefty R557 000, while the entry level FWD version starts at R380 000.
For your money, you get a lot of goodies, and advanced safety features, in the Akera.
These include adaptive LED headlights, Lane Departure Warning, Smart City Brake Support (which warns you if it thinks you’re going to smack into the vehicle in front of you), Drive Attention Alert and Blind Sport Monitoring.
Many of these safety features debuted only a few years ago in high-end vehicles and I predict that they will become the future “non-negotiables” in vehicle purchase decisions, like airbags and ABS have become now.
The CX-5’s diesel is smooth and quiet, although I was disappointed at the fuel consumption which remained stubbornly above 7 litres per 100km, even on a long journey out of town.
On the long road, though, the car is supremely comfortable and there is plenty of space, both in the boot and in terms of legroom.
Also, it is a Mazda, which means it is one of the best built and most reliable cars on the market. You never hear horror stories about Mazdas breaking down.
You can sum up the CX-5 simply: Not much of a cowboy, but one helluva car ...