SYDNEY, July 25 — The Mazda CX-5 2.2L SKYACTIV-D diesel has just been introduced to Malaysia this week, and so far, Bermaz Motor, the local distributors for the Mazda brand have only offered the front-wheel drive (FWD) version.
Everybody in the know is aware that there is an All-Wheel Drive (AWD) version; it is only a matter of time before that is made available in Malaysia. I had the privilege of driving such a unit down under in Australia, and here is our report.
Immediately after landing in Sydney, we took a short cab ride to the Mazda office in Sydney where we collected the Mazda CX-5 Diesel, and started our drive north to Newcastle, where we would spend the next 11 days with the vehicle.
The 2.2 litre diesel Mazda engine delivers 173 horsepower and 420Nm of torque.
During our stay, we took various trips to the countryside to explore the flora and fauna, including some adventures along the beautiful eastern coastline to look at migrating whales and playful dolphins.
With AWD, the CX-5 was the ideal vehicle for the trip, which included some mild off-roading to get to remote beaches.
Outwardly, there is no really visible difference between the FWD and the AWD version, save for a tailgate emblem that says AWD. In fact, you would be hard put to tell even the difference between the petrol version and the diesel version unless you took a close look at yet another tailgate emblem that says either SKYACTIV-G (for the petrol engine) or SKYACTIV-D (for the diesel engine).
For a person earning Malaysia ringgit and driving in Australia, even the relatively low price of diesel at A$1.30 is quite high, so naturally fuel consumption is a concern. I am happy to report though, that we managed very respectable fuel consumption figures — after resetting all the numbers, we managed an average of 6.2 litres per 100 kilometres on the drive through Sydney traffic and northwards towards Newcastle.
The speed limit through Sydney varies from 60 kph to 80 kph, and out in the country side, it was between 90 and 110 kph.
Large intercooler for the Mazda 2.2 diesel engine.
We covered a little over 1,200 kilometres in the 11 days that we had the CX-5, and this included exploratory drives through cities, much stopping and starting, and sometimes just keeping the engine running to keep the heater on (it is winter now in Australia, with temperatures of between eight and 15 degrees).
I thought that it would be meaningful to note the overall average fuel consumption over the entire period of time, and the result after the trip was 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres, which I consider highly satisfying. We started with a full tank, and only needed to refuel after a week or so.
When we returned the vehicle, it still had around three quarters of the fuel remaining. As far as fuel economy is concerned, the CX-5 Diesel gets top marks from me.
The choice of FWD or AWD would depend on the user. If you opt for the FWD model, you are likely to save approximately another 10 per cent more fuel, as the AWD system has more transmission losses due to more moving parts (remember the system has to transfer drive to the rear axle as well).
A user who hardly travels off-road would actually not need an AWD model — for me, there are times when I go into the wild, and of course, when the road is slippery, for example when it is raining, I want the reassurance of drive to all four wheels. City slickers could probably get by fine with the FWD.
You cannot really drive very fast on Aussie roads, with their very strict police patrols and speed cameras, but where there were winding roads, we managed to check out the handling of the CX-5.
This Mazda CX-5 version delivers 7.2 lit per 100km.
The vehicle is firmly sprung — as comfortable as a car, with hardly any roll around corners. 19-inch alloy wheels with 225/55 R19 tyres provide superb grip and stability — no issues in that department as well. Straight line stability is excellent, and lane changes are done with ease.
The 2.2 litre SKYACTIV diesel developed in-house by Mazda has a two-stage turbo, the primary being a smaller turbo that minimises turbo lag, and provides quick acceleration from standstill, while the larger secondary turbo kicks in at high engine speeds to provide more power.
A note for the uninitiated — a small turbo takes less time to wind up, so is able to provide instant power at low engine speeds, but as the engine picks up speed, the small turbo would soon run out of breath, and the engine would be starved of power — that is when the larger turbo kicks in and boosts the engine power.
Conversely, a large turbo can provide much power, when the engine is running at high speed, but at low engine speeds, it would be quite useless, suffering what we know as "turbo lag.” A two-stage turbo resolves the issue of turbo lag at low speeds, yet provides more power at high speeds.
From the viewpoint of the driver, the SKYACTIV-D diesel engine is really nice to drive — you get 420Nm of torque, which means you get very good throttle response even at low engine speeds, and this very same high torque also allows you to maintain a steady speed with minimum throttle, thus helping you to save fuel.
Motorists will appreciate this torque when overtaking — the quick response helps to keep your TED (Time Exposed to Danger) to a minimum. Anyway, once you drive a turbo-charged vehicle, you don’t want to go back to a naturally aspirated one, unless it has a huge engine capacity.
The CX-5 comes loaded with a comprehensive list of accessories — what will come with the Malaysian model when it finally arrives on our shores may be different, but the Australian unit came with a GPS that was really useful, phone connectivity, USB connectivity, traction control, lane departure warning, tyre pressure monitor, sunroof, reverse camera, i-stop and an audio system.
Other goodies include electric seats for driver and front passenger, seat warmers, and leather upholstery.
We are looking forward to testing a FWD version of the Mazda SKYACTIV-D real soon — stay tuned.
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