2020 Mazda CX-5 vs Volvo XC40

What's the difference?

The CX-5 Akera is an acquired taste in the sense that it costs more than the GT for what are essentially cosmetic extras. The Nappa leather is lovely, yes, and the sunroof is good (I guess, I don't like them) but it doesn't do anything any differently than the GT.

However, like the GT, it's loaded up with gear and in the case of the turbo, it's the pick of the engines. It's also still right up at the head of the pack dynamically and aesthetically. Fifty grand is a lot of money, but the Akera is a lot of car.

The XC40 distils Volvo’s current virtues – charismatic design, easy functionality, and top-shelf safety – into an SUV package with brisk performance, an impressive standard equipment list, and enough space and flexibility for small families. Based on this test fuel efficiency could be better, and the warranty needs a boost, but if you’re looking for a cool, compact SUV that stands apart from the mainstream your ride awaits.

I really like cut of the CX-5's cloth. It is a bit colour sensitive, although I really like this 'Polymetal Grey Metallic' hue ($495) which changes a lot depending on the lighting conditions.

The second generation has a more resolved, more ears-pinned-back design which is kind of ironic because one of the ads for the previous car used big cat imagery. The sleek headlights, the beautiful proportions and general elegance is going to age just as well as the older machine. That's a good design.

The interior is very clean but still really dark. The 'wood' in the Akera doesn't really help matters, but that's what you get for going for the top of the range. The Nappa leather on the seats is quite lovely, though and the car smells nice (at least when new). As with other Mazdas, the switch count on the centre stack is minimal with some lights moving up to the ceiling console. It's very calm and composed.

Across its current range Volvo has mastered the art of design consistency without stepping over into confusing sameness. It’s a fine line, and the XC40 illustrates why Volvo is winning that game.

Signature design elements, like the distinctive ‘Thor’s Hammer’ LED headlights and long hockey stick tail-lights tie the XC40 to its larger siblings, while chunky, masculine styling sets it apart from the compact SUV crowd.

Always a subjective call, but I like the XC40’s stocky build with a touch of toughness added via a sharply chiselled recess across the side doors just above the rocker, and black over-fender trims on the wheelarches.

Speaking of which, the sturdy, 18-inch, five-spoke alloys dial up the macho feel a little further, with other unique elements including the rear door glass kicking up at a roughly 45-degree angle to create a third side window, and the bold ‘Iron Mark’ logo in the grille.

And our test car’s optional ‘Glacier Silver’ finish ($1150) is extraordinary, depending on the light, shifting between off white, to a soft grey or stronger silver.

The interior is simple and understated in typical Scandinavian style. Form and function feel equally balanced, with a portrait-oriented 9.0-inch media touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster subtly integrated into the gently sweeping dash design.

Decoration is low key, with curved, horizontal ‘Grid Aluminium’ inlays, ‘piano black’ finishes, and small touches of bright metal adding visual interest. Optional leather-faced seats ($750) continue the pared back theme with broad, over-stitched panels enhancing what is a cool and calming atmosphere overall.

The boot may now be 442 litres but it's well down on its obvious rivals, the Tiguan (615 litres) and RAV4 Edge (580 litres). Fold all three elements of the 40/20/40 split fold rear seat and you have a handy 1342 litres and a reasonably flat floor.

The Mazda tradition of tight rear seating continues. I just about fit comfortably behind my own driving position set for 180cm. Kids will be fine but, as ever, the rear door aperture is a bit tricky to quickly enter (like if it's raining). Three across the back is definitely a 'short trips only' proposition. 

There are four cupholders evenly distributed and bottle holders, with a pair in each row. You can also hide your valuables in a good-sized centre console in the front and you have somewhere to put your phone - under the centre stack - when you're on the move.

At just over 4.4m long the XC40 fits the small SUV profile perfectly, and within that footprint a 2.7m wheelbase is the same as comparably sized mainstream models like the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5.

It’s also quite tall and there’s plenty of space for the driver and front passenger, with storage including a medium-size lidded box between the seats, a smaller flip-top compartment in front of it, as well as two cupholders (with another small lidded tray in front of them) and a wireless device charging pad in the centre console.

There are bottle holders in the sizeable front door pockets, a wide but slim glove box (cooled with bag hook), and an additional oddments box under the driver’s seat. Power and connectivity runs to a 12-volt socket and two USB ports (one for media, the other for charge only).

Move to the back and sitting behind the driver’s seat, set for my 183cm position, head and legroom is excellent, and the seat itself is nicely sculpted and comfortable.

There are modest pockets in the doors but unless the bottle you want to slip in there comes from the spirits section of a hotel mini-bar you’re out of luck on the liquid container front. Elastic nets on the front seatbacks are handy, as are coat and bag hooks in the roof.

A fold-down centre armrest contains two cupholders, and twin adjustable air vents in the rear of the front centre console will be welcomed by backseaters.

Then the boot offers up 460 litres of cargo space with the rear seats upright, which is more than enough to swallow our three-piece hard suitcase set (35, 68 and 105 litres), or the jumbo size CarsGuide pram.

Drop the 60/40 split-folding rear seats (they fold easily) and no less than 1336 litres of volume is at your disposal, and a through port in the centre of the back seat means you can stash long objects and still fit people in.

A deep storage well behind the driver’s side wheel tub boast a 12-volt socket and an elasticised strap to retain small bits and pieces, with a smaller sunken trench on the other side.

A grocery bag holder and foldable floor hatch increase flexibility, the latter able to sit up Toblerone-style to compartmentalise the cargo floor. Additional bag hooks and tie down anchors round out a useful, user-friendly interior package.

Towing capacity isn’t massive at 1800kg for a braked trailer (750kg unbraked), but it’s pretty handy for a car of this stature.

The XC40 lives in one of the hottest segments in the Australian new car market, and at $46,990, before on-road costs, the T4 Momentum lines up against a slew of quality competitors.

For that money you can go up in size, but down in prestige, so we stuck with the compact luxury formula and without trying too hard came up with eight high-quality options in the $45-$50,000 band. Namely, the Audi Q3 35 TFSI, BMW X1 sDrive 20i, Mercedes-Benz GLA 180, Mini Countryman Cooper S, Peugeot 3008 GT, Renault Koleos Intens, Skoda Kodiaq 132 TSI 4x4, and the Volkswagen Tiguan 132 TSI R-Line. Yep, hot competition.

So, you’re going to want some premium features bang for your compact SUV bucks, and the XC40 T4 Momentum tips in Volvo high-performance audio (including digital radio), a 9.0-inch (vertical) media touchscreen (with speech function), a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, inductive smartphone charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation (with road sign information), power adjustable driver’s seat (with memory and four way lumbar support), leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearshift, and dual-zone climate control air (with cooled glove box and ‘CleanZone’ interior air quality system).

Also included are keyless entry and start, auto LED headlights, front fog lights, power operated tailgate (with hands-free electric opening), and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Standard upholstery is textile/vinyl, but ‘our’ car was optioned with ‘leather accent’ trim for an extra $750, as well as the ‘Momentum Comfort Pack’ (passenger power seat, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, mechanical cushion extension - $1000), the ‘Lifestyle Pack’ (panoramic sunroof, tinted rear windows, Harmon Kardon premium sound - $3000), and the ‘Momentum Technology Pack’ (360-degree camera, power folding rear headrest, LED headlights with ‘Active Bending Lights’, ‘Park Assist Pilot’, and ambient interior lighting - $2000), plus ‘Glacier Silver’ metallic paint ($1150). Which all adds up to an ‘as-tested’ price of $54,890, before on-road costs.

The 2.5-litre turbo engine is a familiar one, first appearing in the bigger CX-9 and then the lovely Mazda6. Pushing 170kW at 5000rpm and 420Nm at just 2000rpm to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic, it's a lot more relaxed than the other petrols in the CX-5 range and more refined than the diesel.

It also comfortably out-punches everything else in the segment.

The all-wheel drive system is obviously road-biased - along with the wheels and suspension - and is mostly front-wheel drive to help save fuel.

The all-alloy, 2.0-litre (VEP4) four-cylinder engine features direct-injection, a single (BorgWarner) turbo and variable valve timing on the inlet and exhaust sides.

It’s claimed to produce 140kW at 4700rpm and 300Nm between 1400-4000rpm, with drive going to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The turbo's official combined cycle figure came out at 8.2L/100km, 0.8L/100km more than the non-turbo's ADR readout.

Once again, the turbo excelled, with a 9.2L/100km reading, close to the 9.1 I got in the GT last year in October. It's a point worth making because the 2.5-litre struggles to better 10L/100km in my hands.

An added bonus is that you can run it on standard unleaded.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 7.2L/100km, the XC40 T4 Momentum emitting 165g/km of CO2 in the process.

Despite standard stop-start, over roughly 300km of city, suburban and freeway running we recorded 12.5L/100km, which is pushing the thirst factor up to a concerning degree.

Minimum fuel requirement is 95 RON premium unleaded, and you’ll need 54 litres of it to fill the tank.

For a mid-size family SUV, the CX-5 is still a very nice car to drive. Mazda doesn't have to engineer in nice steering, a crisp turn-in, well-judged brakes or pour the effort and expense into a well-sorted multi-link rear end. We know from other cars in the segment that not all of these things need to be in the mix to make a car sell. 

Even on these huge 19-inch wheels and without the inclusion of dynamic or adaptive damping, the Akera manages to ride well for most of the time. You'll get the occasional jolt from one of those nasty rubber speed bumps that councils have been randomly installing at roundabouts over the past couple of months.

It's also very nice in the corners if the mood takes you and your passengers are willing. While the tyres could be better - this seems to be where Mazda suddenly decides to skimp a little - the all-wheel drive helps keep things calm and composed.

What really makes this car, though, is the engine. No, it doesn't turn it into a performance SUV, that is absolutely not the point, but a lot of smooth torque means your options open up.

Overtaking is quiet and unfussed, 420Nm and third gear working together like Torvill and Dean (there's a contemporary reference for you). What it really means, though, is that kicking around town in the CX-5 is much more relaxed.

You need a lot less throttle, the transmission doesn't have to shift around as much and you see that in the real-world fuel economy. While that's an added bonus that won't cover the extra cost of the turbo, everything else is.

The six-speed auto is pretty good and in this segment isn't a bother because you either get saddled with a CVT or a seven-speed twin-clutch. I'll take a conventional six-speed transmission over a clunky DSG or droning CVT any day.

The strongest take-out behind the XC40’s wheel is how comfortable it is. Volvo’s ride and handling boffins have performed some kind of suspension voodoo, making a 2.7-metre wheelbase feel half a metre longer.

It’s a strut front, multi-link rear set-up and you’d swear there was some kind of magnetic damper or air-ride tech under the car. But it’s all conventional and does a brilliant job of soaking up bumps and other imperfections without sacrificing dynamic response.

Standard footwear on the Momentum is 18-inch alloys shod with 235/55 Pirelli P Zero rubber. The middle level Inscription grade rides on 19s, and the top-shelf R-Design rolls on 20s. But you can bet the relatively cushy sidewall on the 18-inch tyre contributes to the entry model’s ride quality.

Claimed 0-100km/h acceleration for the roughly 1.6-tonne XC40 is 8.4sec, which is pretty sharp. With maximum torque (300Nm) available from just 1400rpm all the way to 4000rpm there’s plenty of mid-range punch available and the slick-shifting eight-speed auto does its bit to keep the engine in that sweet spot.

The electrically assisted steering is nicely weighted for easy turning at parking speeds, loading up with decent road feel as speeds rise. The front-wheel drive XC40 feels balanced and predictable in corners.

As well as looking a million dollars, the central media screen delivers easy, intuitive navigation by swiping through multiple screens revealing icon-based functions on additional screens to the left and right of the main page.

One thing that isn’t adjusted by swipe is the audio volume control, with a centrally placed knob a welcome, user-friendly addition. The seats feel as good as they look, ergonomics are hard to fault, while engine and road noise is modest.

On the minus side of the ledger, that kicked up rear door glass treatment may look interesting but impacts over the shoulder vision on both sides.

In the main, the XC40 does its bit to maintain Volvo’s outstanding reputation for active and passive safety standards by scoring a maximum five-star ANCAP (and Euro NCAP) rating at launch in 2018… except for the T4 Momentum.

This two-wheel drive model is not covered by the ANCAP assessment, while all-wheel drive variants are. But like the AWD models, the T4 Momentum features an impressive suite of crash-avoidance tech, including ‘City Support’ - (AEB with pedestrian, vehicle, large animal and cyclist detection, ‘Intersection Collision and Oncoming Mitigation’ with ‘Brake Support’, and ‘Steering Support’), ‘Intellisafe Assist’ - (‘Driver Alert’, ‘Lane Keeping Aid’, adaptive cruise control including ‘Pilot Assist’, ‘Distance Alert’, and ‘Lane Keeping Aid’, as well as ‘Oncoming Lane Mitigation’), plus ‘Intellisafe Surround’ - (‘Blind Spot Information’ with ‘Cross Traffic Alert’, ‘Front and Rear Collision Warning’ with mitigation support, ‘Run-off road Mitigation’, ‘Hill start assist’, ‘Hill Descent Control’, ‘Park Assist’ front and rear, rear parking camera, rain-sensing wipers, ‘Drive Mode’ with personal power steering settings, ‘Emergency Brake Assist’, and an ‘Emergency Brake Light.’

If that’s not enough to prevent an impact you’re protected by seven airbags (front, front side, curtain and driver’s knee), Volvo’s ‘Side Impact Protection System’ (SIPS) and ‘Whiplash Protection System.’

There are three top-tether points across the rear seat back with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions for child seats and baby capsules.

A hugely impressive package for a car in the under-$50K bracket.

Mazda provides a healthy five year/unlimited kilometre warranty that now also includes roadside assist.

Service intervals are close together, with 12 months/10,000km - 12 months is normal. 10,000km isn't. Mazda does offer capped-price servicing, with services costing between $315 and $343 meaning $660-plus annual spend. That's before extras like brake fluid and pollen filters.

Volvo offers a three year/unlimited km warranty across its new car model range, including 24-hour roadside assist during that period. Off the pace when you consider most mainstream brands are now at five years/unlimited km.

But, on the upside, once the warranty runs out, if you have your car serviced at an authorised Volvo dealer each year (for up to six years from the warranty start date) you receive a 12-month extension to the roadside assist coverage.

Service is recommended every 12 months/15,000km (whichever comes first) with a Volvo Service Plan covering scheduled servicing for the XC40 over the first three years or 45,000km for $1595.