Mazda CX-5 AWD SUV Snowy Hill Showdown #MazdaIceAcademy

During our recent visit with Mazda's Ice Academy in Crested Butte Colorado, we saw first hand how much better Mazda's i-ACTIV AWD system is than its competitors when facing an uphill climb over the snow - especially with the wheels turned.

Compared here are a Mazda CX-5 AWD, a Subaru Forester AWD, and a Honda CR-V AWD, all riding on the same Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 winter tires.

Watch as the new CX-5 has no problem pulling away and applying torque to all four wheels when faced with a turn out from a snowy hill. Then watch its top competitors from Subaru and Honda struggle with the exact same scenario.

We watched this happen time and time again, so this wasn't just a fluke.

[sarahbrown]

After owning my Mazda cx 5 for about a year I’m in love with it in the snow

[VideoSharePhone]

Mazda CX5 runs circles around these buckets on any surface ... this is one epic drivers car when you push it.
I am pushing it every day ... :)

[rayday]

I have CX9 Signature and driving it in Calgary Canada and can say that nothing better than Mazda I-active system, we got a lot of snow over here

[BrianBogardus]

A BIG fan of CX-5.  We have two!  My fiancé traded in her Lexus for the CX-5!

[scotchbudmeister]

Now the Mazda CX-5 has an available exhaust driven air crammer under the hood that gives it 310 ft lbs. of low end torque. Kudos to Mazda for adding a turbo to an already amazing vehicle 👌

[ploughable]

There is another recent video on Youtube that tests when 3 out of 4 weels are without traction for different Asian SUVs (Honda, Subary, Rav4, Hudson & Cx-5) and the Mazda wins that too...
I have the 2016 year version with winter tyres, last week in the heavy snow Apls roads and I was one of the few climbing with no problems.
From the 2019 version they improved even more the AWS system

[jobob]

Easy trick here. The Subaru is a full time AWD and the wheel turn is designed to disadvantage the Subaru. Ever try turning a tight, slow corner in a 4x4 truck? It hops and skips as the inside tires are forced to turn slower than the outside. Subaru remedies this by allowing additional slip when the wheels are turned to one direction at low speed. The mazda on the other hand, uses predictive measures to engage the part-time AWD, one of which being wheel turn. In short, this test was designed to specifically exploit the Subaru. Try it with the wheels straight and i bet you get a different result. Who cranks the wheels at the top of a hill they intend of going over anyways??

[ernestbenoit]

We were looking to replace our tired '06 Chev HHR...I replaced half this car in the last three years so it
was time. That was two weeks ago. When it comes to our four picks for a used suv the criteria; space
for two 150 lb adults, two 75 lb dogs our bags and golf kit. No problem in the HHR. Fair price, enough
power to drag us around, AWD and great fuel economy. We test drove the Forester after a Tucsun and
a Santa Fe. The Forester's visibility was great...but I'd hate to pay for a wagon made of glass. It didn't
shift smooth but lurched into lower gears. In corners it dipped too much like a truck but it's a light
wagon so it seemed "floaty". The ride on rough roads was smooth though...one of the smoothest. In
the end we purchased the 2015 CX-5 CS, AWD...it drove like a sports car, it was the most comfortable
and we didn't loose much space for cargo. What the CX-5 lost in length because of the curved trunk it
gained in width. My wife can place her golf clubs sideways and go...so she's happy. It has top notch
reliability so again she's happy. It reviewed tops for everyday use, ergonomics and comfort too...so I'm happy. It has surprising power for a 2.5L 4 cylinder bar engine stuck in an suv because Mazda
squeezed all the performance out where others left it. Well it's hinting on winter here in PEI, Canada
and I'm looking forward to having such a great suv for our trips to Cape Breton four hours away.
Thanks for all the great reviews, it helped us buy with confidence!

[fx]

I have both CX5 and Forester currently. And there is no way my forester would perform so badly that only the front wheel spin. They must shut off the AWD to make it look worse. Stupid “test” here

[TorchRG]

Here comes the Subaru Fanboys hate comments. LOL

[takzaf]

I don't know if CX-5 can do this but i know for sure that Forester with X-mode can, SH model can also .

[Dubsinsauce]

Just sold my Subaru and I'm getting a cx5 awd. There is seriously something wrong with this test though, Subaru has a way better AWD system than Mazda. Pretty sure they were cheating here.

[subieliftoz]

Try removing the FWD fuse from the Subaru so it's AWD for a fair test lol

[andrewmquintero]

As soon as the Forester started to finally climb, the driver let off the gas. The driver knowingly made it look bad on purpose. If you give it enough gas and stay on it, the system will sort things out and it will climb. The CX-5 system does shine in this scenario though and I do like both cars. I wonder if the system also works at higher speeds as well or is it more like the RAV4.

[benjaminzupanek]

whay they didnt use the forester with xmode ????

[lwtrans]

It's purposely did it that way to down grad the Forester. This is an advertisement for Mazda. And by the way I'm the fan for both Mazda and Subaru at the same time, so no hard feeling.

[ionutolteanu]

Was nice to see a camera of the dash from each of them at the moment of climbing. Some Subaru's if not all, they have a fuse that disables the awd, making them awd....

[subazealand]

5 years later, and all of this campaign from Mazda didn't work, cause with the tons of videos and tests around the world, it clearly shows they made a good AWD for roads only. But make the car climb a hill lifting two wheels, not even with the wipers on the AWD knows what to do.
They recently found out (4 years later) that their system it was not up to the expectations and added the off road mode.
Thank you Mazda

[Ivaylo]

I see that test with mazda only if you stop and turn the wheels Mazda is beater. 1 position thats it . Good job Mazda

[Rich]

Same tires on all vehicles? All in the best driving mode for snow? The tires alone can make a huge difference.