Mazda has almost always been able to win over customers with its superior handling, if not the good-looking design the company offered. The CX-5 compact SUV, for example, is lauded for steering truer than most of its rivals despite its family-friendly confines.
The company, which is coming off its best sales year ever in the U.S., has expanded its two-row 2025 Mazda CX-50 lineup to include a fuel-efficient hybrid powertrain, courtesy of a partnership with Toyota. That engine offers more power and acceleration, and 40 percent better fuel mileage than the standard gasoline model. But, it costs about $4,000 more.
Its ride and handling are the best things the CX-50 has going for it, and two of the few things worth positively noting, so customers will need to have that high on their list of priorities for it to make sense.
The Mazda CX-50 joined the lineup in 2022 as a slightly bigger and more technologically advanced compact SUV than the CX-5.
It has a slightly modified look from the CX-5, but the same general shape.Picking it out of a crowd in supermarket parking lot is as easy as looking for the black cladding on the bottom, which all CX-50s have. The Japanese company also does well on color, with the new model coming in several hues beyond black, silver and white.
The 2025 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid variant uses the Toyota Hybrid System (THS) powertrain consisting of a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, a small battery and three electric motors. The package also includes a continuously variable transmission and standard all-wheel drive. The system delivers 219 horsepower (hp) and 163 pound-feet (lb-ft) of torque.
It has Power, Trail and Normal drive modes. Power engages all of the motors and engine for stronger acceleration while Trail loosens up the traction control for maneuverability on slippery surfaces.
Towing capacity is rated at 1,500 pounds on all CX-50 Hybrids that are equipped with Mazda towing accessories.
Slipping into the cabin the first thing I noticed were the seats, which Mazda normally does well. They weren't just stiff in the back area, which could be supportive. They're stiff in the bottom, possibly due to the stitch running down the middle of the panel. That made it hard to find a good driving position.
The rest of the trim looks good, if a little barren, with mostly black and some stitch accents. There are soft touch points all around and the cabin doesn't feel quite sterile, just sort of plain.
With the rotary infotainment system dial, standard console mounted shifter and physical climate and volume knobs, the controls are all easy to reach. However, the infotainment screen, which is not touch receptive, feels miles away on the dashboard from the driver's seating position. With its mostly monochromatic color display, it looks old compared to many of the modern takes on the tech.
It does come with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The back seat area is fine for kids and adults. Though those back seats are also a bit stiff and flat, they are perfectly adequate for a few hours of travel.
The trunk is bigger than expected with almost 30 cubic feet of space with the seats in place and 56 with them folded down. That's plenty of area for a weekend family trip's worth of cargo including a few bags, camping equipment and food, or for a friend's trip with coolers, radios and other party equipment.
As I said, Mazdas in general handle better than most cars on the road, and this CX-50 Hybrid is no exception. The effort of the power steering system is perfect, not too light, not too heavy, and somehow still feels connected to the road. When you turn too hard into a corner you can feel it, and when you could be more aggressive you can feel that too. It drove well planted over the broken roads in Michigan and most of the bumps didn't make their way to the passengers.
The biggest problem with the CX-50 Hybrid is the hybrid part of it. Granted I just got out of a great Mercedes GLC 350e plug-in, but there seems to be very little advantage to this system and small battery other than a few miles per gallon.
It has an EV-only drive mode, like the last-generation Toyota Prius Prime, but Mazda doesn't give a top speed or range for it. In practice it felt like whenever I put the pedal down more than a third the engine kicked on. In fairness, the four-cylinder was quiet so it may have kicked on and off at points to save fuel and I didn't notice.
The one benefit is the acceleration. Most hybrids now, including this one, use electric power in conjunction with engine power from a stop to give a good sense of building speed early. And even with all of this technology inside and on top, it still feels like a Mazda when driving fast. It just seems to me the base model or the Turbo model would be a better option.
The 2025 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid starts at $33,970 and competes with Toyota RAV4 hybrid ($31,725) and Honda CR-V hybrid ($34,650). All three are very close in price but both the Toyota and Honda have more going for them than this CX-50 Hybrid from powertrain to interior.
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