THE NEWS is bad for diesel cars but you wouldn’t think so from the numbers in showrooms. That’s because car makers plan new models at least five years in advance, so when regulations suddenly change, they have no choice but to put their fingers in their ears and whistle. Today, makers that have invested in diesel are pretending not to notice looming extra costs for drivers, such as emission charges and higher parking fees.
A pleasant surprise, then, to drive a new petrol machine that runs rings around its diesel counterparts yet costs no more to run. The Mazda CX-5 is a medium-sized sports utility vehicle, similar in size to Volkswagen’s Tiguan or Ford’s Kuga.
It’s available with the same frugal engine as the 2-litre MX-5 sports car, giving it a similar zesty feel. And like the MX-5, it doesn’t get too distracted by electronic aids. You get in, start it and it goes without bings, bongs or warning lights.
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You suddenly remember the fun of driving a petrol car with a manual gearbox. We’ve been soft-soaped about diesels for so long (kinder to your pocket and the planet) we’ve forgotten why we hated them; not just because they were rattly and smoky, but because they don’t respond to the demands of the driver. Accelerate hard, and the engine goes flat because of the sluggishness of turbochargers.
Driving a car with a peppy petrol engine is different, like listening to your favourite LP on vinyl and rediscovering the top notes. On a road such as the one where I tested the CX-5 near Siena, Italy, you can sling-shot between bends.
Given how good this car is, you’d think Mazda would encourage people to buy petrol power so it can steal a march on rivals. But no, Mazda will import only a limited number of petrol models into Britain. Four-fifths of the cars will be diesel, responding to demand, it says. The trouble is, no matter how often car makers tell us diesel is still best, the fact that they’re selling increasingly efficient petrol engines to America, with tighter emissions rules than Europe, means we’re no longer sure we believe them.
The post 2017 Mazda CX-5 (2-litre petrol) review appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.
source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/2017-mazda-cx-5-2-litre-petrol-review/
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