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2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature Diesel First Drive Review | A tardy inessential

We were suspicious of the much-delayed Mazda CX-5 Diesel when it finally arrived at our office late this summer. Had it surfaced four or even two years ago, we might’ve been more bullish, but at least we werenÂ’t cynical — yet. Even the Volkswagen Dieselgate crisis couldnÂ’t turn our hearts against the CX-5 Diesel. We already like the CX-5, after all, we also like the eager torque, quiet ride and excellent fuel economy the Skyactiv-D engine would surely provide. But then we got the EPA ratings for the the CX-5Â’s diesel engine: 27 mpg city and 30 highway. Granted, thatÂ’s in an all-wheel-drive vehicle, but itÂ’s a serious disappointment. The turbocharged, gasoline-powered 2.5-liter I4 in the CX-5 Signature gets 24 combined mpg, while offering up to 250 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. The diesel version is down 82 hp (at 168) and 20 lb-ft (at 290), while elevating fuel economy to 27 city, 30 highway and 28 combined. The non-turbo gas motor in lesser AWD trims narrows the gap to just 2 combined mpg in favor of the diesel. So whatÂ’s the selling point for the Skyactiv-D? Mazda says itÂ’s a premium experience, and thatÂ’s why itÂ’s only available in the top trim level. ItÂ’s easy to flinch at that, but it makes some sense, when you look at other diesels in the U.S. market The Signature trim of the CX-5, as with the Mazda6 weÂ’ve come to adore, is good enough to target the lower end of, say, Audi customers who are looking to get a bit more content for the buck. These might also be the same people whoÂ’ve come out of a TDI vehicle and are already sold on the diesel experience. From the first squeeze of our right foot, the diesel CX-5 makes a good impression. In town, we diced our way through Woodward Avenue traffic, made easy mostly by the CX-5Â’s relative small size and agility. There is one point in the throttle tip-in when the engine sounds particularly growly, and somehow more massive than its 2.2 liters of displacement. The illusion began to crumble when we reached our first highway entrance ramp. Putting our foot to the floor, we got the quick first hit of growly torque, followed by Â… well not much. This engine begins to run out of steam as it climbs the rev ladder. ThatÂ’s not totally unexpected, but it was definitely disappointing. Furthermore, as Assistant Editor Zac Palmer points out, “By opting for the diesel, you add 115 pounds to the curb weight (now 3,940 pounds) of a comparable 2.5-liter turbo (3,825 pounds).

2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Quick Spin | Elevate yourself

It's unusually hot in Western Washington; the early August sun beams through skies rendered hazy by fires a few hundred miles to the north. If you're not moving, it gets a bit oppressive, since there's just enough humidity to feel it and not enough wind to relieve it. Instead of huddling inside, window shades drawn, fan blowing hot air around impotently – this is how most Washingtonians, 75 percent of whom don't have A/C, handle the heat – we're taking our fan on the road. The best way to beat the heat, it turns out, is to climb into the forests. For this adventure in body temperature regulation, we've got a Mazda MX-5 RF, the Miata's semi-targa-topped variant, and a few hours of time. And the Cascade Mountain's foothills, thickly coated with Douglas firs and, higher up, subalpine firs soaking up as much sun as they can in the short growing season. I've lived near the foothills nearly all my life, but there's a lot of the Cascades I haven't explored. One area is Chinook Pass, a mountain road that crests at 5,430 feet. Looming almost 9,000 feet above it is Mount Rainier, so close you can almost touch it. Just about 100 feet below the summit is Tipsoo Lake, startlingly clear and sporting enough wildflowers to make The Sound of Music look like a movie about Rommel's North Africa campaign. But that's jumping ahead a bit. Between me and the summit is about 90 minutes of driving, through the suburbs and into the Enumclaw Plateau, and then along the chalky White River and up into the mountains. Plenty of time to focus on nothing but the surroundings, and the quality of the cooling action provided by the little Mazda. A quick word about the car, and my own biases – I love Miatas, but I have a complicated relationship with the latest MX-5, having owned a much more visceral (and much slower) first-gen car for about six years. On paper, it's this perfect modern interpretation of the original. It's light, it's a momentum machine, the steering's just a tad overboosted, and it has a playful amount of body roll while maintaining a healthy amount of mechanical grip. It looks aggressive enough, too, a major complaint of many folks about the last-gen car's Joker smile. The interior is largely brilliant, amazingly simple and interesting for such a lithe car. And yet, I have never found the new car to be as charismatic as my old Miata, with all its flaws. This puts me in the minority; most MX-5 fanatics find the ND to be a great compromise.

2020 Mazda CX-5 diesel is still, and perhaps forever, MIA

Halfway through 2020, the most recent Mazda CX-5 diesel you can find anywhere in the U.S. is a 2019 model year — the only one offered so far. With automaker factories beginning their model-year turnovers shortly, CarsDirect did some poking around as to the fate of an oil-burning 2020 CX-5. The outlet couldn't get definitive answers, but a host of secondary evidence suggests the diesel crossover will skip this year, naturally leading to the question of whether the model will skip this market from now on.  Asked in April about the crossover's fate or its arrival, Mazda would only say that "with the current state of the world, many things are tentative." The following month, the automaker's early fleet ordering guide pegged this month as marking the end of CX-5 production, 2021MY crossovers starting down lines in August. Mazda had nothing to say about that information, either. When CarsDirect got in touch again for this latest report, Mazda professed the delay has nothing to do with emissions certification. Then the wall went up again, the only other comment being, "We cannot confirm any details for the CX-5 Diesel at this time."    We're speculating, but at this point, even if Mazda could get 2020MY CX-5 diesels on the lot, why should the automaker bother? The challenges for diesel in general, and this expression of diesel particularly, are clear to everyone; our last post on the CUV, six months ago, was about the five-figure discounts dealers were offering. A quick check on Autotrader at the time of writing shows 45 examples of the 2019 CX-5 diesel available nationwide, plenty of them still priced in the low- to mid-thirties. On Autotrader Canada, which specifies vehicle availability beyond the "1,000+ Results" on the American site, there are 6,135 CX-5s listed nationwide, only 58 of them diesel. Canadian outlet Motor Illustrated wrote, "Mazda recently told us they had a lot of Mercedes-Benz GLE diesel owners and other diesel fans with upscale models trade for a CX-5 diesel." Apparently luxury diesel crossover conquest buyers aren't numerous enough to support a model line. The gasoline versions of the 2020 Mazda CX-5 launched in November last year. It shouldn't take that long for us to find out about the fate of the 2020 CX-5 diesel, or if there will be a 2021 model. Related Video: