Mazda CX-5

The 2.5 turbo is the reason to look at an American import. With 250 hp and the Dynamic Pressure system it makes the CX-5 a fast car, and it is not offered in Europe at all on emissions grounds. If you want a turbocharged petrol CX-5, the American market is the only source.

In the other direction: the 2.0 SkyActiv-G with 165 hp is the European base and was never sold in America — there it is considered too weak for this body. And the 2.2 SkyActiv-D diesel with 150 or 184 hp was a European volume engine. In the US a diesel CX-5 was offered only during 2019 and in very small numbers. Such a car on an American auction is best avoided — there are no parts and no service habit for it on this side.

The 2.5 naturally aspirated with 194 hp is the global engine and by far the most numerous in our stock. Simple, no turbocharger, dependable. It is also the American base, paired with every trim level, whereas in Europe it sits at the top of the range.

From 2022 onwards every American petrol CX-5 leaves the factory with all-wheel drive as standard. In Europe the same 2.5 can be found in front-drive form, for economy. So on the newer American cars the drivetrain is not a question, and on the older ones and the European ones it is.

The trims are named completely differently on the two continents and that confuses searches. In Europe they run Emotion, Attraction, Revolution, Takumi and Homura; in America, Select, Preferred, Carbon Edition, Premium, Premium Plus, Turbo and Signature. Mazda sells fixed packages rather than individual options, so the trim defines the car far more than it does on the European brands.