MAZDA CX-5

Comparison with a 2016 model highlights Mazda's guile

- PIERS WARD

MILEAGE 2211

WHY WE'RE RUNNING IT To see if Mazda has managed to inject any of its flairs into a family-friendly SUV

LOVE IT

TURNING

A couple of recent journeys have shown this to be one of the better-handling family SUVs.

LOATHE IT

THIRST

The CX-5 is its own micro cost-of-living crisis, with an average fuel economy of 31.4mpg.

Five years', David Bowie once sang. It's not a huge amount of time, as the great man so brilliantly told us in his mournful ballad. And it's all that separates the registration plates on the two Mazda CX-5s pictured here - a facelifted Mk1 and our surgically enhanced Mk2 but boy can you tell the difference.

The original CX-5 was the first car to feature Mazda's Kodo design language combined with Skyactiv technology, but our car is, to my eyes at least, a much better example of the styling brief.