The CX-5 is the first Mazda to get the company’s full Skyactiv treatment. While some have suggested the blend of technologies is designed to make up for the company’s lack of hybrid technology, the reality is that it is more about putting the tried-and-true to better use. By employing more efficient engines and transmissions, lightweight construction, better platforms and sharper suspensions, Skyactiv is designed to put the zoom zoom in the CX-5’s makeup.
In this case, it starts with a new 2.0-litre direct-injected four-cylinder engine. With a compression ratio of an abnormally high 13:1, it produces 155 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. In hard numbers, that’s a 15% improvement in torque while delivering a 15% reduction in fuel consumption when compared with the previous 2.0L engine. While it is true the numbers do not leap off the page, the level of performance the engine delivers is more than adequate. It takes 9.3 seconds to run from a standstill to 100 kilometres an hour and 7.6 seconds to accomplish the more important 80-to-120-km/h passing move. Neither can be described as fast, but, considering the efficiency bias, it works.
On that note, the CX-5 produced a test average fuel economy of 8.7 litres per 100 kilometres, which, for a crossover of any stripe, is very good indeed. It just goes to show that, when modern engineering is applied to Otto’s 100-year-old cycle, it works very nicely.
No comments:
Post a Comment