Top Safety Pick + Top Safety Pick criteria

2014 Mazda CX-5

small SUV / 4-door SUV

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention built after October 2013

2014 Mazda CX-5 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system
Advanced

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2014-16 models built after October 2013

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda CX-5 Sport 4-door 4wd

The Mazda CX-5 was introduced in the 2013 model year. Beginning with 2014 models built after October 2013, the front and side airbag programming and the front structure were modified to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Intrusion into the driver's space was reasonably well controlled, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1345
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 7
Footrest (cm) 7
Left toepan (cm) 5
Brake pedal (cm) 8
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 1
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 8
Upper dash (cm) 7
Lower instrument panel (cm) 8

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1345
Head
HIC-15 181
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 8
Maximum Nij 0.26
Chest maximum compression (mm) 24
Femur (kN)
Left 1.4
Right 0.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 3
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.38
Right 0.48
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.3
Right 1.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 52
Right 58

Rating applies to 2013-14 models built before November 2013

Tested vehicle: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport 4-door 4wd

The Mazda CX-5 was introduced in the 2013 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but slid off the left side as the steering column moved 12 cm to the right, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward side structure. Additionally, the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy’s head and torso. The side curtain airbag deployed too late during the crash and does not have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space wasn't maintained well.

The dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but then slid off the left side as the steering column moved to the right. The seat belt allowed the dummy to move too far forward, as is evident from the gap between the seat back and the dummy's torso. The side curtain airbag did not extend far enough forward toward the A-pillar.

Door hinge pillar and instrument panel intrusion was extensive and contributed to a moderate risk of injuries to the left knee and left lower leg.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1306
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 28
Footrest (cm) 15
Left toepan (cm) 13
Brake pedal (cm) 9
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 4
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 7
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 21
Upper dash (cm) 19
Lower instrument panel (cm) 20

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1306
Head
HIC-15 95
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm) 7
Maximum Nij 0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm) 21
Femur (kN)
Left 4.9
Right 0.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 15
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 3
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.90
Right 0.55
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.3
Right 0.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 54
Right 58

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2013-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport 4-door 4wd

The Mazda CX-5 was introduced in the 2013 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head contacted the side curtain airbag, headliner, grab handle, and head restraint during rebound.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and all leg and foot injury measures were low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF1202
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 3
Left (cm) 6
Center (cm) 8
Right (cm) 4
Brake pedal (cm) 2
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 0
Right (cm) -1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -2
Rearward (cm) -4
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEF1202
Head
HIC-15 325
Peak gs at hard contact 17
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.0
Extension bending moment (Nm) 12
Maximum Nij 0.25
Chest maximum compression (mm) 27
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.2
Femur force - right (kN) 1.0
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.21
Maximum tibia index - right 0.68
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.5
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 1.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 45
Right 46

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2013-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport 4-door 4wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Mazda CX-5 was introduced in the 2013 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES1202
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -18.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES1202
Head HIC-15 188
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Compression (kN) 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 30
Lateral force (kN) 1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 20
Average deflection (mm) 18
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.89
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.18
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.7
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.5
Combined force (kN) 3.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.3
L-M moment (Nm) 148
A-P moment (Nm) 46

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES1202
Head HIC-15 103
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.7
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 28
Lateral force (kN) 1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 23
Average deflection (mm) 16
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.26
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.20
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.3
Combined force (kN) 2.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.0
L-M moment (Nm) 84
A-P moment (Nm) -45

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2013-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 3,330 lbs
Peak force 18,209 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 5.47

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seats
Geometry
Backset (mm) 20
Distance below top of head (mm) -2
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 11.1
Head contact time (ms) 54
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 174

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Optional Smart City Brake Support

Package name

  • Optional Grand Touring Technology Package or Touring Technology Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2014-16 models

Advanced
Advanced
with optional equipment
  • Not available.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle failed to slow.

How front crash prevention is evaluated