Price
Winner: 2020 Honda CR-V
The base 2020 CR-V LX carries a starting price of $25,050. That's just above average compared to other vehicles in our compact SUV rankings. Two mid-level trims are priced at $27,560 and $30,050. The range-topping Touring trim has an MSRP of $33,250. Adding all-wheel drive to the Touring model brings its price to $34,750.
The base Mazda CX-5 Sport starts at $25,090. Touring and Grand Touring models are priced at $26,730 and $30,210, respectively. At the top of the CX-5's lineup you'll find the Grand Touring Reserve ($35,035) and top-of-the-line Signature, which starts at $37,055. The CX-5 Signature is one of the most expensive top-trims in the class.
Seat Comfort
Winner: 2020 Honda CR-V
Both the CR-V and CX-5 seat five passengers in two rows. The Honda is one of the most spacious small crossovers on the market, with abundant head- and legroom in both rows. Its seats are also very supportive. While the Mazda has roomy and comfortable front seats, its rear seats aren’t as spacious as the Honda’s and other competitors’. Still, they offer enough room for most adults.
Interior Quality
Winner: Tie
The CR-V and CX-5 earn praise for their high-quality cabins. The Honda’s interior is upscale and attractive. Higher trims even have luxury-grade accents like faux wood.
Similarly, the CX-5 offers one of the nicest cabins in the class. It’s packed with premium materials and has a sleek and modern look.
Interior Technology
Winner: 2020 Mazda CX-5
The Honda CR-V includes a 5-inch infotainment display as standard. You can opt for plenty of extras, such as a 7-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, wireless device charging, and HD Radio. However, reviewers found the Honda’s touch-screen infotainment system somewhat frustrating to operate.
The Mazda CX-5’s standard infotainment interface features a 7-inch touch screen and HD Radio. The system is mostly user-friendly, but feels dated compared to rivals’ technology. An 8-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto are available.
Cargo Space
Winner: 2020 Honda CR-V
The CR-V offers 39.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind its rear seats compared to the CX-5’s 30.9 cubic feet. Folding down the rear seats in these compact crossovers set them apart even further. While the Honda has an impressive 75.8 cubic feet of overall space, the Mazda only provides 59.6 cubic feet.
Acceleration
Winner: 2020 Mazda CX-5
The 2020 Honda CR-V only has one available engine option: a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder. It’s mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission and delivers 190 horsepower.
The 2020 Mazda CX-5’s base engine is a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 187 horsepower. A six-speed automatic transmission comes standard. Two other engine options are available: a 227-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder and a 168-horsepower turbo diesel. The turbo-four cranks out 250 horsepower if you used premium gas.
Fuel Economy
Winner: 2020 Honda CR-V
The CR-V returns an EPA-estimated 28 mpg in the city and 34 on the highway. Choose all-wheel drive and those numbers drop to 27 and 32, respectively. These are all solid numbers for the compact SUV class.
The CX-5 gets excellent gas mileage as well, but it can’t compete with the CR-V. The base four-cylinder with front-wheel drive returns 25 mpg in the city and 31 on the highway. With the turbo-four, which is only available with all-wheel drive, the CX-5 gets 22 mpg in the city and 27 on the highway. The EPA has not yet published fuel economy estimates for the turbo diesel.
Ride and Handling
Winner: 2020 Mazda CX-5
Like most Mazda vehicles, the CX-5 is arguably best-in-class when it comes to handling. It’s agile, it drives like a smaller car, and it does a stellar job absorbing the impact of bumps and rough pavement.
The Honda CR-V doesn’t handle as well as the CX-5, but it delivers solid overall driving dynamics. It corners well, provides responsive steering, and has outstanding ride quality.
Towing
Winner: 2020 Mazda CX-5
The 2020 Mazda CX-5 can tow 2,000 pounds when properly equipped. The 2020 Honda CR-V’s towing capacity tops out at 1,500 pounds.
Reliability
Winner: 2020 Honda CR-V
According to J.D. Power, the 2020 CR-V has a predicted reliability rating of 3.5 out of five, which is slightly above-average. The 2020 CX-5 gets an average predicted reliability rating of three out of five.
Both the CR-V and CX-5 come with a three-year/36,000-mile limited warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty.
Safety
Winner: 2020 Mazda CX-5
Both the 2020 CR-V and CX-5 earned a five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The two compact crossovers each earned five stars in the frontal and side crash tests and four stars in the rollover test.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the 2020 CR-V received the highest score of Good in six crash tests. Models equipped with the standard driver assistance features received the highest rating of Superior for forward collision prevention. However, the CR-V’s headlights earned a Marginal rating.
Standard safety features in the CR-V include road departure warning, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation braking, traffic sign recognition, and automatic high beams.
The 2020 CX-5 was designated as a coveted Top Safety Pick+ by the IIHS. Depending on how it's configured, its headlights earned both Good and Acceptable marks.
The CX-5 comes standard with lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, and low-speed automatic emergency braking.
The Winner Is …
2020 Honda CR-V
This battle joins the ranks of some of our closest matchups yet. Both the CR-V and CX-5 secure spots at the top of our compact SUV rankings, in first and second place, respectively. Each crossover won an even number of categories, but the Honda CR-V has a higher overall U.S. New score by mere decimals. In the end, the choice between these SUVs comes down to your priorities.
Both vehicles are safe and boast first-rate cabins, comfortable accommodations, and good fuel economy. The CX-5 is the better choice for those who prioritize driving dynamics, but it’s short on cargo space. The CR-V is less expensive, more reliable, and roomier overall.
More Shopping Tools From U.S. News & World Report
To learn more about the Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-5, check out their individual reviews. Visit our compact SUV rankings to see how they stack up against the competition. Explore our new car rankings to see all the best vehicles available now.
When you’re ready to move forward, use the U.S. News Best Price Program to find the dealer in your area with the lowest prices. Shoppers who use the program save an average of more than $3,000 off their new vehicle purchase.
2020 Honda CR-V vs. 2020 Mazda CX-5: Head to Head
- Price: 2020 Honda CR-V
- Seat Comfort: 2020 Honda CR-V
- Interior Quality: Tie
- Interior Technology: 2020 Mazda CX-5
- Cargo Space: 2020 Honda CR-V
- Acceleration: 2020 Mazda CX-5
- Fuel Economy: 2020 Honda CR-V
- Ride and Handling: 2020 Mazda CX-5
- Towing: 2020 Mazda CX-5
- Reliability: 2020 Honda CR-V
- Safety: 2020 Mazda CX-5
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CR-V vs. CX-5: Which Japanese Compact Crossover Is Right for You?
The Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-5 are both safe, fuel-efficient compact crossovers with top-notch cabins, comfortable accommodations, and good overall driving dynamics. Because they’re so similar, and they fare so well in our compact SUV rankings, it makes perfect sense to cross-shop them and learn about what sets them apart.
The CR-V is the winner of our 2020 Best Compact SUV for the Money award. It was last fully redesigned for the 2017 model year. However, the 2020 model gets a minor facelift, and the Honda Sensing suite of advanced driver assistance systems comes standard. Honda also discontinued the 184-horsepower four-cylinder engine in favor of the more powerful and fuel-efficient turbo-four.
The CX-5 was also completely redesigned for 2017 and sees new standard active safety aids for the 2020 model year. It received several updates in 2019, including two new engine options, as well as new available features, such as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, ventilated front seats, and a surround-view parking camera system.
To help you make an informed buying decision, we use U.S. News Best Cars reviews and scoring data to compare these vehicles in the categories that matter most to compact SUV shoppers. Use the information in this article, along with your priorities, to determine whether the Honda CR-V or Mazda CX-5 is best for you.
It’s important to note that we regularly update our scores and rankings as new data and expert research become available. For this reason, the scores in this article may not match up precisely with the scores in our rankings and individual vehicle reviews.
Keep reading to learn which compact SUV wins this battle.