Mazda Elevates Safety With Advanced Driver-Assist Technology on the 2023 CX-5

Year after year, the best-selling Mazda CX-5 leads the small SUV category and wows automotive journalists with its unique combination of athletic ride handling and premium-level finishes. Currently in its second generation, the CX-5 has earned a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for years, which is unsurprising since Mazda’s top seller comes standard with a generous suite of advanced safety technologies across the trim range.

If you’re looking for a Mazda CX-5 for sale, you’re in good company. Many buyers are drawn in by the CX-5’s good looks, then won over by the small SUV’s standard all-wheel drive and nimble road manners, but independent testing agencies like IIHS and the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) would argue that the CX-5 should be first on your list for its industry-leading safety ratings. With an affordable starting price of under $30k, the ultra-safe CX-5 is perfect for first-time buyers or the new driver in your household.

Emerging driver-assist safety technologies like Smart Brake Support and Blind Spot Monitoring have increased driver confidence and provided a “second set of eyes” that continuously monitors the vehicle's surrounding area, alerting the driver to potential hazards. Mazda packages a suite of systems into its i-ACTIVSENSE package and offers it as standard equipment across the entire 2023 CX-5 lineup, demonstrating the automaker’s commitment to keeping occupants out of harm’s way while on the go. But what differentiates Mazda’s driver-assist technology from the competition?

What Are Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems?

For many new car buyers, the concept of driver-assist technology is a little hard to understand. Most of us have a friend or family member who drives a car equipped with driver-assist technology, but we may not have made the connection between the audible beeping we sometimes hear when the driver is backing up or changing lanes and the embedded safety technology that produces it.

Commonly referred to as advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), these safety technologies are designed to increase driver awareness and promote safe driving habits, especially in historically dangerous driving situations, like changing lanes on a busy highway. Some systems have the bonus of making the drive more convenient by automating repetitive actions like switching between low and high-beam settings. These systems rely on a series of tools to monitor the surrounding area and assess potential hazards. How exactly does ADAS work?

ADAS systems utilize onboard sensors, radar, and cameras to scan the vicinity and alert the driver to potentially dangerous conditions. In some cases, these systems can intervene with steering corrections or emergency braking to correct the problems they detect. Where the human eye might struggle to maintain visibility – such as during a snowstorm or on a dark rural road – ADAS are mostly unaffected by diminished road conditions (unless a sensor becomes covered in mud or snow).

It's important to note that ADAS cannot replace the driver’s attention and should not be the first defense against road hazards or mitigating collisions. Many drivers are lulled into complacency, trusting their cars to alert them to any problems. For example, a driver might switch lanes without checking their mirror if the Blind Spot Monitor doesn’t alert them to the presence of another vehicle. Unfortunately, even the most advanced ADAS are imperfect – good driving habits are always the best defense; these tools simply add another layer of protection to your daily drive.

The 2023 CX-5 Sets the Standard for Advanced Safety Tech

For the 2023 model year, Mazda outfits the entire CX-5 lineup with i-ACTIVSENSE, a suite of six ADAS designed to increase driver awareness, confidence, and safety. The systems use Milliwave radar, near-infrared laser, Quasi-milliwave radar, and onboard cameras to help with pre-crash detection and collision avoidance. The suite includes the following six standard ADAS systems:

Mazda Radar Cruise Control (MRCC) With Stop & Go

A front-end-mounted radar sensor detects the distance between your vehicle and the one ahead. MRCC will adjust your speed to maintain a safe distance, including applying brakes when your vehicle gets too close. The system will also automatically bring your car to a complete stop if necessary (such as when driving in stop-and-go traffic). Once traffic starts moving again, the system will accelerate to the preset speed.

Smart Brake Support

This system provides audible and visual pre-collision alerts if the front-end radar or camera detects the potential for a crash and applies emergency automatic braking to avoid or minimize the severity of an inevitable collision.

Advanced Smart City Brake Support (SCBS)

Advanced SCBS works like Smart Brake Support but does so at low speeds (2 to 18 mph), which is helpful while you’re driving in congested urban areas.

Blind Spot Monitoring

This system uses rear-mounted radar sensors to detect vehicles entering the blind spots on both sides of the vehicle and sends an audible and visual alert if the driver attempts to change lanes.

Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)

While in reverse, this system will monitor traffic coming from either side of the vehicle, making maneuvers like backing out of your driveway onto a busy street or backing out of a busy parking lot less stress-inducing.

Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist

This system first alerts the driver when it senses the vehicle is drifting out of its lane, then provides steering nudges to help the driver ease back into the intended travel lane.

Mazda Leads the Pack in Performance and Safety

Beyond the standard i-ACTIVSENSE system, Mazda outfits certain CX-5 trims with even more ADAS, including High Beam Control and a Driver Attention Alert that picks up on changes in steering wheel grip and eye position and alerts the driver to take a break. Opting for the top-of-the-line CX-5 2.5 Turbo Signature adds a 360-Degree View Monitor, Parking Sensors, and Front and Rear Smart Brake Support.

ADAS extends beyond detection and intervention to avoid collisions and road hazards; the Mazda CX-5 also includes passive systems like Traffic Sign Recognition, which can read speed limit signs and automatically adjust your speed. Traffic Jam Assist, standard on the 2.5 Turbo Signature, automatically throttles and brakes to maintain your vehicle’s position behind the car ahead and has a steering assist function to keep your vehicle in its intended lane of travel.

These systems perform double duty by both enhancing safety and automating repetitive tasks like switching between low and high-beam settings and regulating your speed in stop-and-go traffic. ADAS also helps drivers stave off fatigue and recognize when it’s time to take a break. By monitoring steering wheel grip and eye movement, Mazda’s innovative ADAS might just know when you’re tired before you do, and hearing that drowsy driver alert may just lead to better decision-making on long drives.

The 2023 Mazda CX-5: A Safer SUV

The engineers at Mazda take safety seriously, which is why the 2023 CX-5 is equipped with so many standard and available ADAS. Beyond sensor, radar, and camera-dependent systems, Mazda also offers standard G-Vectoring Control Plus and i-ACTIV All-Wheel Drive on every CX-5 trim. G-Vectoring Control Plus works behind the scenes to distribute weight, shift power to the wheels that need it, and dial in more precise steering to optimize ride handling everywhere from a ribbon of highway to a tight hairpin curve.

Regardless of the 2023 Mazda CX-5 trim you choose, you’ll get standard ADAS, standard all-wheel drive, and standard G-Vectoring Control. No wonder the CX-5 is Mazda’s best-selling vehicle – buyers drive home in a well-equipped SUV with so many standard active and passive safety features that finding a similarly equipped alternative is next to impossible. If safety is at the top of your list of must-have features, you owe it to yourself to check out the 2023 Mazda CX-5.