Where each one leads
Acura RDX
- Against cars of the same year, the Acura RDX comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 48% less often than average) than the Mazda CX-5 (fails 7% more often than average).
Mazda CX-5
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Mazda CX-5 uses 9.0 l/100 km, the 2026 Acura RDX 9.9.
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Acura RDX | Mazda CX-5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2007–2026 | 2012–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 478,899 (2012–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 94,875 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 52,024 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 2,646 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Acura RDX | Mazda CX-5 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 82% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +3% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.7% | 1.3% |
| … against cars of the same year | −48% | +7% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 1.2% |
| US owner complaints | 2,175 | 2,463 |
| Most complaints about | Exterior lighting | Engine |
| Model year with most complaints | 2019 (440) | 2016 (511) |
| US recall campaigns | 16 | 8 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,847 | 5,771 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 5 | — |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Acura RDX | Mazda CX-5 | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2026) | 5★ (2025) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Acura RDX | Mazda CX-5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 9.9 l/100 km (2026) | 9.0 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 8.0 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | — | 8.4 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | — | 6.8 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 165 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 127 kW (171 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,634 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €41,845 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 162,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).