BMW X1 vs Mazda CX-5 | TestDrive Spotlight

We did it again! After the smash-hit success we had reviewing the BMW X3 and Mazda CX-5 last year, we knew we needed to make a follow up. Now with better vehicle comparisons!

We've grown a lot since September 2017 when we published our Showdown episode on the 2015 BMW X3 xDrive28d and 2017 Mazda CX-5 GT. We knew at the time that the two vehicles we're the best pairing we could get, but as a small channel we don't get access to a lot of vehicles, so we took the one and only X3 we had parked in our driveway and made an episode out of it.

Fast-forward about 7 months and we have significantly better access to vehicles, including this 2018 BMW X1 xDrive28i, a vehicle that a lot of commenters on our X3 Showdown said was a better fit for the Mazda CX-5. Now we are still using our 2017 Mazda CX-5 GT with Tech Package, but we've noted in the video that the 2018 model year only changes some interior buttons and adds cylinder deactivation for the engine, a feature we can't accurately compare on a short road test anyway. So while the Mazda is a year older, both cars have similar milage, and the 2018 CX-5 is almost identical.

In this episode of TestDrive Showdown we compare these two compact crossover SUVs against each other to see if the $15,000 price difference with the BMW gives you more tech and features, or if the Mazda gets a lot of the options you need for a fraction of the cost. We always seem to need to mention that both cars are Canadian models, so pricing and features are specific to this country. We also must note again that the Mazda CX-5 is our own personal car that we've purchased, but we also own a BMW, so we feel we have an equal amount of bias, and we don't tap into it for either car.

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