There’s no better way to compare different vehicles than at the same time, on the same roads, and under the same conditions, so that’s what we did with three of the most popular mid-sized SUVs – the Ford Kuga, Honda CR-V, and the Mazda CX-5. Report John Oxley, pictures Damien O’Carroll and John Oxley.

The New Zealand market is now dominated by the sale of SUV-type vehicles, forming by far the largest segment at almost 30 percent, with many of these having become replacements for large cars – or sometimes even medium-sized ones.

This is not a phenomenon unique to New Zealand, and in fact it would almost be true to say that SUVs are taking over the world!

Within the SUV arena the most popular are the C-segment “medium” models, and the three we chose for our comparison were range-topping petrol automatic versions – the Ford Kuga Ecoboost Titanium, the Honda Sport NT, and the Mazda CX-5 2.5 Limited, with prices ranging from $52,990 for the lowest-priced of the three, the Kuga, to $57,500 for the most expensive, the Honda.

All three vehicles come well-stacked, with high quality finishes which includes leather upholstery, and all three showcase the latest high tech. safety aids being offered by their respective companies.

The test route was a mixture of motorway and city roads from Mount Wellington and out to Clevedon and then Maraetai, and all the vehicles were driven back-to-back to make a fair comparison.

Once again the judges were asked to rank the vehicles out of 10 categories, each vehicle being scored on the basis of first, second and third choice, in each category, thus alleviating any problems with unfair weighting which we have encountered in the past.

The categories were:

• Overall fitness for purpose.
• Exterior styling and design.
• Interior design and comfort.
• Fit, finish and quality.
• Ride and refinement.
• Powertrain performance.
• Road holding and handling.
• Safety rating.
• Fuel economy.
• Value for money.

It was a wet and windy day when we met up to collect the cars, and we were worried that photography was going to be a problem, along with lowered average speeds that wouldn’t allow us to test the vehicles’ potential. But we were blessed with a lull in the atrocious weather that the Auckland area had been afflicted with at that time, and even saw a bit (but not a lot) of sunshine at times.

Third place: Honda CR-V Sport NT

The testers all agreed that the CR-V is showing its age in this company, especially in terms of engine power and economy, as well as overall ride and handling, although it’s well-equipped in some areas, including safety equipment.

These included adaptive cruise control, which senses the speed of a vehicle you are catching up, and slows you down to match his speed; Lane Keep Assist System, which warns if you’re wandering out of your lane; and Collision Mitigation Braking System, which autonomously applies the brakes if the driver fails to slow down enough when a vehicle in front stops or slows down dramatically. It also has hill start assist

Other features include Bluetooth with full multi-media capability, touch-screen navigation, trip computer including fuel consumption and range, dual climate control aircon, satellite controls on the tilt and reach-adjustable steering wheel, heated front seats, and proximity key entry with push-button starting. There’s a full size spare wheel, and a powered glass sunroof.

All the testers were impressed with the CR-V from the driver’s seat, with electric adjustment, including lumbar support, and both tilt and reach adjustment of the steering wheel, it was easy to get comfortable, and the testers all appreciated the comfy seats.

However they weren’t as impressed with the fussy ergonomics, and questioned the need for multiple screens

Once moving the ride came in for some criticism, too. All said the suspension felt too soft, yet still allowed bump transmission, and at the same time a degree of body roll that they found disconcerting. “I wasn’t quite comfortable in this car,” said one. Another commented that it “would have been great 10 years ago”.

Engine power, while acceptable, wasn’t anywhere near as good as the others, though on paper it seemed to be. High revving and lacking in real bottom end torque, it would have benefitted more than the others from a six-speed gearbox. But it only has five ratios.

But versatility was excellent, with easy seat fold release, and some very practical touches. Boot capacity was far and away the biggest of the three, with the seats folded up or down, and even though it was the only one with a full size spare.

All this was reflected in the scoring. The Honda came third in every category except interior design and comfort, where it placed second.

Although not aimed at the off-road market – along with the others in our test – the Honda does get a decent on-demand 4WD system.

Second place: Ford Kuga Ecoboost Titanium

It was a close call between the Ford and the Mazda in the final round, and in the end it was the different engine characteristics, as well as the Ford’s fussy interior, that handed the winner’s belt to the Mazda.

Yet the Ford arguably has the better specification.

Apart from Active Park Assist, a semi-automated parking function which finds a parking space and slots it in (all you have to do is accelerate and brake, the car does the steering), it also has adaptive cruise control, as well as an adjustable speed limiter. It has City Safe, which autonomously brakes in a potential slow speed rear-ender, and it’s got a blind spot warning, and hill start assistance.

It also has a reversing camera, satellite navigation, a trip computer, Bluetooth, and all the aux inputs, Sync in-vehicle voice-operated communication, audio and visual collisions warning system (which gave one of our testers a big fright when the dashboard lit up when a Chorus van suddenly pulled into the side of the road without signalling, so it definitely works), and like the Honda, it has smart key access with push-button starting, as well as dual climate control aircon, and a panoramic power sunroof.

But it’s also got a VERY fussy dashboard, with lots of pushbuttons that all our testers found a bit daunting, as well as some elements of interior design that they felt were beyond their sell-by date!

And the multi-function screen, though five inches across, seemed tiny tucked away in a deep shroud.

The 60/40 split seats fold down easily to enlarge interior space, and the Kuga Titanium also comes with electric operation of the tailgate, the only one in the bunch to have this.

All the testers felt comfortable behind the wheel, with easily adjustable electrically operated seats, and reach and tilt of the steering wheel – which carries lots of satellite controls.

And all the testers loved the handling. “Sharp and chuckable,” said one, “like on rails” said another.

They loved the engine too, which they thought was eager and perky – but lacked real punch when it came to hills. They all agreed it would have been pick of the bunch had it been fitted with the 2-litre Ecoboost engine found in other Ford products, rather than the 1.6-litre version.

Perhaps this best sums up the Kuga: “Feels like a sports car, with excellent grip and handling. I always felt totally in control – I was driving the car, it wasn’t driving me!”

Mazda CX-5 2.5 Limited

And so to our winner

The CX-5 is the most modern of our selection, so perhaps it came out of its corner with a bit more reach and punch than the others.

Its engine is also the largest in capacity, and unlike the turbo-charged Ford, delivers its torque more effectively as a result, although they both have the same amount of torque on paper.

Yet it also has the best fuel economy, thanks to Mazda’s work in enhancing its engines and gearboxes to attain maximum efficiency via its Skyactiv project.

As with the others, it is well-equipped.

The electrically-operated seats have a two-position memory, and are heated, while thew tilt and reach-adjustable steering wheel has satellite controls. It has cruise control, but it’s not adaptive, and it has Bluetooth plus all the aux inputs, pumping through a Bose amp and speakers.

The 5.8-inch multi-information panel is touch screen, and there’s a TomTom-driven satnav system, but no reversing camera.

As with the others, the Mazda has leather seat trim, but where the Ford chooses grey for its hand stitching, Mazda goes wild with red, and it looks great!

Also like the Ford, the Mazda gets a power sunroof.

Our testers felt very comfortable in the car, though one commented that he thought the Kuga’s seats were better, and the layout of the controls came in for positive comments.

Handling was praised, too, while the engine’s quick response and huge pulling power was no doubt a big factor in giving the Mazda the edge in the final scoring.

Yet, on the negative side, though the biggest of the three vehicles, the Mazda doesn’t manage to pack quite as much kit inside, whether the seats are folded down or not.

This didn’t deter one tester, who summarised: “Feels sporty and confident, but feels bigger than the others. Brilliant car!”