2025 Mazda CX-50

Reviving a whiplash protection test with modified criteria and methods, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has rated 18 small SUVs.

We spent time with a new Mazda CX-50 Hybrid to see how it fits into the compact SUV segment. Find out four things we like about it and two we don’t.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is tightening its crash-test requirements for its coveted Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards, resulting in fewer winners for 2025.

Of 30 vehicles subject to the new test in the agency’s latest front crash evaluation, 22 rated good or acceptable.

An increasing number of vehicles with sticker prices of $40,000 or less, some much less, offer heated mirrors.

Like other Mazda CX-50s, the hybrid version is a sharp-handling, good-looking compact SUV — but the new hybrid powertrain thoroughly ruins the fun in favor of efficiency.

For the 2025 model year, Mazda is electrifying its compact CX-50 SUV with a hybrid powertrain sourced from Toyota.