The CX-50 is back for a second season, and Mazda claims it’s retuned the SUV’s dampers and electric power steering system with the aim of “encouraging more all-terrain adventures.”
Reviewers seemed happy enough with the driving characteristics of the existing car that went on sale last spring, and we take it buyers are too. What prospective owners are going to be less enthusiastic about is the changes to the pricing and grade structure for 2024.
Inflation is a fact of life, and something carmakers now paying more for raw materials have been battling recently. So it’s not really a surprise that almost every model in the CX-50 lineup costs more in 2024 trim than it did as a 2023 – a year during which Mazda had already raised CX-50 prices. Four models have had four-figure price increases for 2024, one of which takes the MSRP of the top-spec 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus from $42,300 to $43,300, to which you have to add $1,375 of delivery charges.
Review: The 2023 Mazda CX-50 Is A Gateway To The Great Outdoors
But there’s even more pain at the other end of the range. Mazda has opted to delete the entry level 2.5 S, which stickered at $27,550, and increased the price of the 2.5 S Select, the next model on the 2023 ladder, by $1,350. That means there is no longer a CX-50 available below $30k, the now-base-model 2.5 S Select coming in at $30,300 plus destination. The 2.5 S Preferred that sits above it in the range fares even worse, being hit with a $1,400 increase, taking it’s total to $31,650.
There is some good news for anyone considering the Premium and Premium Plus versions of the CX-50, the two highest-spec models available with the 187 hp (190 PS) naturally-aspirated 2.5. The Premium’s price falls by $1,150 to $34,000 and the Plus is only clobbered with a modest $350 rise.
In the 2023 price structure the top-line 2.5 S Premium Plus cost the same $37,150 as the entry-level Turbo. Now the base Turbo version of SUV costs $500 more and is obviously not as well equipped as the atmo Premium Plus, but we’d find it hard not to pick the 256 hp (260 PS) blown car for its extra grunt.
