Honda CR-V edges Mazda CX-5 in Consumer Reports small CUV test [w/video]

AutoBlog: Honda CR-V edges Mazda CX-5 in Consumer Reports small CUV test [w/video]

Click to watch videoWhenever Consumer Reports weighs in on the automotive landscape, we're always eager to hear what its editors have to say. We value their opinions, not because we necessarily agree or disagree, but because CR plays it straight. And sometimes, amidst all the folderol spewed about new models in the pages of car magazines and on the myriad websites devoted to automotive minutiae, it helps to read someone write things like this:

    Overall, CR's testers found the CR-V is functional and easy to live with, if not particularly exciting to drive. The CX-5 Touring... is more athletic and engaging to drive, thanks to its agile handling, taut cornering, and responsive steering.

Now this may strike most of you as nothing more than CR displaying its usually astute command of the obvious. But it reads that way for a reason – call it art imitating life. So when the mainstreamers read that the CR-V narrowly beat out the CX-5, it will not just reflect the reality of a market in which the Mazda brand lags well behind Honda, but confirm their worldview. The Honda CR-V will continue to appear on the magazine's "Recommended" list, while the jury will await reliability reports before nominating the Mazda CX-5.

The sun will rise in the east and set in the west.

To read CR's full press release, which also spills the beans on the June issue's head-to-head test between the Mercedes-Benz ML350 and BMW X5, as well as road tests of the Subaru Impreza hatchback and Kia Soul, scroll down. We also have the magazine's video reviews of the crossover pair in video form, so have a look.