Three-car garage: used Mazda CX-5, Mazda MX-5 and Mazda MX-30 for £37k
The Japanese brand’s latest SUV is set to cost around £35,000 in high spec. We’ve scoured our classifieds to find three other Mazdas that you might like.
The new Mazda CX-5 has arrived and it’s been given a sleek new look inside and out to match Mazda’s latest 6e and CX-6e EVs. Going up against the Nissan Qashqai, Ford Kuga and Kia Sportage, the CX-5 operates in the hugely important family SUV sector, so there’s a lot riding on the new model.
When it arrives later this year, the CX-5 is likely to cost around £35,000, but if you don’t want to wait and you’ve got the space on your driveway, then maybe we can tempt you with three other cars from the Japanese manufacturer for a similar price instead. There’s something for everyone and every scenario here, with an EV, an SUV and one of the best sports cars ever to grace our roads.
Mazda MX-5 - £12,499
The MX-5 is Mazda’s most iconic car. We found a fairly early Mk4, but it’s only done 23,000 miles. It has the gutsy 2.0-litre petrol engine rather than the 1.5-litre, so there’s a very useful 158bhp going to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.
Weighing in at around a tonne, there’s more to the MX-5 than its renowned driving dynamics. That low weight means it’s also surprisingly economical, so you should expect more than 40mpg on average.
Sport Nav trim means this MX-5 should make top-down motoring all year round a bit more enjoyable, thanks to its heated seats. It also has cruise control, 17-inch alloy wheels, adaptive front lights and parking sensors.
Missed this Mazda MX-5 deal? You can still get open-top driving thrills as there are plenty of MX-5s for sale via our Buy A Car service…
Mazda CX-5 - £11,150
In keeping with most of the firm’s range, if you want the best-driving car in any class, the Mazda is the one to have – and that’s certainly true among family SUVs, thanks to the current CX-5. Partly for that reason, we’ve opted for a model with the sweet-shifting manual gearbox, rather than the sluggish automatic; plus we’ve chosen the free-revving naturally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol engine rather than the diesel, although it’s the less powerful 165bhp version.
As well as being genuinely fun to drive, the CX5 is a practical family car. The rear seats fold in a 40:20:40 split, there’s a large 506-litre boot, and passenger space is very good too. The SE-L Nav+ version we found is fitted with all the gadgetry you could want as well, including dual-zone climate control, Mazda’s user-friendly infotainment system, LED lights front and rear, parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers and tinted windows.
There were cheaper CX-5s available on the Auto Express Find A Car service, but we opted for this one because it looked like a cracking deal with only 66,000 miles on the clock and a price around £11,000.
Couldn’t quite catch this specific CX-5 deal? There are still plenty of other Mazda CX-5s on the Auto Express Buy a Car service…
Mazda MX-30 - £13,349
The MX-30 is perhaps the quirkiest car Mazda has made recently, but it also marks a significant moment for the brand as its first fully electric car.
Admittedly, the MX-30 isn’t perfect – the range is short, the rear-hinged back doors can be awkward, and boot space is at a premium (just 332 litres in the car we found because of the Bose stereo) – but it still holds loads of appeal. For example, the build quality is fantastic – everything feels solid and the materials appeared durable when we lived with an MX-30 for six months. Plus small details like the cork in the centre console are a fun nod to Mazda’s time as a cork supplier in the 1920s.
We’ve gone for a model in range-topping Makoto trim here, because it cost around the same as several less well equipped versions we found; plus this car’s done less than 10,000 miles. The Makoto was quite an expensive new car at over £35,000, but it does include a sliding sunroof, a heated steering wheel and that Bose sound system.
If this particular Mazda MX-30 has already found a new home by the time you get here, you can find plenty more examples available through the Auto Express Buy A Car service…
Head to the Auto Express used-car search page and let us know which cars you’d park in your dream three-car garage in the comments section below…
