2021 CX-5 Earns Highest Possible Rating in New IIHS Side Impact Test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced that the Mazda CX-5 achieved the highest performance in the new side crash test.

This was the first test series of 2020-2021 model year vehicles using a more stringent test, aimed at addressing higher severity crashes by using a heavier barrier traveling at a higher speed to simulate the striking vehicle. The CX-5 was the only vehicle out of 20 small SUVs to earn the top “Good” rating in this new test.

“Safety is a top priority at Mazda, and we have long researched how to protect occupants in side impacts,” said Masaki Ueno, MNAO vice president of R&D, design, and quality assurance. “We have studied real-world crashes and used computer simulation to consider body structure and load paths, resulting in the robust design that has existed in the CX-5 since the 2017 model year.”

“We developed this new test because we suspected there was room for more progress, and these results confirm that,” IIHS President David Harkey says. “The good rating for the CX-5 shows that robust protection in a more severe side crash is achievable.”

Mazda is proud to add this top achievement to the list of accolades from IIHS, including all-tested Mazda vehicles earning the IIHS 2021 TOP SAFETY PICK+, the highest award in safety. These vehicles include the Mazda3 Sedan and Hatchback, Mazda6, CX-3, CX-30, CX-5 and CX-9.