wh-Discover-Main-March26

<em>Barrie: About this series: Wheels wants to inspire you to explore. This series of day trips and longer drives highlight great experiences you can have in the province, and show you why Ontario is “Ours to Discover.”</em>

According to Statistics Canada, Barrie is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada. But you needn’t scrutinize population charts to appreciate the development this community on the western arm of Lake Simcoe is experiencing. It’s obvious from the ever-increasing activities available to day visitors and overnighters. As the population has swelled, so too have the art and cultural opportunities, and the diversity of cuisines served in local restaurants. One constant about Barrie that’s always been a crowd-pleaser: its robust portfolio of outdoor pursuits, which starts on the city’s revamped waterfront.

<strong>In the morning:</strong> Follow Highway 400 north to Barrie and take the Bayfield Street exit toward downtown. There’s plenty of roadside and municipal parking near Bayfield and Simcoe streets near the Kempenfelt Bay waterfront.

Make a beeline to <a href="http://www.homesteadartisanbakery.com/contactus">Homestead Artisan Bakery</a>, which specializes in long-ferment sourdough breads and baked goods. A helping of sourdough waffles – slathered with fresh berries, whipping cream, berry compote and maple syrup – will fuel you for the morning activities ahead.

After your hearty breakfast, head to Centennial Beach and Heritage Park (a few minutes away by foot) where you’ll have options to walk, rollerblade or cycle the seven-kilometre waterfront trail, go kayaking or canoeing, hop on a stand-up paddleboard, or let the kids have fun at the 13,000-square-foot inflatable waterpark. If you are interested, <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/ours-to-discover/ours-to-discover-barrie/madcatebikes.ca">Born</a> to Ride offers cycle rentals and guided tours of the area.

Retrieve your car for a five-minute drive to <a href="https://www.barrie.ca/Living/ParksTrails/Parks/Pages/Parks-Listing.aspx">Arboretum Sunnidale Park and Living Walk</a>. It is home to the Every Kid’s A Hero Inclusive Adventure Playground that empowers youngsters with mobility impairments or disabilities, as well as people with hearing and visual impairments, to enjoy outdoor recreation. You can also follow the interactive QR code-based tree walk, which prompts visitors to identify trees and other elements in the local ecosystem.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166819" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/wh-Discover-MacLaren-March26-2048x1152-1.jpeg" alt="Downtown Barrie’s MacLaren Art Centre" width="2048" height="1152" />

Hop back in your car for a 10-minute jaunt over to Bayfield Street, and then north on Highway 26, which will take you to the Simcoe County Museum. It includes a collection of 16 heritage buildings, interactive displays and five indoor galleries chronicling local history. There’s even an outdoor ice-skating trail during winter.

<strong>Around noon:</strong> <a href="https://pizzeriaitaliarestaurant.ca/">Pizzeria Italia</a> has been serving traditional Italian food in Barrie since 1966. Its meatball sandwich is delicious, and, over the years, the kitchen hasn’t given in and dialled down the garlic intensity of its requisite Caesar salad.

After lunch, make time to visit the contemporary Canadian art collection at the <a href="https://maclarenart.com/">MacLaren Art Centre</a> across the street from the restaurant. Later, walk around the corner to the <a href="https://www.flyingmonkeys.ca/taproom/">Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery</a> to purchase a take-home six-pack of one of their award-winning craft brews.

After retrieving your car make a quick stop at <a href="https://sigridsbakery.com/">Sigrid’s Café &amp; Fine Bakery</a>, which is run by the fourth generation of European-trained bakers. Take your pick of cookies, pastries, torts or poppy seed cake to enjoy during your 20-minute drive to your next stop.

<strong>In the afternoon:</strong> Hop back onto Highway 400 and drive north until you reach Horseshoe Valley Road and <a href="https://horseshoeresort.com/">Horseshoe Valley Resort</a>. This four-season venue offers a variety of winter activities (skiing, snow tubing, snowboarding and snowshoeing), as well as warmer-weather adventures (fat biking, hiking, off-road riding and tree-top trekking).
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166820" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/wh-Discover-Fat-March26-2048x1368-1.jpeg" alt="Horseshoe Valley Resort" width="2048" height="1368" />

Your last stop for the afternoon will resonate with anyone who’s watched an episode of “Antiques Road Show.” <a href="https://roadshowantiquesmall.com/">Road Show Antiques</a>, just south of Barrie next to the 400 Market on Highway 400, is open daily. Browse its 32,000 square feet of antiques, collectibles, vintage and retro pieces. Making sure you have an empty car trunk will be handy for this day trip, because you will want to bring some of your finds home with you.

<strong>In the evening:</strong>  All that shopping will mean you’re ready for dinner. <a href="https://www.thecrazyfoxbistro.com/">The Crazy Fox Bistro</a>, a mainstay since 1986, is one of the finer casual dining options in Barrie. Appetizers range from flatbreads to Itsumo tuna, while main courses include pan-seared pickerel, duck confit, filet mignon and crab and lobster mezzaluna. Opt to sit on the patio during the warm months.

For your main event of the evening, you can sit back and watch horseracing at <a href="http://www.georgiandowns.com/">Georgian Downs</a> on the outskirts of Barrie, or take in a performance at the <a href="https://www.barrie.ca/Living/RecreationFacilities/Pages/Sadlon-Arena.aspx">Sadlon Arena</a>, formerly the Barrie Molson Centre. Before the drive back to Toronto, consider stopping at the <a href="https://www.commongoodcafe.ca/">Common Good Café &amp; Social House</a>, where you can enjoy a cocktail (if you aren’t the designated driver) or coffee on the patio or in the lounge while listening to live music. The perfect end to a perfect day in Barrie.
<h3>COVID-19 need to know</h3>
Consult the provincial website (<em>ontario.ca</em>) for the most up-to-date information and contact individual businesses ahead of your trip
<h3>For the drive</h3>
Listen to “<a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Barrie-Uncovered---The-Podcast-Edition-p1242560/">Barrie Uncovered: The Podcast Edition</a>.” <a href="https://tunein.com/radio/Arts--Culture-Podcasts-g3430/">This arts and culture program features conversations with Barrie-based artists and entrepreneurs. Find it at <em>barrieuncovered.ca</em>.</a>
<h3><strong>TIMELINE:</strong> Drive guide</h3>
<ul>
 	<li><strong>8 a.m.</strong>Leave Toronto</li>
</ul>
Drive north on Hwy 400
<ul>
 	<li><strong>9 a.m.</strong> Homestead Artisan Bakery</li>
 	<li><strong>10 a.m.</strong>Centennial Park &amp; Heritage Park</li>
 	<li><strong>11 a.m.</strong>Sunnidale Park Arboretum and Living Walk</li>
 	<li><strong>11:45 a.m.</strong> Simcoe County Museum</li>
 	<li><strong>12:45 a.m.</strong> Pizzeria Italia</li>
 	<li><strong>2 p.m.</strong>Horseshoe Valley Resort</li>
 	<li><strong>4:45 p.m.</strong>Road Show Antiques</li>
 	<li><strong>6 p.m.</strong>Crazy Fox Bistro</li>
 	<li><strong>7:30 p.m.</strong> Sadlon Arena or Georgian Downs</li>
</ul>
<em>NOTE: Times are suggestions only</em>

Ours to Discover: Barrie

Head To-Head: 2022 Volkswagen Taos vs 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross

vw-taos-vs-corolla-cross-header

For over half a decade, Dan Heyman has written professionally about cars and car culture, specializing in luxury/performance vehicles, 4 x 4s and pickup trucks, with a micro city car or two thrown in for good measure. If he's not striking a spacebar, he's likely out photographing cars on the twists and turns of the Coast Mountain roads outside his hometown of Vancouver, BC, or cutting a line on a racetrack.

It’s not often in these comparison stories that we get to compare two brand-new, never-before-seen vehicles.

But here we are: the Toyota Corolla Cross and <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/review-2022-volkswagen-taos/">Volkswagen</a> Taos are the latest entrants from each manufacturer in the always-expanding small/compact (some can argue “subcompact” – I’m not quite sure with these) crossover game, and they are two similar, but also divergent combatants.

They both are aimed at young, likely active families and both come powered by four-cylinder engines from a pair of manufacturers that are well-versed in a number of crossover/SUV segments. They also have some brand pedigree, more obvious with the Toyota – we all know how successful the Corolla line of compact cars has been through the years – but you have to reach a little further for the Taos, as we’ll see in a moment. So, on paper, they are each perfectly viable choices for buyers.
<h3><strong>Styling</strong></h3>
This is interesting in that the Taos is clearly a VW with its big, famous emblem on the snout, squarish silhouette, bright and very GTI-esque “Cornflower Blue” paint job, and somewhat edgy 18-inch two-tone wheels. I find the Corolla Cross to be more reminiscent of a Jeep Cherokee than anything by Toyota.

The squared-off fenders, smoked grille, the shape of the leading edge of the taillamps, C-pillar shape – even the headlamp lenses – recall the famous Jeep product and in all honesty, I rather like it. It looks way chunkier and more purposeful in person than I ever thought it would be, and the Cypress paint job fits the mould well. I really like the exterior styling of this car, I think more so than I do that of the VW, handsome as the latter is.

What I do like about the Taos, however, are its overall proportions. It recalls the Tiguan before the North American version of that big-selling Veedub became a three-row crossover, by that I mean the Taos is more Golf-on-stilts, as the Tiguan once was. This stands to reason because if you know anything about VW, you know that they’ve cancelled both the Golf and Golf Sportwagen for the North American market (not counting the halo GTI and Golf R models), and so it falls to the Taos to kind of pick up the slack left by those two models. That, by the way, is where the Taos’ “all-new” designation gains a bit of an asterisk, as it is very similar in size and scope to the former <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/base-camp-2022-volkswagen-tiguan/">Tiguan</a>. The <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/base-camp-2022-toyota-corolla-cross/">Corolla Cross</a>, on the other hand, is something we haven’t really seen before from Toyota in that it falls between the smaller C-HR and larger RAV4 in size. The important designation between it and the <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/toyota-corolla-cross-vs-c-hr/">C-HR</a>, though, is that the Corolla Cross is available with AWD and the C-HR is not.

[caption id="attachment_166835" align="alignnone" width="2000"]<img class="wp-image-166835 size-full" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/vw-taos-front-3q.jpeg" alt="2022 Volkswagen Taos" width="2000" height="1333" /> 2022 Volkswagen Taos[/caption]

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166829" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/22-corolla-cross-side-3q.jpeg" alt="2022 Toyota Corolla Cross" width="2000" height="1333" />

Inside the Taos, there’s no denying it’s a VW – same climate controls, same infotainment system with strange MS-DOS style font, same tuxedo-like ambiance, especially when finished in black leather, as seen here.

I am, however, a big fan of the digital gauge cluster and the ability to connect wirelessly to Apple CarPlay, both features that the Corolla Cross can’t lay claim to. The Toyota does, however, get a decent-sized TFT display between its analogue gauges.

While I like how the Taos’ interior is a little classier, the Corolla Cross’ interior is a little airier with more flared surfaces, a less-cluttered centre console and larger seats. On the one hand, I do like that, but there’s something to be said for how ensconcing the Taos’ interior is. Add the fact that it gets an optional panoramic glass roof while the Toyota makes do with a more traditional sunroof.
<h3><strong>Performance, Ride and Handling</strong></h3>
While these do both have four-cylinder powerplants, the Taos gets a turbocharger which pushes its torque figure to 184 lb-ft, a nice number considering the Taos’ size.

The Corolla Cross makes more horsepower, though, as does most everyone else in this category. Which, it has to be said, is a bit of a problem for the Taos – on paper.

In practice, though, the Taos has an additional trick up its sleeve that helps get the most out of that power, and that’s it's dual-clutch seven-speed automatic. Which, it has to be said, can be had only if you spec AWD as FWD models get a torque converter eight-speed auto. The result, coupled with that generous torque figure, is athletic forward progress once past a dabble of turbo lag that only a quick-shifting dual-clutch can provide. It feels way quicker than the numbers suggest, and that’s just on tip-in. The torque curve really comes into its own once, at speed, the multiple ratios are there to allow great power application across a broad rev band.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166833" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_2410.jpeg" alt="2022 Volkswagen Taos" width="2000" height="1333" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166834" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_2455.jpeg" alt="2022 Toyota Corolla Cross" width="2000" height="1333" />

The Corolla Cross – like its so-named sedan and hatchback brethren – gets a CVT automatic. Of course, these transmission types are good for fuel economy and they can make for some smooth acceleration, but they rarely make for what I would call strong acceleration and, regrettably, the Cross is no different.

Dabbing the accelerator pedal will garner a response, but not an especially athletic one and the more you press on, the more strained it feels. It may have more horsepower the Taos, but unlike the Taos which makes the most of the power it has got, the Cross is just the opposite, as its 2.0-litre four-banger feels constrained by that transmission. I don’t expect a vehicle like this to put its power down like a sports car, but I do expect it to not leave me wanting when it comes to menial everyday tasks like passing a truck on a two-lane or entering a freeway. I won’t say that the Corolla Cross can’t do this stuff. I can just say that I found myself thinking about it a lot more before I attempted such tasks and that the powertrain just doesn’t instill as much confidence as does the Taos’.

What the Corolla Cross does return, though, is a more comfortable ride than the Taos. Even the harshest bumps are well ironed out by the Cross’ dampers and it flows over most any road with grace and comfort. Add a slippery shape and smart sound deadening work around the wheel wells and front bulkhead, and you have a properly serene ride.

The Taos, for its part, has the better handling out of the two. The steering is nice and direct (if a little woollen on feel) and the dampers have been tuned for a driver looking for a more athletic and responsive drive. Again, if you’re going to go after buyers longing for their Golf, this is the kind of thing you need to do.

That suspension tuning and those big wheels, however, do make for a firm ride and one that will get upset over repeated bumps such as what you might find on a pockmarked city street. Also contributing to some less-than-smooth progress is that DSG box as creeping forward in traffic with dual-clutch boxes is often a challenge to do, and such is the case here. Aggressive shift mapping will cause some lurching that you need to be ready for. When you really get moving, though, ‘oh boy is that Taos a willing dance partner.
<h3><strong>Practicality</strong></h3>
When it comes to interior comfort, both of these punch above their weight class, but in somewhat different ways.

As mentioned before, the Cross’ interior has more open space, feels a little easier to breathe in and provides some really comfortable and supportive chairs that will coddle both front and rear passengers on long journeys.

The Taos, though, provides the roomier back seat both in terms of head- and-legroom, whereas the Corolla Cross betrays its connection with the smaller C-HR with what is a bit of a deficit of rear legroom. This is not a shot at only the Corolla Cross. I have driven most of the competition in this segment, I can safely say the Taos cleans the clock of most of them when it comes to how generous its back seat is.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166831" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/22-vw-taos-rear-seat.jpeg" alt="2022 Volkswagen Taos" width="2000" height="1333" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166828" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/22-corolla-cross-rear-seat.jpeg" alt="2022 Toyota Corolla Cross" width="2000" height="1333" />

Less generous, it must be said, are the VW’s seat cushions. They are supportive enough, but not as padded as the items found in the Toyota so in the comfort sense, each one of these giveth, and each one taketh away.

And how VW found all that rear back seat room becomes evident as it doesn’t sport the deepest of cargo bays. On paper, it has more room behind the second row than the Corolla Cross, but the Toyota’s bay is deeper and easier to load.
<h3><strong>Features</strong></h3>
Strange as the Taos’ infotainment system looks, it’s fast enough, fairly intuitive and offers the wireless connectivity mentioned earlier and is your conduit to the Beats by Dre audio option on my tester. Eagle-eyed (or is that “eared”?) VW-philes will know that VW’s former audio system of choice was Fender – yeah, like the Stratocaster – and this new system doesn’t have quite the punch I’ve come to expect from VW.

The Cross’ system is also an upgraded JBL piece and while it sounds good enough, the Corolla Cross still gets Toyota’s older infotainment system with its somewhat blurry graphics, fussy, alphabet soup-like navigation and less-than-zippy response to touch inputs. Luckily, Apple CarPlay is here – albeit wired – and seems to respond better. It’s where I kept it most of the time.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166830" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/22-vw-taos-interior.jpeg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166832" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/corolla-cross-interior.jpeg" alt="2022 Toyota Corolla Cross" width="2000" height="1333" />
<h3><strong>Value</strong></h3>
The Taos starts at about $2,000 more than the Corolla Cross, and that’s with it getting fewer speakers and a smaller infotainment display. Add the better fuel economy the Toyota gets, and it’s hard to argue against its being the value champion here.
<h3><strong>Verdict</strong></h3>
I think by now it’s pretty clear; for me, the choice is Taos. I’m willing to spend the extra money for that performance and interior dimensions, not to mention the more robust infotainment.

I do like the Cross’ styling, though, and those seats are top-notch. It’s just I had trouble getting past that powertrain no matter how handsome the thing looked. Many will dig the Corolla Cross for its comfort and ride quality; I’m choosing the Taos because I do miss the Golf, and this works as a replacement – for the most part.
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b><i>The vehicle was provided to the writer by the automaker. Content and vehicle evaluations were not subject to approval.</i></b></span></p>

<h3><strong>Volkswagen Taos</strong></h3>
BODY STYLE: Five-door compact crossover

CONFIGURATION: Font engine, AWD

ENGINE: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cylinder, 158 hp @ 5,500 r.p.m.; 184 lb-ft @ 1,750 r.p.m.

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic

CARGO CAPACITY (L): 790-1,866

FUEL ECONOMY (L/100 km): 9.5/7.4/8.5 city/highway/combined

BASE PRICE: $26,695

PRICE AS TESTED: $36,695
<h3><strong>Toyota Corolla Cross</strong></h3>
BODY STYLE: Five-door compact crossover

CONFIGURATION: Front-engine, AWD

ENGINE: 2.0-litre inline-4, 169 hp @ 6,600 r.p.m.; 150 lb-ft @ 4,400 r.p.m.

TRANSMISSION: CVT

CARGO CAPACITY (L): 724.9

FUEL ECONOMY (L/100 km): 8.1/7.4/7.8 city/highway/combined

BASE PRICE:  $24,890

PRICE AS TESTED: $33,990

&nbsp;

2023 Mazda CX-50 The CX-50 gets two powertrains, one of that is turbocharged and one that is not. A hybrid model developed in partnership with Toyota

23-mazda-cx50-main-header

The 2023 <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/weekly-news-roundup-ranger-raptor-mazda-cx-50-ontario-battery-news-more/">Mazda</a> CX-50 has arrived, and from what I can see, it faces a couple of challenges. One, Mazda is embarking on the path that many others have: the path towards electrification, which it says means a fully electrified lineup by 2030.

The CX-50 gets two powertrains, one that is turbocharged and one that is not. A hybrid model developed in partnership with Toyota (the CX-50 is the first Mazda to roll off the line at the new Huntsville, AL manufacturing plant shared with the Japanese giant) is on the way, but we’re going to have to wait.

Two, it shares a spot in the C-segment crossover portion of Mazda’s line-up with the CX-5, an absolutely massive seller for the brand and one the newcomer will surely be cross-shopped with for likely the first few years of its existence.

For its part, Mazda insists that while the two are similar in size, they appeal to different audiences: the CX-5 to more urbanized families and the 2023 Mazda CX-50 to more outdoorsy or lifestyle-centric folks – so there’s plenty of room in the showroom for both.

Not to mention that when placed side by each, the stylistic differences are quite marked. The CX-50 is longer and lower, its curves – especially around the wheels – are chunkier and squarer.

With its blacked-out grille, wing mirrors and body cladding, fender flares, and its larger 20-inch unique wheels, the CX-50 looks the more purposeful (or more playful, depending on your perspective) vehicle and manages to convey a surprisingly divergent message from the CX-5. The customary Mazda styling cues are still present: five-point grille, squinting headlights (LED on all trims, matched by LED taillights on the top-spec GT Turbo trim seen here), taillights that appear to blister out from the CX-50’s body and roof spoiler. I remember at one point during my test seeing the CX-50’s nose section popping out from behind a parked car it looked properly menacing, and if I didn’t already know what the rest of it looked like, I sure as heck would have walked over there and checked.

Inside, save for two major details, the stylistic differences are less marked. The door pulls are a little chunkier, the central storage bin sees its traditional lid swapped with a dual-lid that Mazda says, “recalls a toolbox” and there’s some cool contrast-colour stitching. The major details? The panoramic sunroof option (a Mazda first – yes, surprised us, too), and the Terracotta interior colour choice, which is top drawer. Brown hues don’t always work; this one does. Black is your only other interior colour choice at the GT trim level.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166795" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/23-mazda-cx50-interior.jpeg" alt="2023 Mazda CX-50 Interior" width="2000" height="1333" />

Otherwise, you have the same partially digitized gauge cluster, heads-up display, shift lever, infotainment control, and steering wheel.

What you don’t have, however, is the same infotainment system as the CX-5. Since the 2023 Mazda CX-50 is part of Mazda’s “seventh generation” of vehicles along with the <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/review-2022-mazda3-sport-gt-turbo-hatchback/">Mazda3</a> and <a href="https://www.wheels.ca/review-2022-mazda-cx-30-turbo/">CX-30</a>, it also gets the latest in Mazda infotainment. It’s faster than previous, has a larger screen and has native support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That’s all great, but it isn’t a “tiled” set-up like so much of the competition, so there’s a lot of scrolling in order to navigate the menus. You still get a volume control knob beside the main control knob, though, which is great as it makes adjusting the volume easy when at speed on the road.

The front seating positions are right on, though there is a little less headroom here and what feels like less room overall in the back seat. A lot of that has to do with the fact that the storage floor in the rear cargo area is one of the longest in the segment, so shaped to pack the types of items Mazda envisions CX-50 owners like to pack: coolers, tents and sleeping bags – long, thin items best packed lengthwise.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166796" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/23-mazda-cx50-cargo.jpeg" alt="2023 Mazda CX-50 Rear Cargo Space" width="2000" height="1333" />

The turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder is good for a CX-5-equalling 227 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque on 87-octane fuel, expanding to 250 hp and 320 lb-ft if you spec 93-octane.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166797" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/23-mazda-cx50-engine-turbo.jpeg" alt="2023 Mazda CX-50 Powertrain" width="2000" height="1333" />

Speed-off the line is properly robust, the CX-50 rewarding generous throttle inputs with properly brisk acceleration. The engine note sounds just a little strained when you really get on it, but you are making good forward progress.

More so if you’re in “Sport” mode which increases throttle response and hangs on to gears a little longer – it’s the same six-speed auto we’ve seen in Mazdas for a while and sometimes, it feels like it holds on a little too long. It might be time to start thinking about a new dual-clutch transmission option – but this is the first time we have an “off-road” mode in a Mazda. What it does is send as much torque as possible to the rear axle from start, optimize traction control and change shift mapping, among other things.

The big add when it comes to performance, though, is the addition of a tow mode that changes shift mapping once again to accommodate heavier loads. Thanks to a better cooling system and two-inch hitch, the CX-50 can tow up to 3,500 lbs. — more than any CX-5. We hooked up to an Airstream weighing in at about 3,300 lbs. and while you will feel some drag, you won’t feel uncomfortable while towing. The stability control system is used to regulate trailer sway and while there is no trailer brake control system, there are, of course, aftermarket options.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166798" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/23-mazda-cx50-towing.jpeg" alt="2023 Mazda CX-50 Towing Capacity" width="2000" height="1333" />

While it’s nice you can tow, I think that most CX-50 buyers are going to be more concerned with how the CX-50 drives and handles. With Mazda’s patented G Vector control tech doing its part to keep as much traction down as possible (and reducing the effects of trailer bob) and well-tuned suspension, it comes as little surprise that the CX-50 will carve corners as well as – or better than – any crossover out there. The steering is a little numb but as direct as one expects, and body roll less present than it is in the CX-5, already a pretty tight affair in its own right.

Bottom line is that if you’re in the market for a Mazda CUV, the decision just got a little harder. Drive both of these; you won’t regret it.

<b><i>The vehicle was provided to the writer by the automaker. Content and vehicle evaluations were not subject to approval.</i></b>

&nbsp;

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Ours to Discover: Barrie

Head To-Head: 2022 Volkswagen Taos vs 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross

FIRST DRIVE: 2023 Mazda CX-50