Mazda CX-5 vs Toyota RAV4: The battle for family SUV favourite heats up

New-generations of both the CX-5 and RAV4 will be available in Australian showrooms this year, but which will be more popular?

Mazda could regain the best-selling SUV crown this year as its runout CX-5 continues to sell strongly despite a new-generation model soon to launch.

However, to do so, it will need to fend off its long-running arch-rival Toyota RAV4, which has also just been updated with a new-generation model.

To the end of April this year, Mazda has reported 7477 CX-5s as sold, a modest 4.6 per cent increase over last year’s run rate.

However, the second-generation CX-5 is soon to be replaced by an all-new model in the coming months, which opens at under $40,000 to keep it price competitive against many Chinese rivals.

MORE: Toyota Tundra prices cut by about $20,000 in Australia to clear year-old stock

Crucially for Mazda however, is the reduction in powertrain choice, from three to just one, which could limit the new CX-5’s appeal.

Of note, the one engine on offer, a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine, has been detuned – losing 8kW/10Nm to 132kW/242Nm – due to tightening emissions regulations.

Another limiting factor for the new CX-5 will be the lack of hybrid powertrain, which will not come on stream until next year at the earliest, whereas the RAV4 has been hybrid-only for some time.

The strategy has proven popular for Toyota in the past, and so far in 2026 the RAV4 is the more successful, outselling its rival with a 7571 tally.

MORE: Next-generation 2027 Mazda CX-3 confirmed

That number though is a steep 57 per cent decline over the same four-month period last year, but Toyota’s new-generation family SUV only began sales in March.

Toyota claims it is holding 10,000 pre-orders for the car, which will take some time to fulfill in the coming months as shipments make their way to Australia.

Like the CX-5, the Toyota RAV4 has also been detuned for Euro 6d standards, dropping 17kW and 20kW in front- and all-wheel-drive forms respectively to 143kW.

However, the new RAV4 will go without an official safety rating for now, as Toyota is aware of the changes it needs to make to the model for a top score after ANCAP changed its judging criteria this year.

MORE: 2026 Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series hybrid price announced

The latest generation of RAV4 will also be the first time in Australia it will be made available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but those variants will not be ready until later this year.

With eight months to go before the end of the year, Mazda’s value-focused new CX-5 line-up could prove popular enough to beat the RAV4, which would be the first time it has held the crown since 2019.

But Toyota’s RAV4 has been selling consistently well since the last generation model landed in 2019, making the mid-size SUV race a close one for 2026.

The post Mazda CX-5 vs Toyota RAV4: The battle for family SUV favourite heats up appeared first on Drive.

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