Mazda CX-50 vs Subaru Forester
Mazda’s outdoor-leaning compact SUV, whose 2.5 Turbo makes 256 hp and 320 lb-ft on premium fuel and which holds 31.4 cu ft behind its rear seats. This page sets the CX-50’s sourced specifications beside a compact SUV it is cross-shopped with, one row at a time, with the source and the model year named on every row.
Mazda CX-50 vs Subaru Forester
Both of these are all-wheel-drive compact SUVs built for the same weekend, so the drivetrain is a tie and a tie is not a row. What differs is what the engine makes and what the body holds: the CX-50’s 2.5 Turbo carries the higher maximum horsepower and the substantially higher maximum torque, and it holds more behind its rear seats than any Subaru Forester trim. Towing is deliberately not a row either — the Forester Wilderness is rated for the same maximum this car is, and we would rather tell you that than leave you to find it. Each row below names its source and the model year that source describes.
Every row above names its source and the model year that source describes; verification of a comparison is the dealer’s responsibility. Competitor figures are that manufacturer’s own published specifications for the model year shown. Rows the CX-50 does not lead are recorded in our research and are not published here, and no price row appears at all — competitor MSRPs are published excluding destination while Mazda’s include it, so no like-for-like price comparison exists.
The Mazda CX-50 in Mobile, AL
Where the Turbo Engine Shows Up
The 2026 CX-50 runs from 187 hp to 256 hp, and the 2.5 Turbo makes 320 lb-ft of torque on premium fuel — which is the row with the widest margin in the comparison above, and the one you feel pulling a loaded car up a grade rather than on a spec sheet. Behind the rear seats it holds 31.4 cu ft, 56.3 cu ft with them folded. i-ACTIV AWD® is standard on all seven trims here, but it is not a row, because it is standard on the compared car too and a comparison should only publish differences.
How to Read This Comparison
Every figure in the table above carries a source and the model year that source describes. Mazda’s guidelines put verification of a comparison on the dealer, so a row that could not be sourced to a manufacturer publication is left out rather than estimated, and a row the CX-50 does not lead is recorded in our research and not published here. Ask us for the documentation behind any row and we will show it to you.
CX-50 Comparison Questions
How much torque does the Mazda CX-50 make?⌄
Up to 320 lb-ft with the 2.5 Turbo on recommended premium fuel, alongside 256 hp. That is the second row of the comparison above and the widest of its three margins.
Why is towing capacity not one of the rows above?⌄
Because it is a tie. The CX-50 tows up to 3,500 lbs with the 2.5 Turbo properly equipped, and the compact SUV compared here has a trim rated for the same maximum. Our research records ties as deliberately as it records wins, and neither one gets published as an advantage.
Where can I compare the Mazda CX-50 near Mobile, AL?⌄
Dean McCrary Mazda is at 1739 E I-65 Service Rd S in Mobile, serving Daphne, Spanish Fort, Saraland and Theodore. Drive a CX-50 and judge the comparison for yourself.
How are the figures on this page sourced?⌄
Each row names the publication it came from and the model year that publication describes. Verification of a comparison is the dealer’s responsibility, so no row appears here without a citation, and a row nobody could source is left off the page rather than estimated.
