The compact hybrid SUV market has an agile new option with the arrival of the 2025 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid. It’s the brand’s first traditional hybrid.

The EPA rates the CX-50 Hybrid at a combined 38 mpg (6.2 L/100 km), which is quite a lot better than the 28 mpg (8.4 L/100 km) of the version with Mazda's 2.5 L Skyactiv engine while offering more power at the same time.

With a Toyota-sourced gas-electric powertrain, the new CX-50 Hybrid still has enough Mazda beans to make it fun to drive.

The CX-50 Hybrid shoots Mazda straight to the top of a busy segment. A Honda CR-V Hybrid might still be the better all-rounder, but the Mazda scores highly when it comes to both driving and design, all the while sipping fuel like a RAV4 Hybrid. It is welcome proof that sensible cars can be desirable too.

Mazda creates strong high-mpg hybrid value in the middle of its U.S. lineup but loses its own narrative in the driver’s seat.

Mazda's stylish crossover gets some electrified power, courtesy of a Toyota hybrid system, but is the CX-50 the complete package?

In addition to the 2.5 ICE, the CX-50 also has three electric motors. Two of them are on the front transaxle. One’s a small motor/generator that functions as both a starter and provides some drive power, while the other is a “much more powerful traction motor that does most of the heavy electrified lifting,” said Chen.

Imagine: You've got the hood up on your Mazda with a crowd leaning in, onlookers saying things like, "Woah, is that a Toyota Dynamic Force 2.5-liter four-cylinder with dual electric motors and a CVT?

I’ve got to give Mazda some serious props for the introduction of the Hybrid version of the CX-50 . Not just because the automaker bought an entire powertrain — that which powers the RAV4 — from Toyota ,