One of the coolest car advertising tag lines ever has to be Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom.
Back in 2000, a 10-year-old kid from Chicago – Micah Kanters, if you’re asking – turns to the camera and whispers those two immortal words.
He actually pronounces it “zum-zum” on account of the director being an Aussie. Sounds more like Crocodile Dundee than Harry Potter.
Mazda eventually phased out the line in 2015, replacing it with the totally forgettable “Driving Matters”. I still miss it. It’s right up there with BMW’s benchmark “Ultimate Driving Machine”.
The first freeway on-ramp curve I take in the top-of-the-line 2026 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid Premium Plus I’ve been driving – base price $41,945 – I can’t help but whisper to myself “Zoom-Zoom”. Strange, I know.
It’s something about the precision and perfect weighting of the steering. It’s about the poise, balance and agility of the CX as it zooms around the bend with minimal body roll. It’s the fun-to-drive feeling that seems to ooze out of the Mazda’s every pore.
And this is with the CX-50 Hybrid, and not the tear-away Turbo model.
The CX-50 itself has been around since 2023, introduced as a slightly bigger, slightly lower-roofed, slightly sportier alternative to Mazda’s super-successful CX-5 crossover.
The CX-50 Hybrid came out last year, offering terrific 39 mpg city, 37 highway, and 38 mpg combined economy. With today’s near $4-a-gallon pricing, it was brilliant timing.
Interestingly, Mazda has to thank partner Toyota for the mechanical bits of this new hybrid. Under the hood is the same 2.5-liter 4-cylinder gas motor and triple electric motors you’ll find in Toyota’s RAV4 Hybrid.
In the CX-50, it delivers a combined 219 hp, which helps it zoom-zoom from standstill to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds, and take it over 500 miles on a tank.
The only negative is that Mazda was obliged to use Toyota’s CVT continuously-variable transmission. It’s fine around town, but step on the gas and it drones like an Evinrude outboard on wide-open throttle. It’s more whaaaar than zoom.
That aside, there’s still so much to love about this well-built, well-equipped, Alabama-assembled crossover.
I love the body design, with that high waist, lowish roof, and bulging fenders. All that black cladding around the wheel arches and along the lower body gives it a tough, offroad vibe. Love the look of those 19-inch “saw-blade” alloys too
And that pouting grille and those slightly menacing cat’s-eyes headlights leave you in no doubt you’re gazing at a Mazda.
Climb aboard and the focus on quality and fit and finish shines through. From the second you lay your hands on the wheel, the CX-30 feels a little special. The rim is thick and beefy, and covered in the softest of leather with lovely stitching.
The shifter too is substantial – not some silly flap or push-button arrangement. There are also proper buttons to press and knobs to twist that don’t require 43 taps of a computer screen.
Yes, the Mazda’s 10-inch dash-top screen seems amusingly small in these times of 52-inch Mercedes EQS touchscreens. But I’ll forgive it for the lovely, crystal-clear, easy-to-read graphics.
Full marks too for the front seats, which are nicely-bolstered for enthusiastic cornering. Lovely detailing too with contrasting orange piping. They’re trimmed in top-quality, glove-soft leather as well.
There’s no shortage of legroom in the back, with room for three-across and, despite the racy roofline, there’s decent headroom. And the cabin feels light and airy courtesy of a huge glass moonroof.
Despite the hybrid system’s nickel-metal hydride battery pack living under the rear load area, rear storage is only slightly reduced compared to non-hybrid CX-50s.
With the rear seatback in place, there’s 29 cubic feet of space, and a whopping 56 cu-ft with it folded.
Me? If I was choosing, I might prefer the CX-50 Turbo model (pricing from $39,395) with its rorty 256 horseys and regular six-speed automatic instead of the dreaded CVT.
But the Hybrid’s ability to “zum-zum” straight past your local Texaco with its 38-to-the-gallon economy, might be too hard to resist.
