For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-5 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Buick Envista doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-5 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Buick Envista doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Mazda CX-5 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Envista doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The CX-5 has a standard Secondary Collision Reduction System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Envista doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CX-5 has a standard Rear Smart Brake Support that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Envista doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The CX-5 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Envista doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The CX-5 Premium Plus has a standard 360° Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Envista only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.
The CX-5 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Envista’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CX-5 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Smart Braking Support - Rear Crossing automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Buick charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Envista and the Envista’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.
The CX-5’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Envista doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the CX-5 and the Envista have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.
The Mazda CX-5 weighs 719 pounds more than the Buick Envista. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.