SUVs are pretty darn popular these days, but no SUVs enjoy as much attention as the compact-sized ones, with a Toyota RAV4 or a Honda CR-V being so ubiquitous you can see one almost anywhere you look.
A successful market segment is a crowded market segment as every manufacturer tries to get a slice of the pie for itself, which means the two models we mentioned before are far from being alone. In fact, allow us to introduce two more that come from the same country as the previous pair: it's the 2021 Nissan Rogue and the 2021 Mazda CX-5.
Like all vehicles in this segment, the all-wheel-drive systems of the Rogue and the CX-5 will most likely never be truly tested as their owners will only buy them for the extra interior space, the higher seating position, and the perceived extra safety. It's truly a cliche to say they will never go off-road, but who said cliches can't occasionally be right?
Even so, owners or potential buyers would like to know what they have paid or would be paying for, and there's no better way to test these vehicles' AWD systems than the infamous slip test using up to three rollers to isolate traction.
The Nissan, with its 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine and CVT, opens the proceedings. The Rogue has no problem clearing the first test where only the two rear wheels have traction. It sorts things out with impressive ease, particularly for a vehicle with an obvious FWD bias.
The diagonal test (front wheel on one side, rear wheel on the other) poses a little more problems for the Rogue, with the suspended wheels spinning a few times before the traction control system figures it out and sends power to the two wheels sitting on the pavement.
It's time to bring out the third set of rollers and see what the Rogue is really made of. With one of the front wheels left in contact with the ground, the crossover can successfully pull itself out of the tricky situation. However, when the wheel with the available traction is at the rear, there is nothing the Rogue can do about it. A hefty push is required.
We've seen other SUVs perform similarly, so the result isn't necessarily a surprise. Actually, it would have been more surprising if the Rogue had managed to navigate that last test successfully as well. Now, it's time for the sexy-looking Mazda CX-5 with its fancy 2.0-liter turbocharged engine developing up to 250 hp to take the stage. Will it out-perform the Rogue, especially since it presumably has an ace up its sleeve in the "off-road mode" switch? Watch the video to find out.
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