Rent Mazda CX-5 2023 in Dubai

Booking a recent-year SUV that has already proven itself takes a lot of guesswork out of the week. We rent the Mazda CX-5 2023 across Dubai with a no-deposit option, so you can have a settled, well-built compact crossover at the door without tying up a chunk of money on a card hold. This is the safe family pick: a refined five-seater that drives better than most rivals in its class, with a cabin that feels a step above the rate. The job of this page is to tell you who it suits, where the 2023 quietly makes sense over a newer plate, and the one place it gives ground to bigger SUVs.

Why the 2023 is the value year

By 2023 the CX-5 was a mature design, and Mazda spent that generation tidying rather than reinventing. You get the same quiet cabin, the same sweet chassis and the same SKYACTIV 2.0 as the newest cars, minus the premium people pay for a current plate. For a one-week rental that difference is real money for an experience that feels almost identical. Nothing about a 2023 reads as old when you climb in. The materials, the driving position and the road manners are the parts that decide whether you enjoy the week, and they are all here.

Spec at a glance

How it drives around Dubai

This is where the CX-5 earns its keep. The steering has weight and accuracy that most crossovers at this rate don't bother with, so threading through Marina side streets or holding a lane on Sheikh Zayed Road feels natural rather than vague. The 155 hp 2.0 is comfort-led, not quick. It pulls cleanly up to highway speed and sits there happily, and the 9.9-second sprint tells the honest truth: this car is about composure, not overtakes. Plan your moves on the E11 a little earlier and it never feels short of breath. For airport runs to DXB or the longer haul out to DWC, it cruises quietly and the seats stay comfortable.

Around town the FWD layout and tidy 4,575 mm length make light work of multi-storey bays and U-turns. Ground clearance of 193 mm clears the speed bumps and steep mall ramps you actually meet without scraping, though this is a road car, not something to point at the dunes.

Does your luggage fit

The boot holds 438 litres, which is genuinely useful: two large cases plus a couple of soft bags for an airport pickup, or a full week of mall hauls and a baby stroller without playing Tetris. Drop the rear seats and you get 1,340 litres, enough for flat-pack runs or sports kit. Be honest with yourself about the limit, though. Against the roomiest rivals like the CR-V or Tucson the CX-5 trails on outright cargo, and if four adults are travelling with full-size suitcases each, it gets tight. That is the trade you make for the nicer cabin and the better drive.

Heat, cooling and the cabin

Dubai's summer is the real test, and a parked CX-5 left in 45-degree sun gets hot like anything else. The AC pulls a closed cabin down to comfortable within a few minutes of moving, helped by the modest cabin volume of a compact SUV, and rear passengers get their own vents so kids in the back aren't left baking on a school run. The cabin itself is the CX-5's quiet win: low noise on the highway, soft-touch surfaces where your hands land, and a layout that doesn't feel like a budget rental.

Fuel, tolls and the desk rules

The 56-litre tank and roughly 7.3 L/100km combined mean a normal week of city driving and a couple of highway runs won't have you hunting for a station. Expect somewhere near 750 km from a fill in mixed use, so most renters top up once across a week. The petrol 2.0 is undemanding and doesn't punish stop-start traffic the way a thirstier engine would.

A few practicalities sit with you, the renter. Salik tolls run on the account as you pass the gantries, and any RTA fines during the rental pass to you. Child seats are required for under-fours, and we can fit one on request.

Who should rent it, and who should look elsewhere

Rent the CX-5 2023 if you want a couple or a small family car that feels a class above its rate, drives well, and handles a Dubai week of mall runs, highway cruising and airport pickups without fuss. It is the sensible, low-risk choice, and the 2023 plate is the sweet spot on value.

Look past it in two cases. If you're regularly carrying five or six people plus luggage, size up to a seven-seat SUV, because the CX-5's third row doesn't exist and the boot fills fast. And if it's just you running errands close to home, a hatchback will cost less to run and slot into tighter spaces. For everyone in between, this is the one I'd hand you the keys to.