Japanese= good Mexican= bad

P.S. not in a racist way

The newest CX-5 model years will perform best in terms of ride comfort and NVH. The torsion beam rear suspension on the Mazda3 and CX-30 somewhat compromises the compliance over bumpy surfaces, whereas the CX-5 retains independent rear suspension. I also find the 3 and CX-30 a bit cramped and I’m not a large/tall guy.

The one spot where the 3 and CX-30 easily outclass the CX-5 is in seat comfort though. The CX-5 seat materials and supportiveness are fine, but the shape and size are really annoying. There’s minimal side bolstering and it feels like your ass is sinking into a cushy bowl when driving.

At the end of the day, your best option is to test drive all three as much as possible and trust your instincts.

FWIW there was a well known manufacturing defect with the 2018/early 2019 2.5 NA cylinder heads causing them to crack. I would get on the line with Mazda corporate ASAP to try and make this right, especially if there’s any way you can verify the head on your engine was made in the Mexico factory.

https://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/mazda-cx-5-54/2018-cx-5-blown-head-cylinder-head-gasket-45796/page4/

“I was a service technician for a while at Mazda and the reason why this has been happening is because there are two factories where the cars are made (Japan and Mexico) and there was a bad batch of aluminum heads and now its causing every engine with the bad head to crack by the last head stud next to cylinder 4. If you’re engine isnt hurt we just put a new aluminum cylinder head on the engine and swap over cams and rockers”