The following is a list of all 4 diesel versus petrol reviews in Australia. If you read both reviews, you'll note that they comment favourably on the transmission in the diesel compared with that in the petrol as well. Seems the gear ratios make for a better drive.
I have summarised though, for the people who don't want to read reviews in full.
Caradvice.com.au
Diesel
http://www.caradvice.com.au/164145/mazda-cx-5-diesel-review/
Petrol:
http://www.caradvice.com.au/160584/mazda-cx-5-review/
Steering:
The steering is well weighted, provides consistent feel regardless of the vehicle speed, and has an unrivalled ability to negotiate tight corners and hairpins with intoxicating ease.
Mazda’s mastery of steering also strikes again, with an electric-powered helm that is gifted in its weighting and linearity.
It’s superior even to the steering of the similarly sized – but certainly not similarly priced – BMW X1.
Diesel Engine:
There’s some initial lag and a bit of a torque hole just above 1500rpm, but with an extra 222Nm over the petrol engine,
the diesel feels much stronger and more responsive through the mid range up to its unusually high 5200rpm redline.
Petrol Engine:
Mazda may be using a computer-generated Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal, in its CX-5 TV ads, but
performance is best described as adequate, even with just two on board.
Overtaking manoeuvres will need to be considered efforts.
The 2.0-litre remains a civilised motor, though, even when pressed into the upper reaches of its rev range, which you’ll need to do if you’re looking for any meaningful momentum.
Petrol + Auto Transmission:
More frustrating is the six-speed auto, which although is sufficiently quick with downshifts when inclines are met is far too hasty to change up gears.
The auto is missing an intelligent shift mapping system that can recognise when the driver is clearly asking for more revs,
frequently picking a gear that is not just one but sometimes two gears higher than ideal for the driving situation.
Diesel + Auto Transmission:
We were critical of the automatic for changing up gears too hastily in the petrol variants, but it
seems better behaved when teamed with the diesel engine. Shifts are smooth and generally well timed, and the engine’s extra torque makes it more forgiving of any tardy down changes.
Carsguides.com.au
Diesel:
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-an...da_cx_5_diesel_first_drive_review?origin=hpc1
Petrol:
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-an...road-tests/2012_mazda_cx_5_first_drive_review
Steering:
...a new steering system adjusts feedback according to speed and conditions.
Although they remarked negatively (and in contradiction to other reviews):
Even with all-wheel drive the vehicle lapsed into understeer when hustled on fast bends so this is no sporting SUV.
Petrol Engine/Auto Transmission:
On a drive in the Snowy Mountains (sans snow) an all-wheel drive 2.0-litre petrol automatic (the diesels are yet to arrive here), putting out 113 kW at 6000 rpm and 198 Nm at 4000 revs, was tentative off the mark and soon ran
out of breath on all but the shallowest incline.
Diesel Engine/Auto Transmission:
The extra weight of the AWD system doesn't help but it is the only option with the oilburner.
The six-speed auto is crisp and, despite a stutter off the line, the
turbodiesel engine has a great midrange and pulls until close to the 5200rpm redline.
Carsales.com.au
Diesel:
http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2012/medium-4x4/mazda-cx5-diesel-the-premium-option-29361
Petrol:
http://www.carsales.com.au/reviews/2012/medium-4x4/mazda/cx5/mazda-cx5-local-launch-28991
Steering remarks (damn lot of positive just for steering):
The MacPherson strut (fore)/ multi-link (aft) arrangement ... improves steering response.
Mazda says its electrically assisted rack and pinion steering arrangement is tuned to deliver sharper response at low-to-medium speeds and milder response at higher speeds. The upshot is fewer turns when maneuvering around town. On the open road torque feedback is increased with the amount of steering angle to bolster feel. CX-5 offers a turning circle of 11.2 metres.
It only took a couple of kilometres to realise Mazda had pulled out all stops with the CX-5. It feels immediately familiar and responsive to input.
Steering the CX-5 is a pleasure. The car is easy to place and the rack quick enough to allow the driver more chance to enjoy the breadth of handling available.
Turn-in is sharp, the car settling to the rear, while tending to modest oversteer only when backing off the throttle mid-corner. Even in front-wheel drive variants we never found ourselves short of control.
Petrol Engine/Auto Transmission:
The downside to all this “Zoom Zoom”, as Mazda would put it, is that the car ultimately wants for more torque. The engine, whilst smooth and happy to rev, just
doesn’t offer enough gumption for hilly highway cruising, and it
can struggle with overtaking maneuvres. That said, the car is reasonably peppy around town, with the SKYACTIV transmission making short work of sub-80km/h speeds. The
auto transmission itself is an interesting piece of kit. It offers velvety shifts and speedy take up from a standing start. While always ready to downshift to maintain pace, on occasion it feels too eager to upshift, perhaps in a bid to conserve fuel.
Diesel: Nothing said - it's a short update
Sydney Morning Herald
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/first-drive-mazda-cx5-diesel-20120321-1vimc.html
Petrol review:
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/small-business-20120301-1u4fd.html
Steering remarks:
The steering has decent feel around town, although loads up a bit strangely to become heavy and then light while cornering on fast, sweeping bends.
Steering is sharp and communicative when needed but relaxed on the freeway and devoid of kickback on the rough stuff.
Petrol Engine/Auto Transmission:
Less impressive is the performance of the 2.0-litre petrol engine.... acceleration is adequate rather than outstanding. The engine feels refined and revs freely but lacks low-down torque, which means overtaking manoeuvres need to be planned.
The six-speed automatic shifts smoothly but is too eager to change up a gear, which means you can find yourself needing the transmission to kick down to a lower gear more often than you'd like.
Diesel Engine/Auto Transmission:
The slightly higher power figure for the diesel engine may not look like much, but
it's that torque figure - with most of it available just off idle - that sets the two apart.
It's just a little grumbly off idle, though, when you give the throttle a decent shove, but otherwise
most owners will never notice it's a diesel until the engine gains a traditional, although surprisingly muted, growl higher in the rev range.
They won't notice it at the traffic lights, either.
Stomp the throttle, and the Skyactiv-D launches the CX-5 away from a standing start with no noticeable hesitation - unless the engine is temporarily stopped by the clever "i-stop" stop-start system that saves fuel while the car isn't moving - and builds speed quickly.
...the six-speed automatic transmission is clever enough to hold gears on steep climbs, letting revs fall below 1200rpm and making the most of the deep well of pulling power before jumping down a cog, or snatching a lower gear on a long, steep descent to provide some engine braking.