Gee, as CX-5 owners, do ya think we're all biased to varying degrees? LMAO.
The magazines have to try to evaluate giving more or less equal weight to various aspects of the cars. But in reality, each owner has their personal preference on what's important and what's not.
I just traded in a 2010 Acura MDX on a 2019 CX-5 GT. I'm a research wonk and a "car guy" I was shopping for a mid-size AWD SUV $30K or less. I've owned lots of sports sedans in the past so I'm a driving enthusiast but have grown more conservative in my latter years (less speeding tickets is nice.) It came down to the CX-5 and the CR-V. If I recall the CRV is close to $3K more expensive while similarly equipped. The main advantage being moderately more cargo and rear seatting space from what I read prior to purchase. I think the main advantage of the CX5 vs. CR-V and having come CX5 is not having a piece of s*** in your driveway that wasn't even fit for sale in China.
The CX-5 was a no brainer. Cheaper, better driving, better looking both outside and espcially the near Lexus quality inteiror design, and a lot less common on the road. Seems like everyone and their mom is driving a CR-V these days. I see TONS of CX5's. It's regional probably. People really love and trust the Honda brand. Because they used to make reliable engines and transmissions (minus a few transmissions/models...) To many of them, Mazda = Zoom Zoom = Young Hipsters in their Mazdaspeeds, not Reliable, Stroller Carrying Family Car, even though Mazda's SUVs can be exactly that. It's just not the brand image that comes to mind with a lot of people. Very true on brand image. Many people over 25 or so view Mazda as a bad Ford.