WHY are ‘compact’ SUVs generally so samey and inferior to drive compared to their small-car counterparts? Since the sassy CX-7 arrived in late 2006 Mazda alone seemed to have happily bucked that trend, creating one of the few enjoyable crossovers under $50,000. Now, though, its cheaper, shorter and more upright CX-5 successor has surfaced, with intent to ‘hit the SUV sweet spot’ according to Mazda – and that sounds an awful lot like a threat to bore us. But we needn’t have worried because once again Mazda has shown us how to do an SUV with style.