A driving trip in Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise is a beautiful thing; an iconic Canadian trip like no other. When you take it in a new Mazda CX-50 it’s that much more special.
The folks at Mazda Canada were kind enough to let me use one of their new CX-50 SUV’s for a week earlier this month. As a guy who normally drives a 2010 model SUV, I jumped at the chance.
The Mazda folks met me at the Calgary Airport after I got off my plane with a lovely, steely blue model. Unfortunately, my flight was more than an hour late and I didn’t have time to brush up on the niceties of the vehicle before I headed for a lunch engagement downtown.
I admit it took me a minute to figure out how to turn down the radio, which was drowning out my Waze announcer as I headed south for downtown Calgary. But I figured it out quickly, and that was the only hiccup of the week.
Following lunch, I steered my way south of the city to the quiet and pretty Turner Valley, where I met up with Caitlin Quinn, the master distiller at Eau Claire Distillery. It was the first boutique distillery in Alberta and opened maybe eight years ago. They now make a variety of products, including gin, smooth vodka and whisky, as well as canned/bottled cocktails that are ready to go.
The ride between Calgary and Turner Valley takes you past small ranches and low-lying hills that rise toward the Rockies. There had been a fair bit of rain before I came, and the fields were as green as Ireland.
Back in the city I pulled up in front of my hotel, the new and lovely Westley Hotel. It’s a boutique property that’s part of the Hilton Tapestry Collection, and it’s got style and pizzazz to spare. It also has a rather small underground parking lot, which made me more than a little nervous about squeezing an SUV into a small spot. Of course, I didn’t really have to worry.
Not only does the CX-50 have rear cameras, it also has a front camera so I could see how close I was to the parking lot wall, and sensors on the side to let me know how close I was to the parking lot’s concrete pillars. Phew; no dents and no scratches to the paint job.
The Mazda CX-50 in Banff, Alberta. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I drove around Calgary for a couple days in the CX-50 and didn’t have any issues. It’s big enough to hold just about anything you need, including plenty of luggage (and bottles of Eau Claire Distillery products), but small enough to maneuver in the city.
The real treat was our trip from Calgary to Banff. The sun was out and we cranked open the sun roof to let in that famous Alberta sky. We also turned up the volume on the Sirius XM radio, blasting the oldies station as we motored toward the Rockies.
My car at home doesn’t have any outlets to charge my phone, but there are two handy USB outlets in my CX-50, which meant both my wife and I could charge our phones as we drove along.
The road from Calgary to Banff can be windy, but the CX-50 drove like a charm. I also loved the beeping sensors that let me know when it was safe to change lanes at 110 km per hour. (Yes, that’s the speed limit.)
As we edged closer to Banff the mountains got higher and higher, and we had a perfect view. I grew up in California and love the Highway 1 drive along Big Sur, but I don’t think there’s a more jaw-dropping drive in the world than the one that goes from Canmore to Banff and Lake Louise, and then up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. The mountains are so rugged and so ancient and powerful that I can hardly take my eyes of them every time I make it out this way.
The Mazda CX-50 at Two Jack Lake in Banff, Alberta. JIM BYERS PHOTO
One morning we took our daughter and her husband and their 18-month-old son out to Lake Minnewanka for an up-close and personal look at the mountains, with plenty of room for all of us. We stayed at a relative’s place and had a small party one afternoon for friends and family, which meant we had a few bags of garbage and a few bottles to take to the Banff recycling centre. No problem loading all of those into the CX-50, either.
Later in the week we cruised up to Lake Louise for lunch at the fabled Chateau Lake Louise and a canoe ride on the milky-green glacier waters of the lake. A trip to remember, for sure.
The CX-50 gets about 30 miles to the gallon on the highway, so it’s relatively easy on the gas. Other features include Mazda Radar Cruise Control and a rear power liftgate. There’s a ton of storage space in the front seating area, and it’s got a towing capacity of about 900 kilos (2,000 pounds).
A wonderful road trip. And a terrific vehicle I highly recommend.
Note: Mazda Canada supplied me with the CX-50 for no charge. They did not approve of or see this story prior to publication.
For more information: https://www.mazda.ca/
