Should I keep it?

P

P5stillalive

Member
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2013 CX5 GT AWD
So my wife's 2013 is about to come off lease. Over the last three years it has proven reliable, efficient and fun. I was looking to get her something totally different all together but frankly no one is building a car this good at a similar price point. So at this point I am thinking of either getting a 2015 or just keeping the one we have. It has 35k and the buyout is well below blue book.

Can anyone give me a good reason to upgrade to the 2015? Is the increased HP really that big a difference? If I have one complaint about the car is that it is really dog slow.
 
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I'd say the 2.5 is noticeably better but it may not be worth the new car note in your situation; the cx5 may get more options for 2017 you never know. For about $400 you can get an e tune from Orange Virus Tuning ( all you need is a laptop the package comes with the other hardware) that will give about 15%hp 25%tq icrease in power depending on fuel used to tune with and existing mods. Some people ( with mz3s) are basically getting 2.5 power with the tune, not necessarily at the same rpms but still an increase.
Interesting to note that european owners with the 120 hp 2.0 ( same motor detuned) have had local tuners net them simiar gains to the 155hp version; the figure is pretty consistent among properly tuned sky 2.0s.
 
Chris_Top_Her said:
I'd say the 2.5 is noticeably better but it may not be worth the new car note in your situation; the cx5 may get more options for 2017 you never know. For about $400 you can get an e tune from Orange Virus Tuning ( all you need is a laptop the package comes with the other hardware) that will give about 15%hp 25%tq icrease in power depending on fuel used to tune with and existing mods. Some people ( with mz3s) are basically getting 2.5 power with the tune, not necessarily at the same rpms but still an increase.
Interesting to note that european owners with the 120 hp 2.0 ( same motor detuned) have had local tuners net them simiar gains to the 155hp version; the figure is pretty consistent among properly tuned sky 2.0s.
Click to expand...

What are the disadvantages of having this engine tuned?
 
I have yet to come across any negative feedback (nor have I experienced any myself) from a properly tuned skyactive. My preffered tuner is Orange Virus Tuning out of Colorodo. Pretty much the first offering proper sky tunes. The first offering sky tunes was Joe from Dynotronics ( a vendor here) myself and others ended up with bad tunes and no responsibility from him. So stay away from him. I dont even think he offers sky tuning anymore. OVTUNED is the only company I will recommend for sky tuning right now. You would be hard pressed to find a negative review of them. In a collective 100000's of tuned miles driven I have yet to see anyone on the multiple maz forums/facebook groups I am in report a tune related issue. There are also a bunch of euros tuned by that company reporting good results and monster tuned diesels lol.
 
I guess the only disadvantage would be issues getting an engine related issue warrantied if something did arise; however recently an owner has his engine replaced under warranty because of damage caused by oil starvation. I depends on what happens I guess. If you rolled a cam or something I'm sure that would be attributed to the tune wether it was defective a along or not. But I have yet to see anything like that.
 
jjac28 said:
What are the disadvantages of having this engine tuned?
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Requires higher octane. So think about that...

I just got 87 for $1.99 yesterday, and at the same pump, 91 was $2.51. So, if I get 25mpg, and fill up every 10 gallons, that means with the 87 octane tune, I pay $0.079 dollars per mile, or roughly 8 cents a mile. With the same figures, except paying $2.51 for gas, I am paying almost exactly 10 cents per mile, or 125% the cost if my vehicle took regular. This is a 25% increase in cost. Or, in other words, it's like getting about 5mpg less.

So why not buy the 2.5L, lose MUCH LESS than a 25% cost penalty at the pump, have factory reliability, and much more low-end than ANY tune will EVER get a 2.0L, and still have more horsepower as well?

A tuned 2.0 vs. a factory 2.5L just makes no sense, assuming purchase-price of the vehicle is not what is being solely looked at, and then you have resale value on the backside of that. Who will buy a modded compact SUV "with the tiny motor"? I guarantee they won't pay as much as a stock 2.5L would fetch.
 
I can see how quickly payin 50c extra at the pump will outweight the cost of paying say an extra 5000 or more (+ your payoff) to get into an equally equipped 2.5 (no).. Even if you filled up 14g each time thats 7$ extra per fill up. 365$ extra per year if you fill up once a week using your high 50c difference. Actually those numbers are consistent on 91; thats mid grade around here. And in my area there isnt a 50c difference between regular and super either. You don't have to get higher octane to get good gains. If you want max gains obviously yes. As far as resale, the tune has no impact whatsoever on resale. Would you walk in the dealer and say I've got a tuned cx5 how much more will you give me? No. Most people remove/reset their aftermarket addons because unless its aftermarket wheels or asound system, the dealer cant use it for bargaining. I don't even know how that seemed like a valid argument. Obviously if someone got a tune to bridge the 2.0/2.5 gap they would have already discounted the idea of trading for a 2.5. He asked about keeping it. The value will just go down anyways as the used market for cx5s goes up, just like mazda 3s. In the grand scheme whats $400 vs a new car note.
If you are so inclined it takes 5 minutes to flash the stock file back on.
 
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Chris_Top_Her said:
I can see how quickly payin 50c extra at the pump will outweight the cost of paying say an extra 5000 or more (+ your payoff) to get into an equally equipped 2.5 (no).. Even if you filled up 14g each time thats 7$ extra per fill up. 365$ extra per year if you fill up once a week using your high 50c difference. Actually those numbers are consistent on 91; thats mid grade around here. And in my area there isnt a 50c difference between regular and super either. You don't have to get higher octane to get good gains. If you want max gains obviously yes. As far as resale, the tune has no impact whatsoever on resale. Would you walk in the dealer and say I've got a tuned cx5 how much more will you give me? No. Most people remove/reset their aftermarket addons because unless its aftermarket wheels or asound system, the dealer cant use it for bargaining. I don't even know how that seemed like a valid argument. Obviously if someone got a tune to bridge the 2.0/2.5 gap they would have already discounted the idea of trading for a 2.5. He asked about keeping it. The value will just go down anyways as the used market for cx5s goes up, just like mazda 3s. In the grand scheme whats $400 vs a new car note.
If you are so inclined it takes 5 minutes to flash the stock file back on.
Click to expand...

Flashing the stock file back on didn't work so hot for GM, Ford, and Mopar owners...that might be a new game for Mazda owners as they typically aren't performance vehicles with power being their main appeal, but you can still see where the files were edited on all of the others. Is Mazda looser?

Regardless, I have a friend who has a 9 second honda civic. The Ferrari Enzo would have been a total waste of money...a bit of an extrapolation, but you get the idea.
 
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Im sure there is a flash counter; it shows up on mazdaedit. I had no idssue trading my 2.0 in. In fact when I initially went to look at 2.5s I had all my s*** on my car still and no spare in it at the time. I came back with it returned to stock and did my trade. Also I beg to differ... RX7/8 speed 3/6... all hot in the modding scene. Often you can find speed 3s at the dealer with aftermarket powertrain still installed.
 
Chris_Top_Her said:
Im sure there is a flash counter; it shows up on mazdaedit. I had no idssue trading my 2.0 in. In fact when I initially went to look at 2.5s I had all my s*** on my car still and no spare in it at the time. I came back with it returned to stock and did my trade. Also I beg to differ... RX7/8 speed 3/6... all hot in the modding scene. Often you can find speed 3s at the dealer with aftermarket powertrain still installed.
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I was unaware that Mazda sold those cars with 0-60 and 1/4 mile and horsepower as their biggest attributes. Here I thought they were about handling and other things. Learn something new every day.

Yes, trade-in doesn't matter. Hell, I traded a Jeep Grand Cherokee in and they let me!

Anyway, the issue would be honoring a warranty, as well as the buyer (private party) not wanting something that was obviously ragged on. Noone spends half a grand making a slow SUV faster not to flog it like a highschool student. It's like buying a civic with a fart-pipe and chin spoiler. You know it's been trashed.
 
P5stillalive said:
So my wife's 2013 is about to come off lease. Over the last three years it has proven reliable, efficient and fun. I was looking to get her something totally different all together but frankly no one is building a car this good at a similar price point. So at this point I am thinking of either getting a 2015 or just keeping the one we have. It has 35k and the buyout is well below blue book.

Can anyone give me a good reason to upgrade to the 2015? Is the increased HP really that big a difference? If I have one complaint about the car is that it is really dog slow.
Click to expand...

My $0.02 -- buy out the lease if it is really such a good deal, keep it for the time being and then see either (a) what's new for 2017 or (b) what kind of deals you can get on the 2016 close-outs, and if you decide that either option is worth it to you, trade in the 2013 model...
 
The alternative is buy pretty much the same vehicle and:

Pay the 50% depreciation again.
Pay the $660 or so first year excise tax (not sure if this applies to you).
Pay the higher insurance premium.

What you get in return is:

Most up to date tech and safety.
2.5 engine with more torque.
New car smell.
New tires.
Lighter wallet.
 
If I told you I could turn your 20k investment into 15k, would you buy in? Drive it till it dies or isn't cost effective to operate.
 
Why not just lease a 2016? the 2016's have MANY many MANY upgrades over 13-15s. Check the forums to see - too much too type out.
 
Upgrading to a 2015 model? Not many changes, it will most likely feel like the same car but with 30 more HP.

Now if you upgraded to a 2016 model, now we have some changes you can appreciate, and it will feel like an entire vehicle upgrade.

So you could trade it in and use the equity in your 2013 Trade, to reduce the cost of the 2016 lease.
 
mazdadude said:
Upgrading to a 2015 model? Not many changes, it will most likely feel like the same car but with 30 more HP.

Now if you upgraded to a 2016 model, now we have some changes you can appreciate, and it will feel like an entire vehicle upgrade.

So you could trade it in and use the equity in your 2013 Trade, to reduce the cost of the 2016 lease.
Click to expand...


I think the 50# more torque at 2000rpm is the most noticeable.
 
Car and driver got .84g on the skid pad with the 2.0L but only .81g with the 2.5L probably because of the extra weight in the engine bay. And the 2.5L was shod with the lower profile 19" tires vs. the 17" for the 2.0L. This is why the 2.0L is superior when tossing it through the corners or darting around city streets.

Similarly, the 2.0L has better braking (166 feet vs. 175 feet) for probably the same reason (more even weight distribution).

After 40,000 miles, Car and Driver matched the 2.0L EPA combined rating of 28 mpg. That's not going to happen with the 2.5L.

So if you need the extra power, get the 2.5L. But, having used my 2.0L for everything but towing, I just don't see the need.
 
I regretted not getting the 2.5L when I opted for the 2.0L in my Mazda3. The 2.0L was OK around town but any hills and grades it made itself known as to its limits. The 2.5L felt a lot better and pulled harder with the extra torque it had. I regretted getting the 2.0L but it was too late after I bought the car. I know next time not to make that mistake and get the upgraded engine.

Once you put more people into the car, climb grades, carry cargo, or tow something, you will wish you had the 2.5L. For driving around town, then the 2.0L will be fine.

Nobody complains about too much power but people will complain about not enough power. The 2.0L at 155HP/150 lbs.ft in a 3,400lb CUV is at the limits of power to weight ratio. At 185HP/185 lbs.ft with the 2.5L that is a better ratio.

Trust me, you will NOT feel the difference in a 0.84 vs 0.81 skid pad test but you WILL feel difference in 150 lbs-ft vs 185 lbs-ft of torque. 35lbs of torque is very noticeable.
 
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