LONG POST
I bought my 24 CX-5 a few weeks ago. I spent a couple months looking. I first looked at Kia Sportage, hyundai Tucson, and Toyota Rav 4. The sportage and Tucson are basically the same and I have a Santa Cruz which is based off the Tucson so the Tech is very familiar to me.
I ruled the Tucson out since it was a few thousand more than the sportage for the same level vehicle. But the Kia is the same manufacturer as Hyundai and there are certain problems with the drivetrain components. I haven't seen this in the Santa Cruz and the warranty is 10/100,000 so the concern is vehicle downtime and not dollars.
I than started wondering what else was out there. Searching got me to look at Nissan, Subaru, Honda, and Mazda. The toyota was still being looked at.
The Nissan didn't appeal to me and the subaru cost was excessive for the same trim levels. The only reason Toyota was in there was the longevity of the brand. It's price was a few thousand more for the same packages as Kia and Mazda. Actually, Kia was $29K for what I basically have in the CX5 preferred, so even Mazda was a few thousand more.
The Honda, I really didn't like the looks that much, but what killed it were what I was reading through searches about engine problems.
The Rav4 got nixed after learning about road noise. I've been in vehicles on the highway that are loud and it makes a very irritating ride for me. Plus Toyota has some issues like all the rest concerning maintenace/recalls. Also thousands more for the same package level.
Now, I know Mazda also had some engine problems and the i stop feature is not desirable. Causes wear on the starter/battery systems and really doesn't save you much of anything on mileage. But I went and looked at the CX5 and the CX50.
The 50 seats felt nicer and seemed to be larger inside even though I know it really isn't. The 5 level they had on the lot was a base level so only had manual 6 way seats, which is why it felt a bit off to me. Both rode well. The suspension is stiff but it is a compact SUV and not overly stiff. You feel bumps. To be expected.
The cx5 preferred was a few thousands less than the 50 for about the same package. So between the cx5 and the Sportage, the 5 has less tech, which is actually less to go wrong, plus equipped the right way, less worry about maintenance issues. So I decided on the CX5.
The dealership was getting something close to what I wanted at the end of the month, but they traded with another dealership to get exactly what I wanted plus. Preferred package, no i stop and I found out no cylinder deactivation, paint upgrade to gun metal grey without the charge for the paint and the white interior. I think I made the right choice. City driving is about 25-27mpg. Combined is up around 33mpg. I'll find out next week what mostly highway mileage is like.
In comparison, the Santa cruz/tucson gets about 20 city, 25 combined and 29 highway.
Better gas mileage was also a consideration for me.
I'll see how this decision works out in a year but I think it was the right one.