Yes, Gen-1 CX-5 with the original SkyActiv-G 2.0L / 2.5L NA engine has been pretty reliable with no “major issues”. We’ve seen some vehicles reaching 300K miles. Personally I feel the last MY 2016.5 CX-1 for gen-1 should be the best overall for the CX-5.
However, I can’t recommend any CX-5’s 2018 and newer. Their 2.5L NA has added cylinder deactivation. The cracked cylinder head and failing switchable hydraulic lash adjusters however rare are my 2 major concerns. The other engine, the 2.5T, has also suffered the cracked cylinder head issue.
Those are the design issue, not a batch of bad production like the failing valve stem seals which caused oil consumption problem on certain MYs of the 2.5T.
Mazda has said nothing about design change on the cylinder head to the 2.5L NA with CD, which makes me wonder why would I want to get such engine in a new CX-5 and worry about potential head problem after the warranty expired? The 2.5T should be a safer bet, but the modified cylinder head and exhaust manifold haven’t been tested for long term. Remember the original head on the 2.5T seemed to be fine for the first 5 years since 2016 then quite a few head started failing which left the owners in the bad situation as many of them don’t have powertrain warranty anymore.