Picked up a new FWD Sport last week and I'm impressed

Wow this SUV is actually fun to drive. Never thought I'd put fun to drive and SUV in the same sentence before. I can carry a lot of speed in the corners if I want to. I went through my first tank of gas, the computer trip was at 33.1 but dropped to 32.7 by the time I got to the gas station. When I did the math though after the pump clicked on full I got an astonishing 39.5 MPG (wow), 457 miles and it took 11.56 gallons to fill it back up. I still had about an 1/8 tank left. Either this is some fluke or the computer was way off for some reason. I'll keep checking that and update as the results come in. Today I gave it about 3/4 throttle off the line to see how the acceleration is and again it accelerates better than I expected for a 2-liter engine pulling a large vehicle. The CX5 has plenty of power for me and I just came from a V8 Tundra that got 0-60 MPH in 6.88 seconds on my G-tech.

I was looking for a vehicle that had decent cargo room, four doors, and great gas mileage (over 30 hwy) to replace the truck. The CX-5 fit that bill almost perfectly and the gas mileage is impressive. Tried to get a manual but it seemed as though every time I called for one that I found on line it was sold just before I called. That happened to me 3 times. I was literally watching them fly off the dealer lot as I was contemplating waiting 9 weeks for one or settling for the auto sport still on the lot. The automatic actually feels a lot like a manual in its direct feel connection with the engine. It doesn't have the typical slush box feel I'm used to with automatics.

Nice review and impressive MPG. Congrats on your purchase

V8toilet said:

The automatic actually feels a lot like a manual in its direct feel connection with the engine. It doesn't have the typical slush box feel I'm used to with automatics.

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Completely agree. I've been a manual driver since I started driving. Any time I drove an auto, I complained. I've driven everything from BMW, Merc, Lexus autos through tor VW DSG's.

The former are smooth on take off, but terrible after that.
The DSG is terrible on take off, but excellent after that.

The Skyactiv Drive has the smooth take off of the torque convertor autos, but the quick changes above that not too dissimilar to the DSG.

No complaints from me.

Thanks for reporting-in V8 toilet, congrats on new CX. The auto tranny is a pretty amazing device, really extracts the most from limited power source.

You're not kidding about this being fun to drive. I've driven my new CX-5 sport over some of my favorite back-roads during the past week, and damn. I wasn't even on it hard (I'm still in the "break-in" period), but damn. The CX-5 is an absolute thrill and hugely confidence inspiring. This isn't just the best crossover to drive. It beats everything in the compact segment besides the Mazda 3 (maybe) - excluding explicit sport-compacts like the WRX, of course.

The best thing about the CX-5 is the exact thing armchair enthusiasts will poo-poo it over - ride height. You can take this car down just about any road you want and just have at it. Some parts of the roads I drove can get a bit rough (we're talking really tight 10mph curves with potholes created by the lumber industry) and my old Focus would just shimmy and shake and crash over its bump-stomps. The longer travel of the CX-5's suspension soaks up any problems and keeps the wheels planted.

Good point about the ride height, CX-5 being one of best handling SUVs. That's why the CX-5 is a SUV and not a station wagon. Americans for example want the ride height of a SUV, therefore SUVs easily outsell station wagons/sport wagons/estate wagons. The obvious benefits of SUV height include ground clearance (important in snow country) and ease of entry/exit for driver and passengers. But the extra height is a big plus in traffic. My preference is to use the SUV in commute traffic, not my sport sedans.