CX-5 6MT Sport (2014) - feedback requested

I'm looking for a new daily driver that has a decent amount of utility and some sport to it. Since Mazda Motorsports lets me do S-plan, a 2014 6MT CX-5 sport is actually a very affordable car and seems to fit my needs quite well.

However, I drive one and it felt like it was stuck in molasses. I realize that a 155hp 2.0 in a 3100ish lb vehicle won't be the fastest thing on the road, but with more mileage (this one had 200ish), does the motor "loosen up" any? Gas mileage seems to be quite good and certainly I can live with a slower car if it returns as good of mileage as it says that it does.

Otherwise, anything else I should know about the 6MT Sport? Positives/negatives?

How about the 2.5L option? You get similar gas mileage and 30 more horses and 35 torque.

metalfab said:

How about the 2.5L option? You get similar gas mileage and 30 more horses and 35 torque.

Click to expand...

No 6MT tranny. Part of the appeal of the CX-5 is that it offers a stick shift. Subaru is about the only other company that you can get a crossover in with this feature.

tkm said:

No 6MT tranny. Part of the appeal of the CX-5 is that it offers a stick shift. Subaru is about the only other company that you can get a crossover in with this feature.

Click to expand...

I was hesitant as well, having always driven manuals...... but the Mazda is easily the smartest auto I've ever driven. In a comparison between the 2.0 manual and the 2.5 auto, the latter is far more engaging. And from all reports, the 2.5 barely uses more fuel than the 2.0.

Beefy said:

I was hesitant as well, having always driven manuals...... but the Mazda is easily the smartest auto I've ever driven. In a comparison between the 2.0 manual and the 2.5 auto, the latter is far more engaging. And from all reports, the 2.5 barely uses more fuel than the 2.0.

Click to expand...

I've spent significant time in an Acura RDX (turbo with the paddle shifters) and even though that AT was very good as well...it still was not a substitute for a 3rd pedal.

I came from an infiniti 3.7L -> elantra 1.8L -> CX-5 2.0 L

The last two were stick shift..cx-5 felt faster than elantra 1.8. To be honest, on the highway if I needed a boost of energy I simply downshifted to 3d or maybe 4th depending on my speed (getting on highway versus passing). If I had an auto..car would seem slow. First gear won't get you far very fast...but row row row your gears. Second and third are fun. Top it off with...I got a larger car with more space at the cost of only a couple of mpg. Faster almost always costs you. I figure it this way..how often do I really need to go 5.4 seconds 0-60 if most of that travel time I spend cruising down a highway.

I had a 2013 2.0 auto sport with 27,000 miles and now own a 2.5 auto Touring with over 16,000 miles. The 2.5 does have a good deal more pep after break in but the 2.0 does pretty good in and around town for power. Just like the EPA says you will average at least 2 mpg less with the 2.5 over the 2.0 and right now with winter driving its more like 3 mpg less. I test drove a sport manual for a good 45 minutes before I settled on the Touring because I thought I really wanted that stick too but for some reason the 2.0 with the stick just felt horribly slow even compared to my 2.0 auto Sport with 27 k miles. Now this could have been because the 2.0 Sport (that was new with 100 miles) manual hadnt broke in yet and that is why my Automatic Sport with the 2.0 and 27,000 miles on it felt quicker. In fact when I first drove the 2014 2.5 Touring there wasnt a big difference in power between that new engine and my older 2013 with the 2.0 and automatic in power. I will say that the manual transmission was really nice and its easy to upgrade the crappy (really crappy in Sport) radio to something much better along with the really cheap speakers.

There are a few other features worth considering when comparing the Sport to the up level Touring. You get blind spot monitoring, which I must say works well most of the time. You get a backup camera, which I never thought Id admit this but its really nice to have and useful. I think a backup camera should be standard for every car made. You get tinted windows, a must for privacy. You get the 40-20-40 rear folding seats that fold down flatter and they allow you to just fold down the middle part with two passengers in the back for longer items. You get a 6-way power adjustable seat with lumbar support. The lumbar support alone is the upgrade that is really nice. You also get hands free Bluetooth calling, Pandora, HD radio, leather steering wheel, leather knob, and fog lights.

Even though this is an Automatic only its got to be one of the best automatics around for this class. It has the same direct feel as a manual transmission because of the clutches and can be manually shifted to do the same things a real manual can. I have tested both cars in similar conditions at the same spot with my G-tech accelerometer and got a best of 0-60 in 8.37 seconds with my 2.0 auto Sport and 7.5 seconds with some wheel spin with my Touring 2.5. I got more consistent 8.5 second runs with the 2.0 Sport and 7.5 with the Touring and 2.5. One last thing youll want to check is for excessive road noise. I think the CX5 has high road noise especially with the Yokohama 17 tires. There seems to be less complaints with the 19 Toyo tires but I havent verified that myself. If you do a lot of highway driving than you will want to test drive a CX5 on the highway to check for this.

Very interested in the outcome on this one, it mimics my dilemma.

There is a common saying in the sportbike arena that it is more fun riding a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow. I thought of this after driving the very high-strung Focus ST last weekend. If you live and commute in area where traffic limits your speed, then the CX-5 MT-6 might be just fine if you like manually running through the gears. I know those are opposite examples, but the Sport MT-6 is a great deal. I have given up on hopes of a CX-5 2.5 MT-6, even though the Mazda6 offers it.

I have the 6MT 2.0 with 25,000 miles thus far. I get ~32 mpg overall calculated by hand. I love the manual trans - it's very responsive. It's not torquey down low buti if I need more power in any gear I just rev it higher. I feel like the use then entire powerband of the CX5. It's very satisfying to use the rev range unlike with my past (higher HP) autos and motorcycles.

RG_Flyer said:

If you live and commute in area where traffic limits your speed, then the CX-5 MT-6 might be just fine if you like manually running through the gears.

Click to expand...

See, I've come to love that in stop/start traffic I can just lean back and let the auto do its thing.

Jonesey said:

I have the 6MT 2.0 with 25,000 miles thus far. I get ~32 mpg overall calculated by hand. I love the manual trans - it's very responsive. It's not torquey down low buti if I need more power in any gear I just rev it higher. I feel like the use then entire powerband of the CX5. It's very satisfying to use the rev range unlike with my past (higher HP) autos and motorcycles.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that was my point. Some vehicles will get you to triple-digit speeds before you know it. It is nice to know the 2.0 can be wrung out a bit.

The motor does seem to loosen up a bit after a few thousand miles.

The car is not fast compared to other modern cars, but in my opinion it is fast enough.
It does take some work to beat old ladies in Priuses off the line, but once the car is moving it is more than fast enough.

The car has enough power to go up the steepest freeway grades in CA fully loaded with passengers and gear at 70mpg in 5th gear.

I really have to try to get much under 30mpg and getting 35mpg is easy as long as I don't take many short trips (trips of 1 or 2 miles really bring down the avg in this car because of the very high RPM during initial warmup) and keep cruising speeds under 70.

Since it was brought up...how does the 6MT 2.0 cruise @ 70-75mph or so?

And yes, part of the appeal of the 6MT with the 2.0 is being able to zing it to redline (which is higher than that of the 2.5).

And the Sport is just such a freaking good value for the money. It also shouldn't lose as much $$$ over the years as a more expensive version will.

tkm said:

Since it was brought up...how does the 6MT 2.0 cruise @ 70-75mph or so?

And yes, part of the appeal of the 6MT with the 2.0 is being able to zing it to redline (which is higher than that of the 2.5).

And the Sport is just such a freaking good value for the money. It also shouldn't lose as much $$$ over the years as a more expensive version will.

Click to expand...

I keep going full circle in my vehicle search. I will probably end up with a Liquid Silver CX-5 Sport 2.0 MT with aftermarket audio.

As I said in another thread, the 2.0 L 6MT Sport is also at the top of my current short list provided that I end up where it's looking like. I'd consider the Touring as well, but if I'm going to accept an automatic I may go more family-practical such as a CR-V that so many people say has incredible interior and cargo space for its size. Gray seats would be nice.

I haven't driven the 2.0 in auto or manual guise, but the 2.5 6MT in the 6 and the 2.5 6AT CX-5 were both enjoyable enough for me. I've looked at the 6MT Forester 2.5i Premium and felt it was ok, but the manual is not engaging at all either in its clutch action or shifting linkage.

I think those are my top three for now.

Wife has a new '14 CRV Ex AWD. She loves it and overall, truth be told, that car will probably hold its value a little more. Plus, all CRV's now come standard with the backup camera, bluetooth, etc. I can't knock it in any way, but to me it just doesn't offer the driving dynamics that the CX5 does. Plus, no manual tranny.

agree 2L w/ manual is a slow car, but I feel it is enough, I have no issues with full load 4 passengers with luggage going on a uphill on ramp, on freeway long steep grades just down shift to 5 or 4. I've been averaging 32mpg, and for around 22k is it a pretty good value. I did change the seat covers to leather, a must do, yea is not cheap. I did it myself and saved some $$.

if they have 2.5L/ manual, I might consider it, since is only 2mpg hit.

side note if you don't need the space wait for mazda3 five door they might offer 2.5L w/ manual soon, right now is only Mazda6 2.5L/ manual

Does the CX-5 Sport manual have privacy glass?

According to Mazda's website http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/con...leCode=CX5&modelYear=2014&skipZip=0&zip=01606 you have to get the Touring to get privacy glass so no. You can have the dealer tint the windows though.