Hello everyone,
I'm new to the forum, I bought a 2015 CX-5 grand touring AWD in August of 2014. Just wanted to post a write-up on it. I've really enjoyed it so far and love the fact Mazda has active owner forums.
I think I paid around $30k for it, out the door for just shy of $32k with 60 month 0% financing. Didn't do a ton of haggling on the price but did get $500 off for a loyalty discount and maybe $500 off for a supplier discount. I bought it because my wife and I were having our first baby and needed something that could fit 3 + our gigantic yellow lab.
Our 2007 Mazda 6 wasn't going to cut it, especially because it went over 120K miles on stock pretty much everything except brakes, plugs, and oil. It needed work but wow what a car! It sold on craigslist in 24 hours. So back to the Mazda dealership I went....
And here it is:
Little background on my driving style. I drive fast; always at least 5 over on surface streets and at least 80 on the highway. I also love smashing the gas on the on-ramp, and stop lights that open up to a clear long stretch of open road. So ya, I really enjoy driving.
Overall driving experience
I love it. Good mix of power and comfort. Not over the top in either department, good family car to make that 9-5 commute and still be fun to drive on long road trips.
Best attribute
Handling, without a doubt! This thing feels glued to the road. Steering and braking responsiveness are what make this thing awesome.
Worst feature
Bluetooth on the radio. Wholly crap why does it take so long to sync with my phone? At least once it pairs up, it's locked until you turn the car off. I'm an IT guy and slow technology drives me nuts.
Mileage
I honestly don't care about mileage. My take here goes something like this. I bought this car with the knowledge that I'll realistically see ~25 MPG. So I'm very content with the mileage. I don't expect 30+ like my old 6. My other vehicle has always been a V8 pickup truck. Anything is better than that.
Transmission
C'mon Mazda. Give customers a manual transmission option with the best engine and top trim. Don't saddle customers with the small engine and base trim just to have a stick shift. I would trade a cup holder and garbage collecting pockets for a stick shift. Sign of the times I guess. That being said, the auto in this car seems fine. Just like every other automatic transmission on the planet without aftermarket trans tuning this thing lugs, short shifts, all that crap to keep the EPA happy. But at around half throttle it really shifts nicely; keeps the RPM up. I just hate the 1-2 shift coming on so early during normal driving. At least it doesn't lug around town in 6th at 40 mph. I'll change the fluid around every 40k miles and hope it lasts me to 150k without issue.
Engine
Power is tough for me to judge. I have other vechicles with bigger engines so it makes this one seem a little slow - but I don't think that is a fair review. But since I've never driven anything else in the same class as the CX-5 I can't really rate the power any other way. Seat of the pants tells me the CX-5 is slightly faster than my old 6. Wife thinks the 6 was faster, but it had a stick which makes every car seem like a mustang
Best I can say is this, it has enough power to put a smile on my face. Now this is hilarious - I saw someone towing at least a 20' pontoon boat with a CX-5 not long after I bought mine! haha...good try.
AWD
I'm very content with AWD. Gets me into areas with at least 12" of snow...and gets me out. Love that the traction control button completely disables it so I can spin the tires to get out! Handles wet weather very well. I was headed up to northern Michigan during a major downpour right at the base of the Zilwaukee bridge. Cars were hydroplaning everywhere and the CX5's AWD kept me planted. Not quite 4lock though. The simplicity of 'always on' is a big win for AWD. The operator doesn't need to worry about shifting into 4wd or anything like that.
Tires
Snow = just ok
everything else = great!
probably get around 40K out of them based on current wear. But I haven't even rotated them yet.
Only small negative is under-steer in corners in slippery snow when off-power. No doubt that's related to my driving style but other vehicles I've owned and driven similarly have done better. I attribute this somewhat to a little bit of lag when getting on the accelerator quickly after braking. I'm used to a manual transmission - you hit the gas when the clutch is engaged and the vehicle goes. I think the CX-5 takes longer to get back on power and therefore won't bring itself around the turn with AWD quick enough. Not sure if I really nailed that technical explanation well enough for anyone else but me to understand but hopefully so! Again a very small negative in my opinion.
Seats and Interior
I have back problems; seat comfort is about as important as it gets for me. The top trim leather is nice. Good adjustments and comfortable driving posture. Lumbar is comfortable. I read reviews complaining about how hard the seat is. I also saw the new CX-5 at the Detroit auto show a month back. I honestly like the old seats I have better. The gague cluster is just ok. Good layout but nothing overly classy. Same with the rest of the interior. About what I would expect from a $30k SUV.
A rear facing car seat in the back is only accomplished comfortably by placing it in the middle. That's a bit of a pain to load the kiddo. A car seat on either side causes the front passenger to kiss the dash. My 100LB dog fits in the back nicely. So does a road trip full of stuff. Just not at the same time.
Service
I've done 3 oil changes myself, and replaced the rear windshield wiper arm. I love how easy an oil change is with the location of the drain plug and filter. The plastic trim crap is annoying though but sure does keep things clean. A quick scan though the factory shop manual and it looks like a pretty standard car to service. Thank you Mazda for actually allowing customers affordable access to a decent factory shop manual. I need pick up some new jack stands for the unibody frame supports but just an excuse to buy another tool!
BTW, the first free oil change was done by the dealer as part of that sales crap that says "bring it back to us so we can make sure it's running optimally and we'll check everything and blah blah blah." Mr gorilla hands oil jockey wrenched that filter on so hard he dented it. Good lord. I hate dealer service departments. And oh if anyone needs service for a broken rear wiper arm good luck. Not covered... But the part is $40 and a 10 minute job so who cares.
So ya - there you go. I'm tired of writing but hopefully other will chime in with similar experiences and give this thread some life and make it a fun read for everyone!
I'm new to the forum, I bought a 2015 CX-5 grand touring AWD in August of 2014. Just wanted to post a write-up on it. I've really enjoyed it so far and love the fact Mazda has active owner forums.
I think I paid around $30k for it, out the door for just shy of $32k with 60 month 0% financing. Didn't do a ton of haggling on the price but did get $500 off for a loyalty discount and maybe $500 off for a supplier discount. I bought it because my wife and I were having our first baby and needed something that could fit 3 + our gigantic yellow lab.
Our 2007 Mazda 6 wasn't going to cut it, especially because it went over 120K miles on stock pretty much everything except brakes, plugs, and oil. It needed work but wow what a car! It sold on craigslist in 24 hours. So back to the Mazda dealership I went....
And here it is:
Little background on my driving style. I drive fast; always at least 5 over on surface streets and at least 80 on the highway. I also love smashing the gas on the on-ramp, and stop lights that open up to a clear long stretch of open road. So ya, I really enjoy driving.
Overall driving experience
I love it. Good mix of power and comfort. Not over the top in either department, good family car to make that 9-5 commute and still be fun to drive on long road trips.
Best attribute
Handling, without a doubt! This thing feels glued to the road. Steering and braking responsiveness are what make this thing awesome.
Worst feature
Bluetooth on the radio. Wholly crap why does it take so long to sync with my phone? At least once it pairs up, it's locked until you turn the car off. I'm an IT guy and slow technology drives me nuts.
Mileage
I honestly don't care about mileage. My take here goes something like this. I bought this car with the knowledge that I'll realistically see ~25 MPG. So I'm very content with the mileage. I don't expect 30+ like my old 6. My other vehicle has always been a V8 pickup truck. Anything is better than that.
Transmission
C'mon Mazda. Give customers a manual transmission option with the best engine and top trim. Don't saddle customers with the small engine and base trim just to have a stick shift. I would trade a cup holder and garbage collecting pockets for a stick shift. Sign of the times I guess. That being said, the auto in this car seems fine. Just like every other automatic transmission on the planet without aftermarket trans tuning this thing lugs, short shifts, all that crap to keep the EPA happy. But at around half throttle it really shifts nicely; keeps the RPM up. I just hate the 1-2 shift coming on so early during normal driving. At least it doesn't lug around town in 6th at 40 mph. I'll change the fluid around every 40k miles and hope it lasts me to 150k without issue.
Engine
Power is tough for me to judge. I have other vechicles with bigger engines so it makes this one seem a little slow - but I don't think that is a fair review. But since I've never driven anything else in the same class as the CX-5 I can't really rate the power any other way. Seat of the pants tells me the CX-5 is slightly faster than my old 6. Wife thinks the 6 was faster, but it had a stick which makes every car seem like a mustang
Best I can say is this, it has enough power to put a smile on my face. Now this is hilarious - I saw someone towing at least a 20' pontoon boat with a CX-5 not long after I bought mine! haha...good try.
AWD
I'm very content with AWD. Gets me into areas with at least 12" of snow...and gets me out. Love that the traction control button completely disables it so I can spin the tires to get out! Handles wet weather very well. I was headed up to northern Michigan during a major downpour right at the base of the Zilwaukee bridge. Cars were hydroplaning everywhere and the CX5's AWD kept me planted. Not quite 4lock though. The simplicity of 'always on' is a big win for AWD. The operator doesn't need to worry about shifting into 4wd or anything like that.
Tires
Snow = just ok
everything else = great!
probably get around 40K out of them based on current wear. But I haven't even rotated them yet.
Only small negative is under-steer in corners in slippery snow when off-power. No doubt that's related to my driving style but other vehicles I've owned and driven similarly have done better. I attribute this somewhat to a little bit of lag when getting on the accelerator quickly after braking. I'm used to a manual transmission - you hit the gas when the clutch is engaged and the vehicle goes. I think the CX-5 takes longer to get back on power and therefore won't bring itself around the turn with AWD quick enough. Not sure if I really nailed that technical explanation well enough for anyone else but me to understand but hopefully so! Again a very small negative in my opinion.
Seats and Interior
I have back problems; seat comfort is about as important as it gets for me. The top trim leather is nice. Good adjustments and comfortable driving posture. Lumbar is comfortable. I read reviews complaining about how hard the seat is. I also saw the new CX-5 at the Detroit auto show a month back. I honestly like the old seats I have better. The gague cluster is just ok. Good layout but nothing overly classy. Same with the rest of the interior. About what I would expect from a $30k SUV.
A rear facing car seat in the back is only accomplished comfortably by placing it in the middle. That's a bit of a pain to load the kiddo. A car seat on either side causes the front passenger to kiss the dash. My 100LB dog fits in the back nicely. So does a road trip full of stuff. Just not at the same time.
Service
I've done 3 oil changes myself, and replaced the rear windshield wiper arm. I love how easy an oil change is with the location of the drain plug and filter. The plastic trim crap is annoying though but sure does keep things clean. A quick scan though the factory shop manual and it looks like a pretty standard car to service. Thank you Mazda for actually allowing customers affordable access to a decent factory shop manual. I need pick up some new jack stands for the unibody frame supports but just an excuse to buy another tool!
BTW, the first free oil change was done by the dealer as part of that sales crap that says "bring it back to us so we can make sure it's running optimally and we'll check everything and blah blah blah." Mr gorilla hands oil jockey wrenched that filter on so hard he dented it. Good lord. I hate dealer service departments. And oh if anyone needs service for a broken rear wiper arm good luck. Not covered... But the part is $40 and a 10 minute job so who cares.
So ya - there you go. I'm tired of writing but hopefully other will chime in with similar experiences and give this thread some life and make it a fun read for everyone!
