The Big Test: 2016/2017 Small Crossovers

Given that Mazda re-uses and shares most of its platform and techs across its fleet (Mazda3, Mazda6, CX-3, CX-5, CX-9, ...), if my CX-5 doesn't give any major problem before reaching the end of its 3rd year, my next car definitely will be another Mazda (unless there's a disruption to the car scene). I'm generally a patient and nice driver, but can be a big a$$hole tailgating and passing aggressively in the CX-5, I guess Mazda knows how to bring out the driving animal in me. Sometimes I also regret letting my wife getting the Accord Sport in a hurry, that could have been a Mazda6, then I can enjoy both :)

I've noticed that among the big-name magazines/sites, MotorTrend and CarandDriver seem to give handling/driving experience more weight, and thus, the CX-5 usually scores higher than the runner-up CR-V. That's fine, every magazine has their own rating system and audiences, and I think theirs line up well with my interest/priority in car (and I love how their articles' tone leans toward being sporty/enthusiastic). On the other hand, Consumer Report is the boring one, their writing is generic as if written by an office clerk. And for some reason, they consistently list a bunch of Subaru at top most of the time, making me wonder about their credibility, too.

I think Mazda deserves the prize, would love to see if a turbo version (with the remaining minor problems/issues smoothed out) will still be at the top of the list.
 
August 22, 2016 ⋯ :)

sillyxone said:
⋯ I've noticed that among the big-name magazines/sites, MotorTrend and CarandDriver seem to give handling/driving experience more weight, and thus, the CX-5 usually scores higher than the runner-up CR-V.
Click to expand...
(iagree)
 
I see why the CX-5 gets good marks, but I just find it way too boring. Also, considering how much the CX-5 depreciated since I purchased it, I'll probably have to just pay it off and keep it as a hauler and for long road trips.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably get a CPO BMW X3, Audi Q5 or Acura MDX.
 
jlx21 said:
I see why the CX-5 gets good marks, but I just find it way too boring. Also, considering how much the CX-5 depreciated since I purchased it, I'll probably have to just pay it off and keep it as a hauler and for long road trips.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably get a CPO BMW X3, Audi Q5 or Acura MDX.
Click to expand...

Boring in what way? Never have heard anyone say the cx5 is a boring vehicle. Relative to every other suv in its class, it is farrr from boring.

As for depreciation, the cx5 doesn't deprciate any faster than the CR-V, rav4, etc. I priced out fully loaded of each vehicle an they're all right around each other.

If you can afford a luxury vehicle, why didn't you just go for that from the beginning? Im a phone fanatic and it'd be like me buying a mid range phone. I know I can get buy the premium so of course the mid range is going to seem dull.
 
jhu8 said:
Boring in what way? Never have heard anyone say the cx5 is a boring vehicle. Relative to every other suv in its class, it is farrr from boring.

As for depreciation, the cx5 doesn't deprciate any faster than the CR-V, rav4, etc. I priced out fully loaded of each vehicle an they're all right around each other.

If you can afford a luxury vehicle, why didn't you just go for that from the beginning? Im a phone fanatic and it'd be like me buying a mid range phone. I know I can get buy the premium so of course the mid range is going to seem dull.
Click to expand...

Ha, i can always count on you buddy to rebut anything that i post that doesn't praise the CX-5.

Depreciation: i was mostly comparing to the subaru forester; I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and Subarus (especially forester and outback) fare much better at resale than comparable crossovers.

Boring: boring in the sense that it is underpowered and slow, and i don't have much confidence in the brakes. I also can't stand sport mode due to the rev hang and never downshifting. i traded in my '16 VW GTI since i have a 3-week old baby in the house now, and my wife can't drive a stick. It was either my GTI or her '15 Mini Cooper S 2-dr hatch that was going to go. Also, the CX-5 interior IS boring (all trim levels); it might be somewhat nice and catered to the driver, but other reviews have mentioned this as well. the gauges are also very plain (would've loved the cx-3 gauges instead) and the interior seems worse than a 2013 honda accord.

Luxury: i was considering CPO luxury SUVs but felt like i needed to make an economical choice with a baby on the way, hence the japanese crossover, and i only paid around 24,400 for my 16.5 AWD sport model. i thought the cx-5 would be just fine, but for what it is and what i'm using it for (solely for utilitarian purposes), i definitely regret not paying a bit extra for a forester, or just ponying up and buying a CPO X3 or something.
 
jlx21 said:
Ha, i can always count on you buddy to rebut anything that i post that doesn't praise the CX-5.

Depreciation: i was mostly comparing to the subaru forester; I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and Subarus (especially forester and outback) fare much better at resale than comparable crossovers.

Boring: boring in the sense that it is underpowered and slow, and i don't have much confidence in the brakes. I also can't stand sport mode due to the rev hang and never downshifting. i traded in my '16 VW GTI since i have a 3-week old baby in the house now, and my wife can't drive a stick. It was either my GTI or her '15 Mini Cooper S 2-dr hatch that was going to go. Also, the CX-5 interior IS boring (all trim levels); it might be somewhat nice and catered to the driver, but other reviews have mentioned this as well. the gauges are also very plain (would've loved the cx-3 gauges instead) and the interior seems worse than a 2013 honda accord.

Luxury: i was considering CPO luxury SUVs but felt like i needed to make an economical choice with a baby on the way, hence the japanese crossover, and i only paid around 24,400 for my 16.5 AWD sport model. i thought the cx-5 would be just fine, but for what it is and what i'm using it for (solely for utilitarian purposes), i definitely regret not paying a bit extra for a forester, or just ponying up and buying a CPO X3 or something.
Click to expand...

It's called a test drive..You would of figured out most your gripes from that. Seriously, nothing but your fault with regards to that. Depreciation wise, again. A little bit of research and you would of seen deprecation values for such a car in your area. You're entitled to your opinions and gripes of the vehicle(I have my own), but yours could have been solved by research and a proper test drive. That's it.

I know you'll probably say you did test drive but than how did you not know it was underpowered, or that the sport mode is aggressive, or that the interior is boring compared to the other types of vehicles you were looking at? I just don't get it. Those are simply basic things to assess when test driving a vehicle. Maybe not necessarily the sport mode but certainly the other things.
 
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jlx21 said:
Ha, i can always count on you buddy to rebut anything that i post that doesn't praise the CX-5.

Depreciation: i was mostly comparing to the subaru forester; I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and Subarus (especially forester and outback) fare much better at resale than comparable crossovers.

Boring: boring in the sense that it is underpowered and slow, and i don't have much confidence in the brakes. I also can't stand sport mode due to the rev hang and never downshifting. i traded in my '16 VW GTI since i have a 3-week old baby in the house now, and my wife can't drive a stick. It was either my GTI or her '15 Mini Cooper S 2-dr hatch that was going to go. Also, the CX-5 interior IS boring (all trim levels); it might be somewhat nice and catered to the driver, but other reviews have mentioned this as well. the gauges are also very plain (would've loved the cx-3 gauges instead) and the interior seems worse than a 2013 honda accord.

Luxury: i was considering CPO luxury SUVs but felt like i needed to make an economical choice with a baby on the way, hence the japanese crossover, and i only paid around 24,400 for my 16.5 AWD sport model. i thought the cx-5 would be just fine, but for what it is and what i'm using it for (solely for utilitarian purposes), i definitely regret not paying a bit extra for a forester, or just ponying up and buying a CPO X3 or something.
Click to expand...
I won't try to correct all your points but will try my best
I piad 23911 for touring with Bose fwd.
Subaru doesn't discount on MSRP much - Mazda does. So still Subaru is better but not by much.
If you buy cars based on depreciation you should have stayed with Subaru- same Forester that has an inbuilt thigh massager at red light when your legs wobble. Same Subaru that accelerates well at certain speed ranges and then like a pregnant Jack black in other. And that cabin which poison control center will use to induce vomiting if there are no CRVs in their lot. As for power the same price range you are looking at you won't get any power. Just a jerky throttle response.
On CPO luxury don't do the same mistake and go for a Lexus. CT 200h the crappiest of the lot will still hold more value than most BMWs etc.
 
jhu8 said:
It's called a test drive..You would of figured out most your gripes from that. Seriously, nothing but your fault with regards to that. Depreciation wise, again. A little bit of research and you would of seen deprecation values for such a car in your area. You're entitled to your opinions and gripes of the vehicle(I have my own), but yours could have been solved by research and a proper test drive. That's it.

I know you'll probably say you did test drive but than how did you not know it was underpowered, or that the sport mode is aggressive, or that the interior is boring compared to the other types of vehicles you were looking at? I just don't get it. Those are simply basic things to assess when test driving a vehicle. Maybe not necessarily the sport mode but certainly the other things.
Click to expand...

Haha oh man. Sorry for offending you again. I really hope Mazda is paying you to be such a strong advocate.

Anyway, yes it's true I should have done more research and test drove the car multiple times. That still doesn't take away the fact that I regret the purchase and I'm dissatisfied with the vehicle. For some (obviously you), the CX-5 is a perfect car, and I'm happy for you.
 
jlx21 said:
Haha oh man. Sorry for offending you again. I really hope Mazda is paying you to be such a strong advocate.

Anyway, yes it's true I should have done more research and test drove the car multiple times. That still doesn't take away the fact that I regret the purchase and I'm dissatisfied with the vehicle. For some (obviously you), the CX-5 is a perfect car, and I'm happy for you.
Click to expand...

Far from offending me. Just dont get your logic to bash a car for things you should of known before buying it. It's like buying a non touch screen laptop, getting home and than complaining online in forums about the lack of touch screen and how you regret your purchase. Things you should of known before even buying it. Or another example, I find the Forester to be a very very boring looking car. It'd be like me going to buy that car and than complaining about it on the Forester forums. I would expect users to be like, than the hell did you buy a car that from the start that you thought was unattractive??

Cx5 isn't perfect to me. An there are certainly things other suvs have that I wish my cx5 had. But I know what I bought the cx5 for and knew what it was going to deliver. Your complaints aren't a reflection of the cx5, more so a reflection of your lack research and appropriate testing.

But hey, go trade in your cx5. Nothing wrong not liking a particular vehicle. Life's to short to be that upset over a car. But I think it's a bit much to bash a car as a whole for things that you just should of known before signing those papers. Not like anything was hidden from you.
 
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Wow you really are something special. I guess no one is allowed to form any opinions after they purchase a car and we're not as proficient in car research as you are. Done responding to you.

Took the pleasure to look at some of your old posts and found a gem:

"Next time you buy a car, do the world a favor and do more than an hours worth of research lol. Then you'll have more of an understanding of the kind of car you're buying and you don't have to then bash all the things you failed to realize with your irresponsibility in lack of research."

Just chill out bro
 
jlx21 said:
Ha, i can always count on you buddy to rebut anything that i post that doesn't praise the CX-5.

Depreciation: i was mostly comparing to the subaru forester; I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and Subarus (especially forester and outback) fare much better at resale than comparable crossovers.

Boring: boring in the sense that it is underpowered and slow, and i don't have much confidence in the brakes. I also can't stand sport mode due to the rev hang and never downshifting. i traded in my '16 VW GTI since i have a 3-week old baby in the house now, and my wife can't drive a stick. It was either my GTI or her '15 Mini Cooper S 2-dr hatch that was going to go. Also, the CX-5 interior IS boring (all trim levels); it might be somewhat nice and catered to the driver, but other reviews have mentioned this as well. the gauges are also very plain (would've loved the cx-3 gauges instead) and the interior seems worse than a 2013 honda accord.

Luxury: i was considering CPO luxury SUVs but felt like i needed to make an economical choice with a baby on the way, hence the japanese crossover, and i only paid around 24,400 for my 16.5 AWD sport model. i thought the cx-5 would be just fine, but for what it is and what i'm using it for (solely for utilitarian purposes), i definitely regret not paying a bit extra for a forester, or just ponying up and buying a CPO X3 or something.
Click to expand...

Well I imagine going from a 0-60 in 5.8 seconds in your top of the line GTI felt a whole lot faster than your 2 second slower SPORT Mazda CX-5... and yes, pretty boring too compared to that car. :)

When I was comparing the 3yr lease depreciation rates for Subaru vs. the CX-5 Touring/GT, they were neck and neck... .63 and .62. I do not know what the SPORT model was.

Here is the EXCITING GTI interior... (shrug)
2015-mk7-vw-gti-interior


Contrasted against the CX-5's Boring interior...
2016-mazda-cx-5-interior-257-2016-mazda-cx-5-interior-898-x-426.jpg
 
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mazdadude said:
Well I imagine going from a 0-60 in 5.8 seconds in your top of the line GTI felt a whole lot faster than your 2 second slower SPORT Mazda CX-5... and yes, pretty boring too compared to that car. :)

When I was comparing the 3yr lease depreciation rates for Subaru vs. the CX-5 Touring/GT, they were neck and neck... .63 and .62. I do not know what the SPORT model was.

Here is the EXCITING GTI interior... (shrug)

Contrasted against the CX-5's Boring interior...
Click to expand...

I guess there's no standard to what's boring vs exciting interior, it's pretty subjective and depending on personal preference/experience. I've praised Mazda design several times so I won't do it again here, I'm probably one of those whose preferences lining up with Mazda's philosophy/guidelines so I found the CX-5 design elegant and intuitive. On a side note, it's a little weird to look at those chrome side vents, since I've plasti-dipped them black for a while back for safety reason. Indeed, there's a little to much chrome concentrating around those two corners.

I wonder if jlx21 would feel better if he went with Touring or GT instead. I have a nephew who kept buying/selling cars every few months just for the enjoyment of driving various cars (he's not even making enough money for himself), so I'm not really against buying without researching. I did a lot of research/readings before buying the car, and the CX-5 is not perfect, but perhaps that saved me from unexpected disappointments and treat the flaws/minuses as acceptable compromises. Maybe jhu8 should watch "Finding Dory" to understand the joy in "going with the flow" and try not to be Marlin :)

About the 2.5L engine, maybe because of the high compression ratio and the auto-dialing-down-when-knocked, the CX-5 can be very smooth and peppy one day, and the next day may feel a little sluggish. That's one thing that I'd complain and feel helpless as I'm still trying to figure out the pattern to this behavior. This inconsistent behavior also makes it hard to try any kind of tuning/experimenting because the variables are not really controlled. I guess I'm just a little too picky, but hey, at least I'm happy with the rest of the car.

My daughter complained about the jerky throttle when riding with her mom in the Accord Sport, but she totally enjoys my much more aggressive driving in the CX-5 (especially when we're late to her lessons). Just FYI, I love her so much, I wouldn't do anything reckless that could cause an accident that will cause her or others any harm, and I'm old enough to not get overconfident, but the CX-5 does feel very confident for a SUV/crossover.
 
jlx21 said:
Wow you really are something special. I guess no one is allowed to form any opinions after they purchase a car and we're not as proficient in car research as you are. Done responding to you.

Took the pleasure to look at some of your old posts and found a gem:

"Next time you buy a car, do the world a favor and do more than an hours worth of research lol. Then you'll have more of an understanding of the kind of car you're buying and you don't have to then bash all the things you failed to realize with your irresponsibility in lack of research."

Just chill out bro
Click to expand...

Yes of course you can have opinions, stop being dramatic lol Something like the seats aren't comfortable in long drives, or the paint doesn't hold up well, etc. Those are complaints that someone wouldn't be able to determine from just a test drive(my complaints btw). I just think its a bit much to bash a vehicle for such simple things such as it's looks when you were in control of that.

Looking up old posts huh? Certainly you have better things to do with your time.

Bro? Now you're really showing your age. Sorry, the Jersey Shore stopped airing years ago.
 
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sillyxone said:
Maybe jhu8 should watch "Finding Dory" to understand the joy in "going with the flow" and try not to be Marlin :)
Click to expand...

Trying to get my wife to watch it with me! Loved Finding Nemo. My wife, never even saw Finding Nemo. Just don't get it lol
 
I took about 4 month choosing my CX-5. I drove one 3 times and had my daughter drive it. I also drove every competitor I could find except GM from Lexus on down. I scared a few salesmen as I pushed the vehicles to see how they handled turns. In the end, the only decision was a 13 or 14 Mazda CX-5 as I had never bought a new car before. I bought a new CX-5. It still makes me grin every time I drive it. BTW I am no stranger to good handling cars. I have owned BMWs, Saabs, Peugeots, VWs and a Audi. BTW Good handling and high power are two different things. not mutually exclusive but not the same. To me straight line acceleration is fun. good handling is BIG fun and can save your life.
 
mazdadude said:
Well I imagine going from a 0-60 in 5.8 seconds in your top of the line GTI felt a whole lot faster than your 2 second slower SPORT Mazda CX-5... and yes, pretty boring too compared to that car. :)

When I was comparing the 3yr lease depreciation rates for Subaru vs. the CX-5 Touring/GT, they were neck and neck... .63 and .62. I do not know what the SPORT model was.

Here is the EXCITING GTI interior... (shrug)
2015-mk7-vw-gti-interior


Contrasted against the CX-5's Boring interior...
2016-mazda-cx-5-interior-257-2016-mazda-cx-5-interior-898-x-426.jpg
Click to expand...

VW looks like something made in the 80's, very dated.
 
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