Active single mid-thirties guy researching potential new vehicles. I've been researching the 2nd Gen CX-5 since it was announced. Never thought I'd actually want an SUV/CUV, but have always liked the styling of the CX-5 better than its competitors. I'm looking into possibilities for what vehicle I'd replace my 2013 Accord Coupe with, or if I'm even ready. Right now I'm thinking my next vehicles needs to be more utilitarian than coupe and the CX-5 is high on my list if I decide to go the SUV/CUV route, so I thought it was a good time to go drive one. I had an '03 and an '06 Mazda6 and loved them both. I've driven Honda and Mazda only for the past 14+ years. Here are my impressions in no particular order.
The Good:
Overall styling is superb. Really like the lines. Definitely the best looking vehicle in it's class hands down, IMO. Looks much more upscale and expensive than the price would suggest, both inside and out. The interior design and build quality is also excellent. I was able to find a comfortable driving position easily and visibility is way better than I was expecting. I appreciate that the glovebox is damped AND felt-lined. Nicely done, Mazda. Everything is within reach, but I did find the Commander knob interface a little weird, but I'm sure I'd get used to it. Bose audio system sounded OK at it's default settings; I did not make any adjustments. I didn't spend a lot of time with the Mazda Connect system, so I'll have to give it a closer test later on. I was most impressed with the feeling of solidity, especially the "thud" sound when closing the doors. I appreciate the interior materials quality and I didn't notice any rattles or squeaks and road/wind noise was minimal; it's obvious Mazda put forth considerable effort here. The ride was very smooth and quiet and the handling was better than expected for an SUV. I like the easy-fold rear seats and that the (optional) cargo cover attaches to the lift gate instead of just being a front-to back shade like most others. Really like the exterior lighting. The LED headlights, fog lights and DRLs are nice touches. I turned on the ACC, but didn't get a good chance to test it out. My tester didn't have the premium package, so no heads-up display to play with. As for paint colors, the SRC color was probably the best out all and I don't normally like red cars, but I could honestly see me choosing it. Very, very cool color! The Machine Gray w/ Parchment is also a nice color combination. My Accord has black/ivory interior and I've come to prefer the warmer tones. I went in thinking I'd like the Eternal Blue, but I actually like the old Reflex Blue much better.
The Bad/Annoying/Not Ideal:
The biggest negative I found was the lack of power off the line and feeling like I had to push it more to get to the power and the fact that the trans kept the engine around 4k RPM when ascending a moderate slope. Not sure if this is normal or not. It may be due to me being so accustomed to my Accord's CVT just always being in the right ratio that having a geared transmission is just a little weird to me. Sport mode with manual shifting works decently. I liked the fact that it rev matches down shifts, or at least it seemed to. The bottom-hinged accelerator is a little weird at first, and the throttle is sensitive and has a very short range of travel. I found myself "punching" it more than intended. Again, probably a muscle memory thing that would go away after a while. The engine, while very quiet at idle, especially for direct injection, gets a little raspy when accelerating swiftly or merging on the highway and the noise is evident in the cabin, much more so than my Accord. I also noticed a very faint whine at 40+ MPH, Sounds like some electronic interference or something. It was slight but noticeable. Interior nit-picks are few, but the headliner is a bit cheap-feeling. I also wish at least both front windows were auto up/down and just not the driver, and a little more interior illumination would be nice. I really wish Apple car Play and Android Auto would have been made available out of the gate. Paint quality on my Jet Black tester was just OK. I din't notice any imperfections, it just had a lot of orange peel. Seems SRC. silver and white are better. I would never buy black anyway.
So there you have it, just some random thoughts and observations. I really think if I go for an SUV instead of a Honda Ridgeline, the CX-5 is in the lead right now, but I haven't driven any other SUVs yet. The only other model I'd likely consider is a CR-V, but I'm not sold on the styling of the body and the interior. Will need to drive one soon.
The Good:
Overall styling is superb. Really like the lines. Definitely the best looking vehicle in it's class hands down, IMO. Looks much more upscale and expensive than the price would suggest, both inside and out. The interior design and build quality is also excellent. I was able to find a comfortable driving position easily and visibility is way better than I was expecting. I appreciate that the glovebox is damped AND felt-lined. Nicely done, Mazda. Everything is within reach, but I did find the Commander knob interface a little weird, but I'm sure I'd get used to it. Bose audio system sounded OK at it's default settings; I did not make any adjustments. I didn't spend a lot of time with the Mazda Connect system, so I'll have to give it a closer test later on. I was most impressed with the feeling of solidity, especially the "thud" sound when closing the doors. I appreciate the interior materials quality and I didn't notice any rattles or squeaks and road/wind noise was minimal; it's obvious Mazda put forth considerable effort here. The ride was very smooth and quiet and the handling was better than expected for an SUV. I like the easy-fold rear seats and that the (optional) cargo cover attaches to the lift gate instead of just being a front-to back shade like most others. Really like the exterior lighting. The LED headlights, fog lights and DRLs are nice touches. I turned on the ACC, but didn't get a good chance to test it out. My tester didn't have the premium package, so no heads-up display to play with. As for paint colors, the SRC color was probably the best out all and I don't normally like red cars, but I could honestly see me choosing it. Very, very cool color! The Machine Gray w/ Parchment is also a nice color combination. My Accord has black/ivory interior and I've come to prefer the warmer tones. I went in thinking I'd like the Eternal Blue, but I actually like the old Reflex Blue much better.
The Bad/Annoying/Not Ideal:
The biggest negative I found was the lack of power off the line and feeling like I had to push it more to get to the power and the fact that the trans kept the engine around 4k RPM when ascending a moderate slope. Not sure if this is normal or not. It may be due to me being so accustomed to my Accord's CVT just always being in the right ratio that having a geared transmission is just a little weird to me. Sport mode with manual shifting works decently. I liked the fact that it rev matches down shifts, or at least it seemed to. The bottom-hinged accelerator is a little weird at first, and the throttle is sensitive and has a very short range of travel. I found myself "punching" it more than intended. Again, probably a muscle memory thing that would go away after a while. The engine, while very quiet at idle, especially for direct injection, gets a little raspy when accelerating swiftly or merging on the highway and the noise is evident in the cabin, much more so than my Accord. I also noticed a very faint whine at 40+ MPH, Sounds like some electronic interference or something. It was slight but noticeable. Interior nit-picks are few, but the headliner is a bit cheap-feeling. I also wish at least both front windows were auto up/down and just not the driver, and a little more interior illumination would be nice. I really wish Apple car Play and Android Auto would have been made available out of the gate. Paint quality on my Jet Black tester was just OK. I din't notice any imperfections, it just had a lot of orange peel. Seems SRC. silver and white are better. I would never buy black anyway.
So there you have it, just some random thoughts and observations. I really think if I go for an SUV instead of a Honda Ridgeline, the CX-5 is in the lead right now, but I haven't driven any other SUVs yet. The only other model I'd likely consider is a CR-V, but I'm not sold on the styling of the body and the interior. Will need to drive one soon.
. I did look at the Forester, too, but the interior was not all that nice and the seats were not comfortable for me.
