Best Alternative to CX-5

[Puyapim]

That National Lampoon movie was the stake in the station wagon heart. Nobody dared to be in one after that.

There are several station wagon cars like the Outback or Alltrack but you dare not call it a wagon, they are crossovers.

Maybe we should call them estates like they do in Europe?

 

[ColoradoDriver]

And I look at the CUV and think it’s tall and tipsy and you just compromised ride and handling for the pretender off road status.

To be fair, I'd like to see a car get out of my old mountain driveway after it snows that my CX-5 has no problems with.

This will include navigating very steep grades, sharp turns, ice, and very deep ruts (very long dirt driveway).

 

[ColoradoDriver]

That National Lampoon movie was the stake in the station wagon heart. Nobody dared to be in one after that.

There are several station wagon cars like the Outback or Alltrack but you dare not call it a wagon, they are crossovers.

Maybe we should call them estates like they do in Europe?

Eh, here in Colorado, the Outbacks still on the road from early 2000's era+ (and there are lots, usually green or purple) all look like station wagons to me...

 

[finch204]

The Mazda6 wagon looks okay, but in general I'm not a big fan of wagons. At some point, depending on the design, how long the rear is or the shape of the rear, at some point to me, it starts looking like a funeral car. Someone designs I can get over, like the Mazda6 wagon, but not all. IMO, Audi makes the best looking wagons. I wouldn't mind daily driving an Audi RS4 wagon.

 

[Sekmor]

I've been driving a loaner 2017 Ford Escape Titanium for the past 4 weeks. The looks are not my flavor, but Ford definitely loads them up with gadgets. Took me more than a week to figure out all the buttons and features inside. Frick, it will even parallel park itself. Thought these ideas were sort of dumb, but have to say, with my hands full, it's nice to wave my foot under the bumper to open the tailgate. Has all these warning functions to keep you between the lines of the road. Has engine auto stop-start, which I didn't even notice until I saw the tach go to zero. You can even go through the gears with the steering wheel paddle shifters.
The 4wd has worked good in our wintery conditions.` Honestly don't know what size engine but it is a Ecoboost turbo. Not a race car, but runs quiet and pulls ok until the upper end and then seems to run out of juice. One thing for sure, is the Escape fuel consumption is way higher. I would say a good 25% higher than our CX5.
Not that I'm looking to buy one, but a good compare against our CX5, definitely way more features and gadgets.

 

[Puyapim]

The Mazda6 wagon looks okay, but in general I'm not a big fan of wagons. At some point, depending on the design, how long the rear is or the shape of the rear, at some point to me, it starts looking like a funeral car. Someone designs I can get over, like the Mazda6 wagon, but not all. IMO, Audi makes the best looking wagons. I wouldn't mind daily driving an Audi RS4 wagon.

The Audi wagons do look sharp.

 

[jthj]

Eh, here in Colorado, the Outbacks still on the road from early 2000's era+ (and there are lots, usually green or purple) all look like station wagons to me...

That’s the generation of Outbacks I really liked.

 

[jthj]

I've been driving a loaner 2017 Ford Escape Titanium for the past 4 weeks. The looks are not my flavor, but Ford definitely loads them up with gadgets. Took me more than a week to figure out all the buttons and features inside. Frick, it will even parallel park itself. Thought these ideas were sort of dumb, but have to say, with my hands full, it's nice to wave my foot under the bumper to open the tailgate. Has all these warning functions to keep you between the lines of the road. Has engine auto stop-start, which I didn't even notice until I saw the tach go to zero. You can even go through the gears with the steering wheel paddle shifters.
The 4wd has worked good in our wintery conditions.` Honestly don't know what size engine but it is a Ecoboost turbo. Not a race car, but runs quiet and pulls ok until the upper end and then seems to run out of juice. One thing for sure, is the Escape fuel consumption is way higher. I would say a good 25% higher than our CX5.
Not that I'm looking to buy one, but a good compare against our CX5, definitely way more features and gadgets.

The Escape is nice no doubt. We almost got on but the CX-5 seemed a bit more refined and mature. Then the better safety ratings sold the wife on the Mazda.

 

[DubbuD]

Obviously we are not going to agree. But I think really the CX-5 while good looking is just a pumped up hatch. The 3 for example to me looks more sexy. And a lot of other CUV with a longer rear window, escape or CRV, are just pumped up wagons. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I also rather low cars in general. But I find wagons just too long and all one height across the top. Hatches are okay, a little shorter and makes them more proportionate. But sedans are really where it's at for styling for me in 4 doors, or low slung coupes/roadsters in 2 doors. The 3 is a really nice machines imo.

The reason I went SUV/CUV is for the ride height in the winter and the bigger tire sidewalls for our potholes, hahaha. After having cars all along, it's pretty nice not having to worry about hidden curbs and potholes in the winter as much.

Like I've mentioned before in these forums, the SUV is a workhorse for me. When I get my next fun weekend car it'll be something completely different from an SUV, sedan or a wagon methinks.

 

[jthj]

The one thing I’ll say is pretty much everything Mazda makes looks good IMHO. I hope they can cary forward and evolve the look over time like say a VW Golf or BMW 3 series. To explain what I mean take a Corolla from the 90’s 00’s and today and show them to a person who’s never seen one with badges removed they wouldn’t recognize those 3 as the same car. Do that with a Golf or 3 series and they would because it’s a timeless design that just evolves gradually and stays true to what it is. At least with the 2nd gen of the 3 and CX-5 Mazda seems to have accomplished that.

 

[shadonoz]

It's a Chevy!!

 

[shadonoz]

I've been driving a loaner 2017 Ford Escape Titanium... definitely way more features and gadgets.

And way less quality, refinement, reliability.... and pure driving enjoyment.

 

[shadonoz]

That National Lampoon movie was the stake in the station wagon heart. Nobody dared to be in one after that.

There are several station wagon cars like the Outback or Alltrack but you dare not call it a wagon, they are crossovers.

Maybe we should call them estates like they do in Europe?

My understanding is that "estate" is just short for "estate wagon".

A rose by any other name....

 

[shadonoz]

Eh, here in Colorado, the Outbacks still on the road from early 2000's era+ (and there are lots, usually green or purple) all look like station wagons to me...

That's because they ARE wagons.

To be fair, I'd like to see a car get out of my old mountain driveway after it snows that my CX-5 has no problems with.

This will include navigating very steep grades, sharp turns, ice, and very deep ruts (very long dirt driveway).

Bet an Outback could.

For the record the Outback has 8.7" clearance, while our CX-5s only have 7.6".

But I'll take a CX-5 over an Outback any day.

 

[J.R.]

All the last few pages have told me is that a bunch of you are holding on to an irrational sentiments from 30+ years ago....lol

There are a tonne of damn fine looking wagons from Audi, BMW, Mazda and more that are more fuel efficient, better handling and in most cases beat your CUV's for cargo space.

But carry on thinking your CUV, which is basically a tarted up hatchback and is ACTUALLY the 'soccer mom' vehicle du jour, is some how 'better'

 

[boandlkramer]

I’m a BMW guy and would never be caught dead in a “sport wagon” or “touring”

 

[jthj]

Most of the soccer moms I know drive a CUV. Mostly CRV, Pilot, and RAV4.

 

[jthj]

Oh and a lot of Cherokees but the Jeep dealers around here practically give those things away.

 

[xtrailman]

Yes but you get a raised ride height with one, they are popular with the elderly because they make access in and out very easy.

Obviously we are not going to agree. But I think really the CX-5 while good looking is just a pumped up hatch. The 3 for example to me looks more sexy. And a lot of other CUV with a longer rear window, escape or CRV, are just pumped up wagons. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[boandlkramer]

Most of the soccer moms I know drive a CUV. Mostly CRV, Pilot, and RAV4.

Because they agree, wagons are not cool...not at all