2018 CX5: Diesel or Gas?

King Tut

Member
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Mazda cx5 2015 GT
I currently have a 2015 C5 GT and my plan is to replace it by April
Now it's the time to shop for the best car for my needs

I'm looking for the car the gives me the best value for money (my top budget is $80k CAD)
Luxurious cars (Mercedes, Porsche, BMW ...) are great, but I don't see any of them give value for money other than the Lexus for its reliability

Also because I drive 2800 km monthly (70% hwy, 30% city) I'm looking for the best in fuel consumption, specially of hwy
I checked the Lexus RX350, I like everything about it ( the grill look doesn't bother me (doh) ) but I didn't like the mpg
I checked the RX450H, great car, fuel consumption is good, but as I drive 70% hwy fuel saving isn't that good for me to pay extra $15k !!
Price difference between the RX350 and RX450H is a nonesense when it's the same car to save a couple of hundreds on gas every year

I looked at the 2018 CX5 diesel video on youtube, posted on the last couple of days by a Japanese smart guy, I liked it and start thinking about having another cx5

Still need clarification on some points:
- I don't like cylinder deactivation which is forced on us on all 208 gas models, I don't want to save on 1mpg and pay more on maintenance later on
Is it also forced on the diesel model?
- For Canadian winter driving, is diesel an issue?
- What's the future of diesel? Is it possible 3 years from now that government add taxes that make diesel twice the gas price? World have crazy politician who can implement what they want
- Would I have a problem selling/trading my cx5 diesel 4 years from now

I haven't decided yet which car I'll go with (Mazda or other) and which fuel (Diesel, gas, hybrid, Plug-in . or even hydrogen (wiggle) ) and I still have 4 months to decide(screwy)

And I guess that many are in my situation , specially when politics now affect our new car decision
So we can help each other reaching the right decision .. or sink further (hahaspit)
 
I currently have a 2015 C5 GT and my plan is to replace it by April
Now it's the time to shop for the best car for my needs

I'm looking for the car the gives me the best value for money (my top budget is $80k CAD)
Luxurious cars (Mercedes, Porsche, BMW ...) are great, but I don't see any of them give value for money other than the Lexus for its reliability

Also because I drive 2800 km monthly (70% hwy, 30% city) I'm looking for the best in fuel consumption, specially of hwy
I checked the Lexus RX350, I like everything about it ( the grill look doesn't bother me (doh) ) but I didn't like the mpg
I checked the RX450H, great car, fuel consumption is good, but as I drive 70% hwy fuel saving isn't that good for me to pay extra $15k !!
Price difference between the RX350 and RX450H is a nonesense when it's the same car to save a couple of hundreds on gas every year

I looked at the 2018 CX5 diesel video on youtube, posted on the last couple of days by a Japanese smart guy, I liked it and start thinking about having another cx5

Still need clarification on some points:
- I don't like cylinder deactivation which is forced on us on all 208 gas models, I don't want to save on 1mpg and pay more on maintenance later on
Is it also forced on the diesel model?
- For Canadian winter driving, is diesel an issue?
- What's the future of diesel? Is it possible 3 years from now that government add taxes that make diesel twice the gas price? World have crazy politician who can implement what they want
- Would I have a problem selling/trading my cx5 diesel 4 years from now

I haven't decided yet which car I'll go with (Mazda or other) and which fuel (Diesel, gas, hybrid, Plug-in . or even hydrogen (wiggle) ) and I still have 4 months to decide(screwy)

And I guess that many are in my situation , specially when politics now affect our new car decision
So we can help each other reaching the right decision .. or sink further (hahaspit)
Don't rule out an off-lease low mileage German diesel. They can be had for pennies on the dollar and can offer pretty good value.
 
Don't rule out an off-lease low mileage German diesel. They can be had for pennies on the dollar and can offer pretty good value.

Thanks for your reply and it's valid for other people
But for me, I don't buy used cars, and I don't keep cars for more than 5 years (my current Mazda that I'm replacing is 2015)
 
It doesnt make sense to look for a value oriented car and then sell them 5 years later. Whatever savings you think you might be getting go down the drain due to depreciation. So what really confuses me is that you're ruling out the German brands because "they don't offer enough reliability for the money." I'm confused here. You only drive 168,000km per 5 years, meaning you're going to sell the car before anything starts to go wrong with it anyways.

You sound like a pretty reserved driver that doesn't need massive amounts of power to get around, so just buy whatever you see that you like and is fuel efficient. My recommendation? Go all out and buy yourself something nice. Get a diesel BMW, Mercedes etc. The BMW especially has An amazing and very efficient diesel motor. Your best bet would probably be to buy a low mileage car thats fairly new, so you don't take such a huge hit with depreciation in 5 years time when you gotta sell. Or just buy something reliable like a lexus and keep it for 10 years.

Personally, I recommend looking into a BMW f10 535d
 
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I don't know what confuses you here
- Value doen't mean cheap, and it doesn't mean I care much about $2k more or less, but I don't spend 10k more for nothing
- I don't keep cars for more than 5 years because I like to drive maintenance free cars
- My current car mileage will be about 120k at the time of selling it (30k km annual ), still maintenance free but will not continue to be maintenance free after that, and that's when I trade the car
You shouldn't wait until things start breaking to sell the car, who would want to buy it then?
-The reliability of BMW is 3 (surprise?) But for the Lexus is 5 this is one of the reasons that I prefer the lexus, the 2nd reason is (Mercedes, Porsche, BMW .. ) use premium fuel, Lexus and Mazda use regular, gas price is a factor when I drive 120km daily!
 
I don't know what confuses you here
- Value doen't mean cheap, and it doesn't mean I care much about $2k more or less, but I don't spend 10k more for nothing
- I don't keep cars for more than 5 years because I like to drive maintenance free cars
- My current car mileage will be about 120k at the time of selling it (30k km annual ), still maintenance free but will not continue to be maintenance free after that, and that's when I trade the car
You shouldn't wait until things start breaking to sell the car, who would want to buy it then?
-The reliability of BMW is 3 (surprise?) But for the Lexus is 5 this is one of the reasons that I prefer the lexus, the 2nd reason is (Mercedes, Porsche, BMW .. ) use premium fuel, Lexus and Mazda use regular, gas price is a factor when I drive 120km daily!

Wait, so you said you plan on selling your car when it starts to need maintenance, but then you said that no one would buy a car which needs maintenance? Major contradiction there.

Yes, we all know that lexus is more reliable than BMW, there is no surprise there, but some BMW's are very reliable while others not so much. My 2011 BMW 528i has over 125,000KM on it and I haven't had to do any sort of repairs to it yet, so don't let a reliability score judge the brand as a whole.

Have you tried using an ethanol free premium fuel such as shell 91? In a car that requires premium, the fuel efficiency benefits will literally offset the price premium of the 91 octane fuel. Just because you're paying more up front, does not mean you are losing any money. My fuel economy went from 12L/100Km to 10.5L switching from ethanol blended 91 to an ethanol free 91, let alone bad 87 octane fuel which reduces precious low end torque critical for efficiency.

If you buy a low mileage lightly used luxury car, youll save Yourself a very generous portion of money which can be used toward potential repairs if you keep the vehicle past 150k or to simply help you deal with the deprecation of selling a vehicle every 5 years.

You think you're saving money, but in reality you're not. Do you even know what depreciation is?
 
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Think about it. How would a compression ignition motor run on 2 cylinders and why? Why do you need more efffiency from a diesel motor, even if it was possible.

The answer is, very unlikely.
 
Wait, so you said you plan on selling your car when it starts to need maintenance, but then you said that no one would buy a car which needs maintenance? Major contradiction there.

Yes, we all know that lexus is more reliable than BMW, there is no surprise there, but some BMW's are very reliable while others not so much. My 2011 BMW 528i has over 125,000KM on it and I haven't had to do any sort of repairs to it yet, so don't let a reliability score judge the brand as a whole.

Have you tried using an ethanol free premium fuel such as shell 91? In a car that requires premium, the fuel efficiency benefits will literally offset the price premium of the 91 octane fuel. Just because you're paying more up front, does not mean you are losing any money. My fuel economy went from 12L/100Km to 10.5L switching from ethanol blended 91 to an ethanol free 91, let alone bad 87 octane fuel which reduces precious low end torque critical for efficiency.

If you buy a low mileage lightly used luxury car, youll save Yourself a very generous portion of money which can be used toward potential repairs if you keep the vehicle past 150k or to simply help you deal with the deprecation of selling a vehicle every 5 years.

You think you're saving money, but in reality you're not. Do you even know what depreciation is?

You see a contradiction because you didn't use my exact words, big difference between maintenance and things start to break down
I'd consider car require maintenance when the annual maintenance cost is less than $2k more than a new car, a lot of people will live with that, but not me
I'd consider things start to break down when the annual maintenance is starting to get hefty, not many people will want this car

Your are trying to start a debate about new vs used with low mileage which I'm trying to avoid as it's a topic by itself that can fill hundreds of pages
Yo can simply say that my "personal preferences" is against buying a used car, never did in 20 years :)
But I like your comment about the difference in mileage when used 87 vs 91, although the difference in price where I live is 20%
 
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Think about it. How would a compression ignition motor run on 2 cylinders and why? Why do you need more efffiency from a diesel motor, even if it was possible.

The answer is, very unlikely.

I agree with your logic, but I can't reach this conclusion as you did as my car mechanic information is close to none
Very unlikely as an answer for me means it's still possible that they go this way, right?
 
You see a contradiction because you didn't use my exact words, big difference between maintenance and things start to break down
I'd consider car require maintenance when the annual maintenance cost is $2k more than a new car, a lot of people will live wit that, but not me
I'd consider things start to break down when the annual maintenance is starting to get hefty, not many people will want this car

Your are trying to start a debate about new vs low mileage which I'm trying to avoid as it's a topic by itself that can fill hundreds of pages
Yo can simply say that my "personal preferences" is against buying a used car, never did in 20 years :)
But I like your comment about the difference in mileage when used 87 vs 91, although the difference in price where I live is 20%

In your case, I think it's best to buy something that holds its value well like a Toyota or lexus. The Mazda cx-5 diesel would also be at the top of my list.

Yes, here in Toronto there is a 20% difference between 87 and 91. However I have noticed absolutely zero benefits using premium fuel blended with 10% ethanol. I noticed substantial savings with The Canadian shell 91 fuel we have here... I'm saving about 2-3$ a tank, getting better r performance and efffiency just for choosing to pay a premium for ethanol free at the pump. It's worth it in a car that requires premium or even just recommends it.
 
Diesel sales have dropped a lot in Europe. Even in Germany which is a strong diesel market sales have dropped. Toyota for e.g. did not roll out diesel versions of some of its cars and might not in the future as well. It is a great Hybrid market. In US - one reason for Mercedes to not rollout its diesels is fuel quality. It is just not available and with the amount of corn etc that grows here - Diesels grade wont get better.
But diesel does not matter to you. If you are searching for a car in 4 months - there is zero chance a CX5 diesel will be available for you to even consider. Your options are a chevy diesel CUV or a 2.5L CX5 - and if mpg is important - the Chevy will be 40+ and CX5 will be 31-33. So there is all that you need to know.

Now if you were buying in Oct 2018 or start of 2019 - CX5 diesel is a choice. Not sooner than that and even that is looking 50-50. Note MZD might pull diesel out completely if they decide its not worth it even after NHTSA / EPA and IIHS certifications.
 
I agree with your logic, but I can't reach this conclusion as you did as my car mechanic information is close to none
Very unlikely as an answer for me means it's still possible that they go this way, right?

I can't help but see the posts when quoted by others.

I think Anchorman already answered, but a diesel cylinder could be deactivated by simply not injecting fuel into the cylinder, and resistance reduced by leaving a valve open so the cylinder doesn't pressurize.
 
I agree with your logic, but I can't reach this conclusion as you did as my car mechanic information is close to none
Very unlikely as an answer for me means it's still possible that they go this way, right?

No, cylinder deactivation is not feasible on a diesel motor. There is a 0% chance Mazda would implement something like it, so dont worry. You can deactivate cylinders on a gasoline motor and it will still run okay because gasoline is far more combustible and the spark plugs definitely help with that. I do agree with you that cylinder deactivation is best avoided on cars. For example, auto start stop might be more reasonable because idling isn't an efficient form of burning gasoline, but this does pose some reliability concerns such as needing to replace the starter early on. I like my cars simple and lacking all these complex electronics.
 
In our area Diesel is almost 30% more expensive than 87 octane gasoline, and our 2018 Touring AWD is getting close to 30 mpg. Do you think the diesel will achieve 39-40mpg? I don't. I'm sticking with proven gasoline skyactiv-G motors. The new one with all the revisions is great, quiet, peppy, and I absolutely cannot tell when it goes into Cyl Deactivation
 
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