We bought a 2019 Signature and love it. I did a lot of research and thought it was the best deal going. Weird thing is that I haven’t seen another signature on the road. I feel like I’m missing something here. Kinda wanted to hear other Mazda owner’s perspective on this. I thought the signature was a great buy but if there’s such limited demand now, there might be limited demand for the used market.
What is wrong with CX-5 Signature?
- Thread starter kkim
- Start date
Well, first, Mazda makes fewer of them. A major reason for that is to maintain the federal fuel efficiency standard score for their fleet of models on offer, since the turbo engines get lower gas mileage. Second, they are more expensive...and a since a lot of the major safety and convenience features can be had on the lower trims (as both standard and optional equipment), folks can get 80% or 90% of the most desirable features for less money. Not everybody wants a turbo and several nice, but unnecessary higher end baubles. It makes perfect sense to me. But I do agree that the Sig is a great value for what you get.
The local dealers had a lot of sigs in their inventories. I asked about it and most of them admitted they were having trouble selling them. We looked at the rdx and glc300 and it was a no brainer to go with the Cx-5 sig. I thought the rdx advanced was the better car but not $15k better. The glc300 was tougher to tell. Basically, the dealers only would show you the base models. In general, the salesman were saying fully loaded models were not as much in demand. It seems weird since I always thought that loaded models were easier sell on the used market. I’m not really certain what drives residual value and used market demand.
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- Central Virginia
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- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
The thread regarding availability of the 2020s touches on this a bit.
-Some dealerships have no 2020 Reserves or Signatures
-Some dealerships have only one or two 2020 Reserves
-Many (most?) dealerships have no Signatures at all
I have been told by one dealer that this allocation is driven by 2019 sales, although I don't really believe it. My dealer has 3 locations in 2 states and only one 2020 Reserve among them. I highly doubt that mine was the only 2019 Reserve that any of them sold.
Just thinking out loud here, I gotta believe that the used market for CX-5s in general will drive the demand for all trims, including the upper ones.
My concern over owning a low-production car is availability of parts and experienced mechanics.
-Some dealerships have no 2020 Reserves or Signatures
-Some dealerships have only one or two 2020 Reserves
-Many (most?) dealerships have no Signatures at all
I have been told by one dealer that this allocation is driven by 2019 sales, although I don't really believe it. My dealer has 3 locations in 2 states and only one 2020 Reserve among them. I highly doubt that mine was the only 2019 Reserve that any of them sold.
Just thinking out loud here, I gotta believe that the used market for CX-5s in general will drive the demand for all trims, including the upper ones.
My concern over owning a low-production car is availability of parts and experienced mechanics.
Interesting point. I do notice that there are some signs of lack of refinement for the one we have. Ticking sounds when idling (fuel pump). Ticking sound when adjusting the temperature. Easy staining of the leather. Lines of the car are more susceptible to door dings. Favorites getting wiped out. Rain sensor not always working well. But I love this car. Makes me wonder why I drove the crv for 6 years. At the same time, the repair costs and warranty service on the crv were great. I wonder what the maintenance costs will turn out to be.
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- Central Virginia
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- 2019 CX-5 Reserve
45 years ago, I used to take my Austin Healey out for a drive just for the fun of driving.
My Reserve is the first car I've owned since that I do the same thing in.
I wish I had discovered the brand before.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Many of us didnt wa t to spend over 30k on a compact cuv...but that turbo motor priced some more cash out of us, and the extra $1500-2k for funky brown leather and 360 camera wasnt money well added, especially for those of us who dontpark in super urban areas where the 360 would be of use.
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- Occupied Calif.
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- 2019 CX 5 GT-R
When I bought my CX 5 in May I was fully prepared to buy a Signature when I walked into the dealership. But then I compared a Sig and GT-Reserve in the color of my choice and was put off by the color of the Caturra leather and the black headliner. The Carturra color may look good with some exterior colors but it sure didn't with Machine Gray. I think it was a poor choice by Mazda not to offer a couple of color combos.
In addition the black headliner made the interior feel claustrophobic to me. I ended up with the GT-R, the extra gizmos of the Signature did not offset the poor aesthetics and I still got the turbo, AWD and other performance features.
In addition the black headliner made the interior feel claustrophobic to me. I ended up with the GT-R, the extra gizmos of the Signature did not offset the poor aesthetics and I still got the turbo, AWD and other performance features.
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Same here. i went into the dealer to buy a Signature but after seeing the differences it was an easy decision to go with the Reserve.
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- 2021 CX-9 Sig
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- 2021 CX-5 GT
What part of the country are you located? I am in the SE and my local dealer says that they move the GTR's and Signatures quickly. They only ever have at most 10 of these on hand and they tend to last a month.
Ahh. That makes sense. I did notice GTR seems to be a lot more popular. @dougal, I’m in Northern California. Several salesmen told me Signatures are not moving as well as other trims. I checked local inventories for about a month before focusing on the Signature and all the dealers had several in their inventories. The only exception was the red color. When I purchased, the closest red was over 100 miles away.
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- 2021 CX-9 Sig
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- 2021 CX-5 GT
Yeah that definitely could be. My dealer generally has 2-3 GTRs for every Signature and honestly, the options for the different interior colors makes the GTR a much better value.
Looked at the Sig and GT-R. My salesperson told me that there was not a lot of interest in either of them when compared to the lower trim models. I think that's due mostly to price considerations.
In the end, I bought the stock GT since a turbo was not meaningful to me and folding mirrors, head's up display, etc., seemed useless for my needs. I love the GT ... it has plenty of power for me, and doesn't have the features I deem to be unnecessary.
In the end, I bought the stock GT since a turbo was not meaningful to me and folding mirrors, head's up display, etc., seemed useless for my needs. I love the GT ... it has plenty of power for me, and doesn't have the features I deem to be unnecessary.
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- 2019 CX-5 Signature
I've seen a few Sig's in the wild around me. That's one of the "perks" of owning one. Never again will I pull on the handle of someone else's vehicle in a parking lot. I hated that part of owning a CR-V.
The CX-5 was not even on our radar when we started shopping. The addition of the turbo is what changed that. Adding parking sensors, Nappa leather and a 360 camera was the icing on the cake. I also prefer the black headliner and LED interior lights. From some of the replies, it seems like Mazda knew what they were doing when they marketed the two models with the turbo.
The CX-5 was not even on our radar when we started shopping. The addition of the turbo is what changed that. Adding parking sensors, Nappa leather and a 360 camera was the icing on the cake. I also prefer the black headliner and LED interior lights. From some of the replies, it seems like Mazda knew what they were doing when they marketed the two models with the turbo.
One thing I really like about the sig is the black headliner. I know others don't mention it as a positive but I tend to like darker, more intimate interiors since it's always sunny here and the black headliner really helps with that. Especially with tinted windows I think it would like great.
Really want a sig but Mazda needs to do a few more updates for them to get my $$$. I'm really hoping for a mid-cycle refresh by next fall with alot of the stuff the new 3 has.
Really want a sig but Mazda needs to do a few more updates for them to get my $$$. I'm really hoping for a mid-cycle refresh by next fall with alot of the stuff the new 3 has.
IMO Truthfully, the Sig doesnt offer much for the increased price. As others have said, the only differences are the grill lighting, 360 cam/sensors, and the DARK brown interior choice. I agree that Mazda messed up that color big time. It looks like its black 90% of the time. Had it been the cognac color thats offered in the CX9 signature, then it would be a different story (and would justify the extra cost). With the low-res on the dash, the 360 cam isnt THAT great either.
Personally, I think on the resale market the signature will offer some benefit. Even if you don't get a big uptick in price, people will be inclined to buy a Sig over a GT just for the name and you should be able to sell it quicker at least.
Personally, I think on the resale market the signature will offer some benefit. Even if you don't get a big uptick in price, people will be inclined to buy a Sig over a GT just for the name and you should be able to sell it quicker at least.
I think I’ve only seen a Sig model once on the road since its introduction. I’m with the majority here, the extras from the Sig is not worth it, and I usually buy the top trims of any vehicle I’ve ever purchased. I think the only think I like from the Sig is the dark headliner, that’s about it. I wish they had the turbo version when I bought mine a couple of years back. I would have gotten the Reserved. The base engine is perfectly adequate but it’s always fun to have more power haha
