I'm pretty sure Mazda considers it a way to get you over a pile of snow in your driveway and when its not doing that to siphon off as little MPG as possible so they hit their CAFE numbers.
It's not some launch control or off-roading beast system.
Mazda already had the answer for this and it was called the CX-7. CX-5 is not long enough for tall people knees in the back. CX-9 is great but a little bit too much (and low MPG) for a lot of customers.
The current gen MDX you can tell they are not proud of the center stack and gauge cluster, just look at the website gallery. The first image showing that goofy dual screen and uggo Acura control knob belly button is way down low, past even the seats.
Was looking at the Atlas but seeing the MPG killed it for me. People getting around 15 in the city... Not to mention the SEL Prem being priced sky high.
Investigate the completely normal and expected behavior? Should it go into park? What if you need to turn the engine off or it stalls and you are pushing the vehicle? Should you have to know an arcane button combo to get it back in drive? You do know the gear selector cant move itself. Should...
Okay, next time I need to roll up to an industrial park loading dock lump at the worst possible angle available I'll keep this in mind and remember to add a little momentum. The other 99.999999999% of my driving time I'll be enjoying my CX-9.
Same as with a key you could turn the engine off and then take your foot off the brake. Try to idiot proof basic things like this and you can have all kinds of other unintended consequences. What if you had unintended acceleration and the car decided when you turned the engine off to slam on the...