First drive

I had the opportunity to visit the local Mazda dealer and take a look at the new CX5s. He had 3 on the lot and seemed anxious to have me drive a touring model which I did. I found the engine quite noisy for about 15 seconds while it warmed up but, was fairly quiet after that. The interior is very nice and somewhat comparable to my touring CX7, The materials seem good quality and I appreciate the soft plastic or coverings. Out on the road the AT shifts very early, especially in the lower gears and I expected this as a fuel saving method. When merging in traffic, I needed to use a heavy foot to merge safely but, encountered no problem. I do feel that if I bought one, I would be using the Manual mode for shifting more often than I would like. All in all a very nice driving vehicle. The engine compartment is nicely done and when I looked for the AT dipstick, I was told there was none. They said it is a Lifetime ATF. I was advised that the CX5 owner just brings the vehicle in at 100,000 miles and they check the fluid and change it if needed. . Not satisfied with no AT checking method and the lack of engine guages. I think I will wait till the Diesel arrives or they offer a 2.3 or 2.5L SkyActiv option.. JMO.. Ed

I bought a 2000 Corvette auto and was shocked to find that it had no auto dipstick but the transmission is integrated into the rear end for better weight distribution. They say just look for leaks, otherwise don't bother it. It's 12 years old with 70,000 miles and no issues. Humm, probably should get the fluid & filter changed...

I'm glad Mazda has the confidence in auto tranny, I expect they did the field testing prior to first production run. My 2007 Lexus has same lifetime fluid fill, no problems.