CX-5 vs. Equinox comparison?

Hi all,
I am so glad I found this forum as I have been sweating this decision for a couple of weeks now. I am about ready to pull the trigger on a new CX5 or a Chevy Equinox. My critical requirements: awesome gas mileage (drive about 70 miles a day for work), decent passenger space, and above average cargo space. I am very impressed with everything about the CX-5 except for one thing: it just feels so sluggish compared to the Equinox ride (especially merging onto highway, coming out of stops). However, I don't care for the Equinox design and I have read a ton of reviews of Equinox owners saying they aren't getting anywhere close to the stated MPG. That is critically important to me....and a lot of what I am hearing about the CX5 is that owners are actually getting more than the stated MPG.

Anybody have any thoughts on the CX-5 vs. Equinox? I understand I probably have to sacrifice on some things to get the stated MPG of the CX5...I just worry that the sluggish ride is going to get really annoying really quick. Looking for any and all help/research that might be out there on this comparison. Thanks in advance for helping out a potential new CX-5 owner!

if you are ok with getting a base model and FWD, get a CX5 with a stick. plus, the equinox is a GM product

I probably should have stated this in the original post. If I went with the CX-5, it would be the AWD GT red zeal fully loaded. Keep the opinions coming please!!

Did you drive it in manual shift mode? I find the automatic unbearable almost. In manual mode it is kind of peppy actually.

It would be an automatic, not stick.

rlp2955 said:

It would be an automatic, not stick.

Click to expand...

he meant the automatic but in manual mode.

I just checked the Equinox, it sure is expensive for a GM product... ouch

In order to truly compare the drive characteristics of each, you can't drive the CX-5 like you would the Equinox. The Equinox has a lot of low-end torque, so you can just ease on the gas and get moving. You need to get the CX-5 up to higher RPMs quickly to utilize its power. That said, I think the Equinox will still end up feeling a bit more powerful, but I thought it also felt much heavier. I hated the driving position of the Equinox. Also, the center console is absolutely enormous and forced me to scrunch my legs more toward center, which I didn't like. You get more options on the CX-5 for less money. Finally, I found the financing on the Chevy vehicle was terrible. The APR for my CX-5 came out to 2.1%, whereas the Chevy dealer was bragging about getting it down to 4.5% for a different customer. I took the Equinox off my list pretty quickly because of this.

Don't know if you care about resale value, but the Equinox does not hold it's value well. That was the biggest turn off when I initially started looking at cars (prior to the CX5 being on the market)

The Equinox is very quiet and has more power. That's about all I liked about it. I absolutely hated the unresponsive numb steering and throttle. I felt completely disconnected. As mentioned, the center console is huge and positioned high which gets in the way of my elbow. The interior passenger and cargo space is small relative to the size of the vehicle. It's expensive. I also read all the complaints about fuel economy.

You probably drive mostly highway miles if you drive 70 miles per day for work (I hope!) I assume if fuel economy is your primary consideration, you are looking at the 4 cylinder FWD versions of each car. I did not test drive the Equinox but the extra 27 HP seems to be offset with an extra 500lbs of weight.

2013 mazda cx-5 2.0 manual 2wd 3208lbs 155hp 20.7lbs/hp 26/35
2013 mazda cx-5 2.0 auto 2wd 3272lbs 155hp 21.1lbs/hp 26/32
2012 chevy equinox 2.4 auto 2wd 3770lbs 182hp 20.7lbs/hp 22/32

So the HP/weight ratio of both the CX-5 and the Equinox probably puts them at the low end of the spectrum compared to some of their competitors (RAV-4, CRV, Escape). Any CX-5 will be much more efficient in the city due to the lower displacement and higher compression engine. It seems the highway MPGs of the Equinox and the auto CX-5 are pretty similar. The 6MT CX-5 is easily the best choice for highway fuel economy (highest in class) if you can drive a stick though.

Fuelly has actual user inputted fuel economy data for different kinds of cars so you can see a comparison of the real world fuel economy of each 4 cyl SUV:

http://www.fuelly.com/car/chevrolet/equinox/gas l4
http://www.fuelly.com/car/mazda/cx-5/gas l4

You might want to check out the 1.6Turbo Ford Escape if you only drive auto and don't want to try a manual. I think it has the highest highway rating (33mpg) for an auto and has a pretty good amount of HP/torque if you want to burn gas with the turbo from time to time. It is scary that there have already been 2 recalls for the new 1.6T Escape though (the latest one for fires!) and turbos will invariably mean higher costs and more problems in the future.

Overall, I think the CX-5 offers the best combination if someone is looking for fuel economy, PRICE, and great handling. You should try taking a CX-5 through some curves and letting the engine rev higher for more power. It really is amazing how it sticks to the road.

http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/equinox/2012/
http://www.edmunds.com/mazda/cx-5/2013/

Edmunds.com sources indicated for 4 cylinder models:

CX-5 0-60 9.3
Equinox 0-60 9.3

CX-5 60-0 Braking 121 ft
Equinox 60-0 Braking 122 ft


In terms of handling and resale value the CX-5 should have an advantage.

Here are a few key comparisons I made when our friends got an Equinox the same week we got our CX-5. Keep in mind this is FWD vs FWD.

CX-5
Aggressive look I prefer.
Better handling.
Slightly better fuel economy.
Assumed higher resale.

Equinox
60 day money back if anything goes wrong.
Sliding rear seat for more room in rear seating/cargo area. This was one of the stand out features I wish the CX-5 had.
Slightly better pick up.
Smoother ride.

Hopes this helps.

I didn't drive the Equinox but it's sibling the Terrain was on our list for quite some time. We even rented one for a week. So this is a comparison between a 4cl AWD Terrain and the GT CX5 FWD

In my opinion the Terrain was smoother than the CX5 but a bit more road noise made it through. The Terrain seemed to have more punch when passing and starting out. Was it faster or did it just feel faster, who knows.

The AWD Terrain did decent on corners and was pleasant to drive on Hwy1 on the California coast. The Terrain didn't inspire me to go faster but at the same time it did seem very smooth on the curves. But I think their AWD system is full time and not just when the front wheels slip.

The 'premium' radio in the Terrain was pretty sad for being the better one they offered.

A comparably equipped Terrain/Equinox is more expensive but maybe there are some good discounts running on them.

I loved the adjustable rear seat in the Terrain, the front seats were a bit more comfortable for me in it also. Not quite as bolstered for cornering but overall more comfortable. I preferred the cloth seats on the Terrain to the leather, the leather seemed to have different padding and just wasn't as comfortable.

The 2wd Terrain we test drove didn't drive anywhere near as nice. The AWD one was far more solid feeling. And the AWD with the larger wheel option drove poorly too. Yeah, we test drove a lot of cars, 4 different Terrains alone.

I'd say go on several test drives in both the Equinox and the CX5 and see what fits you best. They are both solid cars and I don't think you'd regret either purchase. The old "its GM so it is bad" is pretty much out of date, everybody makes good cars and bad cars anymore.

On about 600 miles of a mix of Highway and hilly coastal roads we averaged 25 mpg in the AWD Terrain and I drove it far more aggressively for much of that than I drive the CX5 (got pulled over for doing 70 in a 55 zone on a very curvy section of road in the Terrain). If I reset the average mpg readout on a flat chunk of highway and kept it right at 60 it would just get to about 31 but it couldn't hold that for long. On the plus side the Terrain's MPG didn't drop as drastically as the CX5 does when you get a little lead footed.

We'd be driving one now if any dealer within 100 miles had ever gotten the trim level we wanted in without it being a V6 or having the Nav or just 2wd or with expensive rear video screens. They'd always have about $2,000 - $3,000 in options we didn't want on them or be the complete base model with nothing at all.

Buger said:

...

You might want to check out the 1.6Turbo Ford Escape if you only drive auto and don't want to try a manual. I think it has the highest highway rating (33mpg) for an auto and has a pretty good amount of HP/torque if you want to burn gas with the turbo from time to time. It is scary that there have already been 2 recalls for the new 1.6T Escape though (the latest one for fires!) and turbos will invariably mean higher costs and more problems in the future.

Click to expand...

DO NOT BUY THE FORD ESCAPE!

Already 2 major recalls for it.


Click links for full article

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blog...bfv&post=40217504-a10d-4c52-a96f-8dc452843630

Recall: 2013 Ford Escape Because of Interfering Carpets
Padding near the brake pedal could partially block the driver's foot, Ford says.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/19/us-ford-recall-idUSBRE86I1JC20120719

Ford recalls 1.6-liter Ford Escape, tells owners to stop driving
Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) told owners of the best-selling SUV in the United States on Thursday to stop driving 2013 model Ford Escape with 1.6-liter engines immediately due to the risk of an engine fire.

I wouldn't call the carpet "major" but the engine fire... yeaaaa.

Only reason I'd call the carpet major is how it's affected blocking the brakes.....
Look what happened with Toyota, or even Audi with their "run away cars"

I experienced the brake / carpet issue during the test drive of the escape.
Needless to say we left pretty quick after returning to the dealer.

Now is the time to buy a Ford Escape as Ford will be offering great incentives.

It's ironic, I'm a proud and happy Mazda CX-5 owner, with some brand new Ford Stock I'm having second guesses about....aye yaye yaye.....

Lol I'm actually thinking of buying some. They stock is on sale now due to people selling.
It'll go back up.... Look at Toyota.

Look at Apple, it's a stock that has served me well since 2006.

But back to SUV's my preference would be 2013 Escape over Equinox.