is the CX-5 a feminine car?

Who is the priamary driver of your CX-5

  • female

    Votes: 15 11.1%

  • male

    Votes: 76 56.3%

  • both male and female (if half of the time a male drives and the other half female)

    Votes: 43 31.9%

  • don't know (this includes people who are confused about what they are)

    Votes: 1 0.7%
  • Total voters
    135
P

piotrek91

Member
:
2013 CX-5 6MT
My cousin from Poland was shocked to find out how little I paid for my CX-5. (my CX-5 cost me 22780 OTD including financing costs, while in Poland a base model CX-5 is ~30k)

So, I went over to the Mazda Poland website to check out the pricing, and I stumbled upon a couple of awards that the CX-5 won in Poland:

"Samochd dla Dziewczyny Playboya 2012, Playboy"
Which translates to:
"Car for Playgirl, Playboy Magazine 2012"

and

Kobiecy Samochd Roku 2012, Twj Styl
which translates to:
"Woman's car of the year 2012, Your Style Magazine"


source:
http://www.mazda.pl/showroom/cx-5/nagrody/

As a 26YO male, should I be concerned that people are going to make fun of me driving such a feminine car!? Should I trade it in for something more manly?

























(jk.. I love my CX-5 and don't care at all if it won some awards in Poland)
 
My wife WANTED the CX-5, because it looked mean!


Why I'll never buy a Subaru again: "Love. It's what makes a Subaru a Subaru." ...
 
it looks extra mean with the dented hatch.
I saw in another thread that you traded it for a 2014. congrats!
 
deepfriedsushi said:
Man...my cars are girly...

Miata + CX5....lol
Click to expand...

I'm guessing the manly p5 in your avatar got replaced by the CX-5? :)
I had a p5 b4 the cx-5 (p5 got totaled after a fender bended on the freeway.. not my fault) but the CX-5 is way faster, handles much better and uses less gas!
 
Yea, my moderately modded P5 got returned to stock and went to my sister. I had a cold air intake, racing beat axle back muffler, msp rear sway bar, eibach prokit and tokico hp suspension and rung it's automagic transmission out on numerous track days. =)

VP3_1961.jpg


CX5 is an awesome upgrade. Gas tank is pretty much the same size, fuel economy and range are much better. Way more fast. Way more space. Way more quiet and refined too. As for handling...the p5 was pretty sweet the way I had it set up. But for a compact SUV, the CX5's handling is WAY better than it really has to be, so it's always fun to explore that and be amazed at how high the threshold for stability control is.
 
Always loved the P5, along with the MP3 and MSP. Amazing econobox chassis and I even think the MP3 completely murdered the 360 Modena in a magazine slalom test. Very underrated cars.
 
I found the stock p5 to under-steer quite a bit, while the CX-5 stays planted at much higher speeds. With your mods, I'm sure the under-steer wasn't an issue.
I think with the CX-5 they were able to get away with very neutral handling and rely on the stability control to keep the car safe (that's why we can't turn it off)

I haven't pushed my CX-5 anywhere near where the stability control would kick in (except for e-break turns in the snow).. heck I've only had the traction control kick in a few times(once in third gear passing a bus on a snow covered hill, and a few times making a quick right turn).

I am toying around with the idea of taking the CX-5 to an autocross when my tires get bald and need replacement to see what it can do on a closed course.

edit: Just noticed your P5 was automatic as well.. mine had the sport-shift, I ALWAYS shifted using the manual mode for the fun and control that it provided. The car was still in excellent condition after 160k, except for some warm-up cat issues (p0421) that I "resolved" with a resistor, capacitor and a soldering iron.
 
Last edited:
deepfriedsushi said:
Man...my cars are girly...

Miata + CX5....lol
Click to expand...

and as fun as can be. I test drove a Miata and couldn't pry the smile off my face. Unfortunately, I already had a 'fun' car in the garage and couldn't justify or park another.


piotrek91 said:
I found the stock p5 to under-steer quite a bit,
Click to expand...

We had a P5 and I found that to be true until I switched to the Continental DWS tires. The prior Pirelli and BF Goodrich tires were a bit scary on the tight roads with it not seeming to turn nearly as much as I wanted it to. With the DWS tires I warped the rotors a bit taking backroads from Napa to Woodland it was so much fun.

and to answer the question posed in the thread:
th
 
CX-5 seems to appeal to both boys and girls, no surprise to me. The concern over feminine cars is amusing still.

I had a white/tan 94 Miata, followed by a 96 white/tan Mustang GT convertible (both had nearly same color combos and equipment configs., both used primarily as weekend cars). My wife preferred the Mustang GT convertible and commented once that the GT was more of a masculine car, so that was her 2 cents regarding those cars.
 
piotrek91 said:
As a 26YO male, should I be concerned that people are going to make fun of me driving such a feminine car!? Should I trade it in for something more manly?
Click to expand...

Truly manly men don't need to worry about appearances.

But I can think of better cars for guys who think they are lacking in the "manliness" department.
 
piotrek91 said:
I found the stock p5 to under-steer quite a bit, while the CX-5 stays planted at much higher speeds. With your mods, I'm sure the under-steer wasn't an issue.
I think with the CX-5 they were able to get away with very neutral handling and rely on the stability control to keep the car safe (that's why we can't turn it off)

I haven't pushed my CX-5 anywhere near where the stability control would kick in (except for e-break turns in the snow).. heck I've only had the traction control kick in a few times(once in third gear passing a bus on a snow covered hill, and a few times making a quick right turn).

I am toying around with the idea of taking the CX-5 to an autocross when my tires get bald and need replacement to see what it can do on a closed course.

edit: Just noticed your P5 was automatic as well.. mine had the sport-shift, I ALWAYS shifted using the manual mode for the fun and control that it provided. The car was still in excellent condition after 160k, except for some warm-up cat issues (p0421) that I "resolved" with a resistor, capacitor and a soldering iron.
Click to expand...

There's one corkscrew right highway entrance. Wide space, tight and technical with a suggested speed of 20 mph if I recall correctly. It goes from one highway to the other, so it is normal to be entering at 50-60mph. Always took this turn aggressively, and I would trail brake nicely into the corkscrew. Decided to do the same on a rainy day (no cars behind or in front), and managed to get the CX-5 pretty damn sideways with a decent amount of counter steer. Very predictable body movements and steering feel. It wasn't long before DSC kicked in and split the ABS hard and threw me back on course. That was the only thing that was not "predictable" and an annoyance even.

Another thing to tried is pull the e-brake ever so slightly to increase bias to the rear while entering a corner or mid corner. It helps with initial understeer. Not talking about super dorifto san e-brake though.


I toyed with slapping on 275/35-18 Toyo R888's (100 tread DOT race compounds) on the CX-5. This was from my RX-8 using Enkei RPF1's 18x9.5 +45's. Keep in mind the tire diameter is significantly smaller than recommended for the CX-5. I was able to take it around the neighborhood. Noticeably better take off with the smaller diameter and lighter weight. Cornering is quick/sharp and the grip is hilariously satisfying, and that is prior to getting the tires up to heat. Though higher spring rates and MUCH thicker sway bars are a necessity at that point.
 
Last edited:
piotrek91 said:
I found the stock p5 to under-steer quite a bit, while the CX-5 stays planted at much higher speeds. With your mods, I'm sure the under-steer wasn't an issue.
I think with the CX-5 they were able to get away with very neutral handling and rely on the stability control to keep the car safe (that's why we can't turn it off)

edit: Just noticed your P5 was automatic as well.. mine had the sport-shift, I ALWAYS shifted using the manual mode for the fun and control that it provided. The car was still in excellent condition after 160k, except for some warm-up cat issues (p0421) that I "resolved" with a resistor, capacitor and a soldering iron.
Click to expand...

In stock form, the p5 understeered quite a bit. Adding the MSP rear sway bar made it better, but I thought lift off oversteer was kinda snappy and a bit too much. Once I added the eibach prokit and tokico HP's, it made the whole car very neutral with a ton of front end grip and good rotation, but only had a hint of safe understeer when pushed to the max. Sticky tires just made everything better too. The car was so forgiving, I could throw it around the track so easily.

I drove the P5 in manual mode 95% of the time. I didn't like the way the transmission shifted with the cold air intake (took away torque). When I turned the car back to stock with the stock intake box, I realized what I was missing when driving around the city. lol. The CAI was only good on the track or when wringing the engine out. Around town..that extra torque from the stock intake was nice.
 
Anyway...The CX-5 is sporty, sexy and rugged looking. I've never thought of it as feminine at all, but I do tend to get a lot of compliments from females on it, and they seem to be interested in owning one, so who knows? I did have one guy ask about it as well though, and he was considering one.

Either way, it is a car I am happy to own and proud be seen in.
 
So what is wrong seeing a beautiful buxom blond driving a CX5? Looks good to me but, I don't have a problem with my masculinity.:))
 
It is funny, the first weekend we had the CX5 we were leaving a parking lot as a convertible was pulling in with a couple in it. As they went by the woman in the passenger seat lifted her sunglasses and pivoted her head just locked on the CX5. My wife commented "Wow, she was really checking out your car". I answered "Na, she was looking at me. I get that a lot" :p
 
I think one of the reasons the CX-5 has been so popular is that it really appeals to both sexes. Personally when I look at the Toyota RAV4 or Honda CRV I think "mommy-mobile". No doubt men drive them but I get the vibe they were designed to be cross-overs for families and most families I know where they have a family vehicle the mom drives the family car and Dad has something else (I am from Texas so that usually means the dad is driving some big gas guzzling truck).

Anyhow, not to get off topic. If you look at the CX-5 the design is as CX-SV put it "pretty" which appeals to women. But if you look at the front grill and the fact that it sits higher off the ground than some other CUV's it also gives it a bit (not much but just enough) of a rugged look. The sporty aspect of course appeals to both sexes.

I'll be honest, I used to equate the Miata with a woman's car and when I first met my friend who drives a Miata I joked with him about it. I later learned that two co-workers races Miatas and than I made another male friend who had one so after riding in them (not the most comfortable for my height -- 6'4") and being up close to them my opinion on that front has completely changed.
 
From the CX-5's I've seen around I'd say 60-70% were driven by women. But I did have two young guys pass me in a Black Touring the other day when I was making a right out of my complex and they gave me a little honk of the horn and thumbs up as they passed.
 
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