Honda convert: New Mazada 2016 CX5 GT Owner here..

Just got a 2016 Mazda CX5 GT, traded in my 2014 Honda CR-V.

My last 3 cars have been Hondas and honestly I've been hesitant to give up the reliability and resale, and although the 2014 was a very solid car, it started getting little squeaks and rattles after 8 months and I sort of fell out of love with it. looking back now I can see that although it might have high reliability, it's actually a pretty bland car.

I also realized there were a lot of new tech gadgets that were available on newer cars, such as the CX5, so I did lots of online research and visited the Mazda dealership to checkout the CX5. At first I was going to pass on the CX5 because the infotainment aspect was really important to me and the 2015 version had gotten pretty beaten up in the press. Also, I'd read more than a few reviews from customers who were very unhappy about lots of little things not working correctly, or breaking, even in an almost brand new car.

But then my Mazda dealership called a few days later and said "Guess what, we just got in our very first 2016 with the Mazda Connect infotainment system (and lots of other improvements), and you really should give it a chance". So off I went.

My very, very first impression was that it was much more attractive on the outside than the Honda, but it wasn't as refined on the inside. But then I took a test drive and spent a long just sitting in the cabin and testing this and trying that, and evenutally I determined that it was refined, but in its own way. The Mazda and the Honda have totally different personalities and you sort of have to consider each on its own.

After another test drive I was realizing that I was really enjoying driving the car. And although the Honda was a nice ride, it was sort of like driving a marshmallow by comparison. I'd forgotten that it can actually be fun to drive.

Fast forward 5 hours and I drove out of there with the new Mazda, leaving the Honda in their used car lot. I've had it for three days now and so far I'm very pleased with it. It's developed a little bit of an interior rubbing noise on the driver side door, when going over bumps. I hope this works itself out. Apart from that I have to say I am really liking the car a lot. I love all the techno gadgets, from the LED headlights to the infotatinment system (which has worked flawlessly so far) to the blind spot monitoring and the headlights that turn with the car. This sounds very "squishy" but somehow I'm connecting emotionally with this car in a way that I never did with any of my Honda's. Sort of like the feeling I got in high school with my very first car (although that's been more than 35 years ago .

I'm praying to the car gods that the Mazda doesn't disappoint - that it remains solid and reliable and doesn't have to go to the shop except for oil changes

I would love to hear if that's been your experience - whether you drive a 14, 15 or 16!

Michael

Zoom-Zoom

Awesome read. That is the Mazda experience at its core.

I posted this the day after I got my new ride. It seems we have similar emotions regarding this car.

So I just put her through the paces a bit. There is a road in my backyard called Trabuco Canyon Road. It's very popular with motorcycle owners (past Indian owner myself) b/c it largely resembles an S with beautiful trees over hanging. There is a biker bar called Cooks Corner at an intersection at the beginning/end of the road depending on which way you are going. Anyways I got loose on that road tonight. Now I've been driving pick up trucks almost all my life and I'm 44. I rented a late model Corvette last year for a trip up the 1 to Monterey. Decided then and there I wanted a sports car b4 I get too old to enjoy it so I'm tracking the Tesla Model 3 but that's another story.

All I can say is that this CX-5 was a BLAST on that road! My wife said She felt like she was 20 again. I was hugging those curves, crossing over lanes, gunning it on the straight aways etc...I was pushing the limits of my driving ability which I'm sure isn't much but I was coasting in to curves, accelerating half way through etc...Anyway I never anticipated an SUV could handle like that, although I admittedly have little to compare it to. We removed the headrests, folded the seats down, opened the moonroof and layed in the in the back for a while out in the "forest" and really just enjoyed the experience. It was awesome.

Bob-Loblaw said:

I posted this the day after I got my new ride. It seems we have similar emotions regarding this car.

So I just put her through the paces a bit. There is a road in my backyard called Trabuco Canyon Road. It's very popular with motorcycle owners (past Indian owner myself) b/c it largely resembles an S with beautiful trees over hanging. There is a biker bar called Cooks Corner at an intersection at the beginning/end of the road depending on which way you are going. Anyways I got loose on that road tonight. Now I've been driving pick up trucks almost all my life and I'm 44. I rented a late model Corvette last year for a trip up the 1 to Monterey. Decided then and there I wanted a sports car b4 I get too old to enjoy it so I'm tracking the Tesla Model 3 but that's another story.

All I can say is that this CX-5 was a BLAST on that road! My wife said She felt like she was 20 again. I was hugging those curves, crossing over lanes, gunning it on the straight aways etc...I was pushing the limits of my driving ability which I'm sure isn't much but I was coasting in to curves, accelerating half way through etc...Anyway I never anticipated an SUV could handle like that, although I admittedly have little to compare it to. We removed the headrests, folded the seats down, opened the moonroof and layed in the in the back for a while out in the "forest" and really just enjoyed the experience. It was awesome.

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If you get some wider tires, you can feel out the AWD and enter those curves at wot and upshift the exit for a nice result (pavement)

michaelveloz said:

I'm praying to the car gods that the Mazda doesn't disappoint - that it remains solid and reliable and doesn't have to go to the shop except for oil changes

I would love to hear if that's been your experience - whether you drive a 14, 15 or 16!

Michael

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Mine's an "ancient" 2013, LOL! But all it's needed so far is oil changes. Runs like a Swiss watch.

Have a 2014 with 26750 miles on it and although it's my wife's car I enjoy driving it as it handles very well for an SUV. This was our first Mazda and my youngest son just bought his first new car, a 2015 Mazda 3 hatchback that has the new entertainment system which is a huge improvement. Mazda after years of being under Fords thumb is finally coming into its own and making the necessary improvements needed to lure in new customers. Congrats on your 2016, as Mike stated these cars run like a Swiss watch, enjoy.

Conrgats on the new car.

Mine is 3 days old. There are things that take a while to get used to, but that is happening quickly. The infotainment has been a big plus so far. I come from a V6 Rav4 which was somewhere in the mid 6's for 0-60, so the performance of the CX5 won't ever impress me. "Sport" mode is utterly useless unless you want to cruise around at 3k+ RPM all the time. It also has snows so I have not had a chance to really see how it handles.

So far though, I think I am really going to like this car. It's very comfortable, reasonably quite and a great stereo. I have really enjoyed my drives to work!!

... I just wish it wasn't absolutely filthy already. Damn Ontario winters

Congrats!

Chris_Top_Her said:

If you get some wider tires, you can feel out the AWD and enter those curves at wot and upshift the exit for a nice result (pavement)

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Thanks man but unfortunately mine is fwd. I'm waiting for the Tesla Model 3 Performance for my AWD sport car. Some are speculating the performance version will be a direct competitor to the M3.

Mazda_Since91 said:

Awesome read. That is the Mazda experience at its core.

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Definitely agree with this as well.

My fiance's sister bought a '14 CRV around the same time I bought my '14 CX5 and I got to drive the CRV a good amount (a few road trips from San Diego to LA) and the CRV was just missing that special something that the CX5 had. I've always been a driving enthusiast, so maybe I was more particular about the driving experience, but the CRV just felt so bland and boring. I loved the functionality and utility of the CRV's interior though.

As much as I wanted to love the CRV and try to get myself try something else after a lifetime of Mazda ownership (MPV, Protege5, Miata)....I just could not get myself to do it.

Consumer Reports latest annual autos issue showed that Mazda's reliability has been pretty stellar and it seems like there are plenty of owners here, including myself, who haven't had any major problems with their cars, just the occasional squeak or rattle.

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the Mazda family!

michaelveloz said:

I've been hesitant to give up the reliability and resale

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I don't think resale is something you can "give up"
You take advantage of it by selling/trading in the car before the wheels fall off, which is what you did.

For curiosity's sake, if don't mind, could you share the price you paid for you CRV, the trade in value and the mileage at trade in?

piotrek91 said:

I don't think resale is something you can "give up"
You take advantage of it by selling/trading in the car before the wheels fall off, which is what you did.

For curiosity's sake, if don't mind, could you share the price you paid for you CRV, the trade in value and the mileage at trade in?

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I prize reliability more than resale as I keep my cars for at least 10 years. IMO the CX-5 is going to hold it's own on resale though.

I too am a former Honda owner, thinking they were "IT" for reliability and resale. But, when I was looking to trade my low mileage 6 year old civic, the local Honda dealers, including the one I bought it from, didn't seem to want to give me near it's trade in value. It took some work to get the Mazda dealer to give me what I wanted, and get the price of the 2015 Touring FWD down to near the TrueCar price, but, we got our numbers close enough that I went for it. I always thought I'd be a Honda owner, but, I guess not when the dealers end up being dicks about my trade in. Suppose I could have sold it myself outright, but, that can be a pain too. I've had my CX5 since early June, still loving it!!

cybercruiser said:

I too am a former Honda owner, thinking they were "IT" for reliability and resale. But, when I was looking to trade my low mileage 6 year old civic, the local Honda dealers, including the one I bought it from, didn't seem to want to give me near it's trade in value. It took some work to get the Mazda dealer to give me what I wanted, and get the price of the 2015 Touring FWD down to near the TrueCar price, but, we got our numbers close enough that I went for it. I always thought I'd be a Honda owner, but, I guess not when the dealers end up being dicks about my trade in. Suppose I could have sold it myself outright, but, that can be a pain too. I've had my CX5 since early June, still loving it!!

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Dealer offered me about half value to trade in my 2006 Civic, laughed at offer and declined. When I went in to sign the purchase papers, they had my Civic buried in the paper work as a trade in. Probably would have lost the Civic if I didn't read every paper put in front of me. I sold Civic myself to the first looker for full value and saved thousands.

I keep seeing these commercials for CarMax, that they will buy your car, even if you don't buy theirs. I wonder if they'd give more than most stealers will on trade?? Their quotes are good for 7 days, so, could always go to CarMax, get their best price, then see what you an get on trade, you at least have CarMax's quote as a fall back position.

cybercruiser said:

I keep seeing these commercials for CarMax, that they will buy your car, even if you don't buy theirs. I wonder if they'd give more than most stealers will on trade?? Their quotes are good for 7 days, so, could always go to CarMax, get their best price, then see what you an get on trade, you at least have CarMax's quote as a fall back position.

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I had an 02 Jetta GLS when I got my CX-5. CarMax offered $1,200 for the Jetta. My husband sold it on craigslist less than two days later for $2,800, which was closer to the KBB value at the time. CarMax's offer was low because they were going to sell it at auction, not on the lot. The experience was good at CarMax, just far from where I live.

Cis4 said:

I had an 02 Jetta GLS when I got my CX-5. CarMax offered $1,200 for the Jetta. My husband sold it on craigslist less than two days later for $2,800, which was closer to the KBB value at the time. CarMax's offer was low because they were going to sell it at auction, not on the lot. The experience was good at CarMax, just far from where I live.

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+1. I went to Carmax to see what they'd give me for my 2005 Mazda Tribute with 125k miles in good condition. They offered me $1,500 and I laughed my way out. I turned around and sold it privately for $4,750. Almost 140k now and still running strong, no issues.

wow, I had a much different experience with CarMax. It was December '13 and the wife and I were about to pull the trigger on the CX-5. We were selling my '03 Honda Accord 2dr v6 6M with 130k miles, and the most any dealership would offer was $2k. Went to CarMax and within 20 minutes we had an offer of $4k. Done deal.

Wait till the motor really breaks in after 7500 miles. I've never experienced such a noticeable improvement in perceived acceleration as much as I have with Skyactiv motors. I'm on my second one now. The first one was a 2013 Sport auto with the 2.0-liter engine. Gas mileage numbers are impressive with my 2.5 but the 2.0 was the gas mileage champ. I remember when I test drove my first CX5 back in 2012 and took it into a high speed corner that I was familiar with. Compared to my Tundra it felt like it was glued to the Tarmac like a taught sport sedan. That day smashed my belief I had that small SUV's couldn't handle corners as well as it did. It's still no real sports car but it's got to be one of the best handling (feel wise) small SUV's in its class and I'd say it can hold its own even compared to common sedans of which the Mazda 6 competes with.