Another factor in favor of LED's vs. HID's is the expected life of the "bulbs." Though LED headlights are a fairly recent development, LED's themselves have been used for years. LED's are expected to last 10-20 times longer than HID's and even more than that compared to halogens. Even if you keep the car 10 years, you'll likely never have to replace the headlight "bulbs." LED's do dim a bit with age, but at a slower rate than either HID's or halogens. I had a car with HID's that had a bulb burn out after about three years. It cost about $500 to replace, given the cost of the bulb and the fact the bumper had to be removed to access it. Over the next few years I'd guess LED's will probably replace both halogens and HID's in all but the cheapest vehicles.
2016 Touring Tech Package (US) - Worth it?
- Thread starter mnm
- Start date
boandlkramer
US Specs in Europe
- :
- '17 CX-5 GT AWD; '18 BMW X3
Wanted the LED lights....which defaults to Tech Package. We also wanted the Moonroof, so BOSE package as well.
I got both the Tech and Activesense packages and just love them. Well worth it I think. The led running lights and taillights really look great. Also, the radar cruise control is amazing. We just took a 1,200 mile road trip with our new CX5 Grand Touring and are very please with it on the highway.
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Agreed. I have just started using mrcc now that my car is more broken in and it works very well so far even in moderate traffic.
Touring without packages and grand touring with tech and i-ActiveSense are the only two configurations I considered. If you plan to keep the car a long time and your can fit the price in your budget, it is well worth it.
REDOTTERRICH
Member
- :
- 2016 Mazda CX-5, Titanium Flash, Touring w/Tech
I would concur with the positive comments about the Tech package.
The keyless entry is great - leave the key in my pocket and don't touch until I am getting changed in and out of uniform. It also has auto lock, so the doors will lock shortly after exit. It won't allow you to lock your keys in your car though. Not that it is needed, but it's convenient when I have my daughter in my arms and using the other hand to get out bags or whatever.
The NAV system is pretty reliable. Easy to use and you can search by category of establishment (restaurants, auto stores, malls, etc). The map is easy to read quickly and the voice doesn't talk over the music constantly. It uses the driver side speakers and mutes just those to play the voice. You can adjust the volume of the voice by normal volume control while the voice is speaking and it won't affect the volume of the music. When you are not using the NAV outright, it still will send you a label of the next street upcoming on any screen you are in. Major plus as you can't always see the street sign because of the location or lack of sign. I use this constantly. NAVTEQ is the GPS supplier and it's been reliable. The only drawback is no Real-Time traffic, though I hope this can be a future update. The HD radio provides a real time traffic map, but is delayed 15 min.
The entertainment portion of the Connect system is fairly quick and reliable. Occasionally, if I have my iPhone on Bluetooth AND plugged into USB, it will confuse the system, but it has only happened about two to three times. I will just tell the Connect to use Bluetooth for phone only, and go about my trip. Frankly, the Bose system is the best stock system I have had in any vehicle. It has been much clearer with Treble, Mid, and Bass, and doesn't distort as much as previous systems. I can't say that it is the best, as I haven't had the "best", but I am very pleased with it. The surround sound feature has freaked me out a couple of times when I am caught off-guard and think that something is behind me, but I love it otherwise. The Bluetooth for phone works well.
The AFS system is pretty cool, the headlights change direction well, and the lights do small adjustments in angle when you have heavier load or on a hill. I feel pretty posh for having it in a 29K car. I love the look of the LED system overall. Crisp white/blue and very bright. The reflection off of signs is awesome.
I haven't had to use the Smart City Brake system, so can't comment there.
The rain sensing wipers are convenient; especially when the rain volume changes abruptly.
The auto light feature is pretty fine tuned. My lights won't come on under a quick bridge, and I like that idea. I do wish that if the wipers were moving the headlights would automatically come on no matter how bright it is outside. Some states require headlights when it is raining. Our Dodge Dart (I will never recommend that da*med car) had the wiper/auto light feature and I liked that.
One cool thing is the Connect system is hack-able and it is relatively easy to do (in concept, as I won't do it yet).
Overall, I am very pleased with the Tech package. It is a good lux feel without the ridiculous price. I really hope that the system will have a future update to add the CarPlay system from Apple. It seems like it will be possible.
The keyless entry is great - leave the key in my pocket and don't touch until I am getting changed in and out of uniform. It also has auto lock, so the doors will lock shortly after exit. It won't allow you to lock your keys in your car though. Not that it is needed, but it's convenient when I have my daughter in my arms and using the other hand to get out bags or whatever.
The NAV system is pretty reliable. Easy to use and you can search by category of establishment (restaurants, auto stores, malls, etc). The map is easy to read quickly and the voice doesn't talk over the music constantly. It uses the driver side speakers and mutes just those to play the voice. You can adjust the volume of the voice by normal volume control while the voice is speaking and it won't affect the volume of the music. When you are not using the NAV outright, it still will send you a label of the next street upcoming on any screen you are in. Major plus as you can't always see the street sign because of the location or lack of sign. I use this constantly. NAVTEQ is the GPS supplier and it's been reliable. The only drawback is no Real-Time traffic, though I hope this can be a future update. The HD radio provides a real time traffic map, but is delayed 15 min.
The entertainment portion of the Connect system is fairly quick and reliable. Occasionally, if I have my iPhone on Bluetooth AND plugged into USB, it will confuse the system, but it has only happened about two to three times. I will just tell the Connect to use Bluetooth for phone only, and go about my trip. Frankly, the Bose system is the best stock system I have had in any vehicle. It has been much clearer with Treble, Mid, and Bass, and doesn't distort as much as previous systems. I can't say that it is the best, as I haven't had the "best", but I am very pleased with it. The surround sound feature has freaked me out a couple of times when I am caught off-guard and think that something is behind me, but I love it otherwise. The Bluetooth for phone works well.
The AFS system is pretty cool, the headlights change direction well, and the lights do small adjustments in angle when you have heavier load or on a hill. I feel pretty posh for having it in a 29K car. I love the look of the LED system overall. Crisp white/blue and very bright. The reflection off of signs is awesome.
I haven't had to use the Smart City Brake system, so can't comment there.
The rain sensing wipers are convenient; especially when the rain volume changes abruptly.
The auto light feature is pretty fine tuned. My lights won't come on under a quick bridge, and I like that idea. I do wish that if the wipers were moving the headlights would automatically come on no matter how bright it is outside. Some states require headlights when it is raining. Our Dodge Dart (I will never recommend that da*med car) had the wiper/auto light feature and I liked that.
One cool thing is the Connect system is hack-able and it is relatively easy to do (in concept, as I won't do it yet).
Overall, I am very pleased with the Tech package. It is a good lux feel without the ridiculous price. I really hope that the system will have a future update to add the CarPlay system from Apple. It seems like it will be possible.
boandlkramer
US Specs in Europe
- :
- '17 CX-5 GT AWD; '18 BMW X3
Thus flashing the hi-beam becomes a problem on Bi-Xenon headlights but not on LED low/high beam headlights.
Flash to pass is illegal in my state so not a deal killer for me thereI do know it is hard on HIDs to flash them on and off repeatedly. That should be a moot issue with LEDs. I ran the old stock D2Rs in my '02 Maxima all the time when I had that vehicle. The bulbs would last about 5 years. My '07 G35X has an AFS system as well and those bulbs are on all the time as well. I haven't had a failure yet in 8 years.
BMWs Xenons have an "eyelid" in the light assy that opens all the way for High beams. I thought all we're doing that now? Either way, that method reduces wear and tear as its a mechanical movement and not the light flicking to high and low beams.
Anyway, I'm just glad to be getting this on my 2016 CX-5. I hate, HATE incandescent lights.
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Keyless entry is available in the Touring without any package, so is the NAV system (when you get the NAV SD card), Bluetooth/USB, all part of the Connect system. All are available on the Touring without any package.
RE: Keyless entry, my wife's key is always in deep in her purse and she like the feature a lot. However, this means that if a passenger (without the key) is next to the door first, he now has to wait until my wife arrives, or wait for her to dig-up the key. So, not only positive there.
Everybody is entitled to make their own decisions, though IMHO AFS is not worth the extra money. I also completely don't get the LED light fad, but this is at least something which has some useful traits (better lighting) though perhaps I am not "seeing the light". I remember one of my dad's cars which had such poor lighting intensity and how much better off we are today. It is funny that people dislike blue-ish (compact) florescents at home and prefer (ugly) yellow incandescent light, but for driving at night things are reversed. All the more reason to think it is just a fad. As an amateur photographer, I prefer either neutral or slightly warm (think sundown, not the same as incandescent light), but for driving, I don't really care that much.
Safety features I think are important and I'd be willing to get, IF I could get them without extra things I don't want/need. It would be nice if a safety package was available even with the Sport trim. However, this is version 1.0 of this system. If I was getting a car today I'd be waiting for 2.0 at the very least.
Not going to debate value but have enjoyed having this feature over the years on my Infiniti. IMO.. it does help in twisty situations in the dark.
IIRC...the Tucker 48 was the first car with anything similar... so far ahead of it's time.
