I was surprised to read that the suspension of the CX-5 was revamped for 2016. Does anyone know whether there are discernible differences?
It was mentioned in 2016 Mazda CX-5 pricing announcement during the press release:Noise reduction, yes - I read that before. But I hadn't heard about suspension tweaks.
Curious about changes... typically to the softer scale as model year/same generation progresses
Suspension feels slightly better, it was already very good though.
Good review. I am a bit surprised they picked on the cloth seats. I currently don't own a CX-5 but have driven one as a rental a few times with the cloth seating. The seats seemed fine to me. I would also think, but don't know for sure, that the basic underlying foam materials that are used in the cloth seats would also be used in the leather seats so I am not sure the leather seats would be dramatically different as far as comfort goes.
Mazda tweaked it for better ride and handling but I don't have the specifics on it. What I do know is that sound insulation was added in some areas to help with wind and road noise.
"Feels slightly better" is subjective and therefore nebulous.
Is it softer or firmer?
Main difference I feel is the car is more composed over rougher roads, certainly quieter, which again, is quite surprising since I moved to the larger wheel. This could suggest that the suspension is softer, I need to see if the body roll is more or less once I get a chance to push it a bit more.
Unobtanium did say: "Larger tires will make a vehicle ride smoother on rough roads, assuming similar/same sidewall aspect." So there is no conflict here with your statement. But for CX-5, 19" tires are not necessary larger on total diameter than 17" tires as 19" tires have lower profile aspect. Hence the 19" tires on CX-5 would expect a rougher ride than 17" tires like you said.Not sure why you would say larger tires would make a vehicle smoother knowing that on the CX5 the 17" have a 65 profile and the 19" have a 50. Obviously if the aspect was the same the large tire would be smoother, but that's not the case here.
Hence I would expect a slightly rougher ride on the 19"s. It's hard to tell and not really that important to me as the roads here are very smooth, I got the 19" just for the looks.
Ha! I was surprised too that I couldn't find any real-world MPG data in this Long-Term Review on CX-5 as normally Motor Trend does provide its real-world MPG for car reviews. (uhm)Amazing how at NO point do they tell us what kind of MPG they get. All I see is "The EPA rates at...", lol. WTF?! A LTR with NO mileage reports (I clicked also on the Road Trip, and the Fill Ups section, linked at the bottom, as well. Would it have been another place besides those two, or the summary?)? Such fail, Motor Trend. Such fail. Considering its purpose, that is one of the most important things about the vehicle. It kindof caused me to discard the rest of the article as "out of touch".
Ha! I was surprised too that I couldn't find any real-world MPG data in this Long-Term Review on CX-5 as normally Motor Trend does provide its real-world MPG for car reviews. (uhm)