Took the jaunt down to Wayne, NJ today- had the morning off after seeing and confirming they had over 100 in inventory- apparently they're the biggest dealer in the country- not sure if that's true but they had a crap load of cars- certainly biggest and nicest Mazda dealer I've seen..ANYWHO..
Drove the refreshed 16.5 GT tech first. Very familiar (obviously) quieter than my '14 but that's either all or mostly due to my winter tires I would guess. Reasons for buying would be for more of the same of the '14 that I really enjoy and a great deal but that's another story..
2017 CX-5- eternal blue touring AWD w/preferred but not (I don't think) i-active- sticker was 28,8- forgot to take a pic of it- dammit!
Exterior: Nice from the front, nice color that eternal blue- probably would be my choice as I don't love the machine grey like I imagined...back? eh is it bad if I say girly?
Interior: Visually nicer but mixed bag for me..liked the covering w/the faux swede inserts but the padding- soft- not terrible but definitely less firm than gen 1. Dash layout looks nice-modern chic..wheel looks and maybe feels a touch nicer. Gauge hood now intrudes on forward vision though..annoying!! Rear seat is better for sure- reclines and vents in the back of center console. Cargo- visually not as big a diff as expected but the load floor is noticeably higher- not a big deal (for me at least.) Bose stereo test- meh (little better maybe)- def sounded better in rear seat nearer the sub!
Driving: Familiar (still) ride is a bit softer (good I guess) but handling felt somewhat compromised- nothing more than seat of the pants so please take that fwiw but jerking the wheel slightly @55 resulted in bit more of a loosey goosey motion than I recall. Now that I think of it that's probably more a tire thing which btw are A36 now for 19s. Steering also felt light- especially so at low speeds- again nothing terrible or night and day about the driving experience just seemed like there was a layer of fluff albeit thin- to me its there and again this is not such a bad thing. As for noise I wasn't at highway speed long enough quite honestly- (my bad) but I did drive 3 cars and my time was somewhat limited. Head up display on the gt which I drove next was certainly better than plexiglass solution but I don't think I'd pony up to get it- or even a gt maybe- wheels underwhelming at best- 16s are better looking all day long. Acceleration- no perceivable difference.
Summary: I don't know whether to say sorry to those waiting/chomping to get a taste of the new one or congrats to those who got late gen 1 examples- either would be unfair both because my time in each wasn't enough and everyone's tastes and priorities are different. For me if I can score a sweetie 16.5 gt tech that's where my enthusiast brain would lead me. The fact that he got closer to my number on the '17 touring w/preferred at this point in time, diesel on the way, tells me I should probably keep the powder dry. Did I miss something? Any questions?
Drove the refreshed 16.5 GT tech first. Very familiar (obviously) quieter than my '14 but that's either all or mostly due to my winter tires I would guess. Reasons for buying would be for more of the same of the '14 that I really enjoy and a great deal but that's another story..
2017 CX-5- eternal blue touring AWD w/preferred but not (I don't think) i-active- sticker was 28,8- forgot to take a pic of it- dammit!
Exterior: Nice from the front, nice color that eternal blue- probably would be my choice as I don't love the machine grey like I imagined...back? eh is it bad if I say girly?
Interior: Visually nicer but mixed bag for me..liked the covering w/the faux swede inserts but the padding- soft- not terrible but definitely less firm than gen 1. Dash layout looks nice-modern chic..wheel looks and maybe feels a touch nicer. Gauge hood now intrudes on forward vision though..annoying!! Rear seat is better for sure- reclines and vents in the back of center console. Cargo- visually not as big a diff as expected but the load floor is noticeably higher- not a big deal (for me at least.) Bose stereo test- meh (little better maybe)- def sounded better in rear seat nearer the sub!
Driving: Familiar (still) ride is a bit softer (good I guess) but handling felt somewhat compromised- nothing more than seat of the pants so please take that fwiw but jerking the wheel slightly @55 resulted in bit more of a loosey goosey motion than I recall. Now that I think of it that's probably more a tire thing which btw are A36 now for 19s. Steering also felt light- especially so at low speeds- again nothing terrible or night and day about the driving experience just seemed like there was a layer of fluff albeit thin- to me its there and again this is not such a bad thing. As for noise I wasn't at highway speed long enough quite honestly- (my bad) but I did drive 3 cars and my time was somewhat limited. Head up display on the gt which I drove next was certainly better than plexiglass solution but I don't think I'd pony up to get it- or even a gt maybe- wheels underwhelming at best- 16s are better looking all day long. Acceleration- no perceivable difference.
Summary: I don't know whether to say sorry to those waiting/chomping to get a taste of the new one or congrats to those who got late gen 1 examples- either would be unfair both because my time in each wasn't enough and everyone's tastes and priorities are different. For me if I can score a sweetie 16.5 gt tech that's where my enthusiast brain would lead me. The fact that he got closer to my number on the '17 touring w/preferred at this point in time, diesel on the way, tells me I should probably keep the powder dry. Did I miss something? Any questions?
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