So, umm, the car hunt, I dunno

dougal said:
I have uno blocked so I generally don't see his stuff, but since you quoted him I saw this. Mazda does not have a reputation like Fiat in the USA. Again, BS from the same crowd. You will have people complain that they are loud and that they were owned by ford but that is about it. Nothing like Fiat or heck, like ford.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they kindof do. They were "crappy fords" back when "ford sucked". They got all the junk from Ford, and Ford played with their rotary engine and never put it in anything and eventually Mazda became independent again. Noone I know views Mazda as good or reliable who was "into cars" in the late 90's-early 2000's. Mazda as "a reliable, good choice" is a very "new" thing.

2007130a.gif


Vs. Now

2017-jd-power-vds-chart-1.jpg


FIAT is NEARLY EXACTLY where Mazda was a decade ago, just like I said. Argue it all you want, Mazda had a crap reputation, and they are kindof doing better, now, and their reputation has subsequently improved. So...if you have an argument to make with me, why don't you make it with numbers? Or is that why you blocked me...more emotional than logical. Yep. We clash.
 
Last edited:
Final thoughts, and conclusion.

First, the cars. The Malibu is a legit, good car. It drove well, gets good mileage and performs decently. I stopped by a lot to look at colors yesterday and I was impressed by all of them (the chevy site doesn't do pepperdust justice). On the way back though, I took a back road, pretty narrow in parts. It's not like the Malibu couldn't do it, it would just be harder. Plus, half my backup space was taken away in my slot yesterday by a pavement job at the complex. The Mazda backed up, with a wall on the right, did a 3-point turn, and I went on my way. The Malibu, not gonna happen. And, while I have zero need for AWD, I still get my car on dirt, sometimes carry things, etc.

Onto the 2017 CX5. What am I getting? Yes, it's quieter and more refined, yes this would be a GT vs my Touring, so leather, safety, some other things, but is it enough? And, there are negatives. I think my version looks better. It gets better gas mileage. It corners and accelerates better. It just jars the crap out of me. So, is it worth $30,000 on a new CX-5?

It is not. Ironically, I'm not certain that a Nissan Rogue in't a better fit for me than the Mazda. Not troll bait, sincere given the quite ride. I don't think it's a remotely better car though.

Is the Malibu the right car?

It is not.

So, instead, I'm going to put new tires on it (Michelin Defender, Goodyear Comfortred, Continental has a well reviewed tire, or something like them) and see what happens. I expect it to help, but not a lot. If it's not enough I'll find a car audio place and drop a thousand plus on noise dampening material.

If it works, great, if not I'll hang around for 2018 and see what the new model year brings. And who knows, maybe someone will do something screaming to get rid of the 2017's and I still wind up in a Malibu, or I grab the annual get rid of last years car deals that will happen on the CX-5, or the diesel in a few months.

Right now though, gonna go buy me some new tires.
 
Last edited:
dyingquail said:
⋯ Right now though, gonna go buy me some new tires.
Click to expand...
Make sure to check General AltiMAX RT43 tires out for your Touring - highly recommend ⋯

yrwei52 said:
If you didn't have similar problems before the tire replacement, I believe you have a defected Firestone Destination LE2 tire. But if you'd like to change to other tires, here are partial lists of 225/65R17 tires in different categories for your comparison. Personally I believe T-rated Continental CrossContact LX20 Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season tire is fine and should be much better than O.E. Yokohama Geolandar G91A Light Truck Highway All-Season tire. But since the top speed for our CX-5 is 120 mph, I'd stay with at least H-rated tires as T-rated tires are designed for the top speed of 118 mph.

Light Truck Highway All-Season Tires:


Tire

Size

UTQG		Maximum
Inflation
Pressure

Tread
Depth

Tire
Weight

Warranty

Price*
Yokohama Geolandar G91AP225/65R17
100H		280 B A44 psi10/32"26 lbs.OEM - None$200.55
- TR
Michelin Defender LTX M/S225/65R17
102H		720 A A44 psi10.5/32"29 lbs.70,000 Miles
6 Years		$154.97
- TR
Firestone Destination LE2225/65R17
102H		520 A B44 psi12/32"28 lbs.60,000 Miles
5 Years		$125.45
- TR

Grand/Standard Touring All-Season Tires:


Tire

Size

UTQG		Maximum
Inflation
Pressure

Tread
Depth

Tire
Weight

Warranty

Price*
Continental TrueContact225/65R17
102T		800 A B44 psi11/32"24.3 lbs.90,000 Miles
6 Years		$113.56
- TR
General AltiMAX RT43225/65R17
102H		700 A A51 psi11/32"24.3 lbs.65,000 Miles
6 Years		$100.25
- TR

Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season Tires:


Tire

Size

UTQG		Maximum
Inflation
Pressure

Tread
Depth

Tire
Weight

Warranty

Price*
Pirelli Scorpion Verde
All Season Plus		225/65R17
102H		740 A A44 psi11/32"28 lbs.65,000 Miles$131.50
- TR
Continental CrossContact
LX20		225/65R17
102T		740 A B57 psi12/32"27.7 lbs.70,000 Miles
6 Years		$122.45
- TR

XL = Extra Load
TR = TireRack.com

Performance Category Rank from TireRack.com:

Highway All-Season Tires:
Michelin Defender LTX M/S - #1 out of 32
Firestone Destination LE2 - #3 out of 32
Yokohama Geolandar G91A - #24 out of 32

Grand Touring All-Season Tires:
General AltiMAX RT43 - #5 out of 41

Standard Touring All-Season Tires:
Continental TrueContact - #1 out of 20

Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season Tires:
Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus - #2 out of 21
Continental CrossContact LX20 - #5 out of 21
Click to expand...
 
Unobtanium said:
Yeah, they kindof do. They were "crappy fords" back when "ford sucked". They got all the junk from Ford, and Ford played with their rotary engine and never put it in anything and eventually Mazda became independent again. Noone I know views Mazda as good or reliable who was "into cars" in the late 90's-early 2000's. Mazda as "a reliable, good choice" is a very "new" thing.

2007130a.gif


Vs. Now

2017-jd-power-vds-chart-1.jpg


FIAT is NEARLY EXACTLY where Mazda was a decade ago, just like I said. Argue it all you want, Mazda had a crap reputation, and they are kindof doing better, now, and their reputation has subsequently improved. So...if you have an argument to make with me, why don't you make it with numbers? Or is that why you blocked me...more emotional than logical. Yep. We clash.
Click to expand...

Totally.

Some don't even realize Ford is gone from Mazda. I've been hit with that line while asking, "why did you buy a Mazda?!".

I can tell you one thing, I didn't buy it because Ford is around, I would've even have considered Zoom Zooming if so...
 
Sounds like in the end you weren't actually ready to by a new vehicle out of necessity. That is fine by the way.

When the time actually comes, there will be newer vehicles with more features and technology out there than there are now and hopefully you will be able to choose the right one that answers all your needs.

Sent from my SM-T805Y using Tapatalk
 
Xeler8ing said:
Sounds like in the end you weren't actually ready to by a new vehicle out of necessity. That is fine by the way.

When the time actually comes, there will be newer vehicles with more features and technology out there than there are now and hopefully you will be able to choose the right one that answers all your needs.
Click to expand...

And, actually, I can upgrade the stereo and get Apple Play, something I wouldn't have had with a 2017.

Now, I just gotta get the damn thing quiet.
 
dyingquail said:
And, actually, I can upgrade the stereo and get Apple Play, something I wouldn't have had with a 2017.

Now, I just gotta get the damn thing quiet.
Click to expand...
If Apple carplay is important to you then fair enough.

Tires alone won't do the job. You need proper insulation everywhere to make it quiet not to mention thicker windows, better seals etc.

Sent from my SM-T805Y using Tapatalk
 
Xeler8ing said:
If Apple carplay is important to you then fair enough.

Tires alone won't do the job. You need proper insulation everywhere to make it quiet not to mention thicker windows, better seals etc.

Sent from my SM-T805Y using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Not to mention fluid filled bushings.

Sent from my ASUS_Z012D using Tapatalk
 
I need to drive a 17 so I can understand these noise issues. I don't think my car is noisy at all.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
I'll have to see on the tires. I ordered Continental TrueContact. #2 on CR and #1 at TireRack for noise and comfort. It shouldn't hurt as I'm still OEM tires at 45,000 miles. They've got tread but it's low enough that I don't mind replacing them.

I figure I'll have to soundproof, and if that comes true, I'll pay someone to do it. I don't mind replacing the radio, it looks easy, but soundproofing is a bigger job, a lot more things to remove and break.
 
7eregrine said:
I need to drive a 17 so I can understand these noise issues. I don't think my car is noisy at all.
Click to expand...

I'm convinced that it's not relevant from one person to the next. My father barely hears the noise, of course he's 86. Driving around the city it's fine. At idle it's really quiet. Put it on the right freeway and it's good too. Get it on some old concrete with a side wind, it's noisy as can be, which is my commute. I'm also more sensitive to noise than most.
 
Did they make changes in NVH between a 13 and a 16? One of the things that stuck out to me was how noisy the CX-5 was back in 2013
 
dyingquail said:
I'll have to see on the tires. I ordered Continental TrueContact. #2 on CR and #1 at TireRack for noise and comfort. It shouldn't hurt as I'm still OEM tires at 45,000 miles. They've got tread but it's low enough that I don't mind replacing them.

I figure I'll have to soundproof, and if that comes true, I'll pay someone to do it. I don't mind replacing the radio, it looks easy, but soundproofing is a bigger job, a lot more things to remove and break.
Click to expand...

Be careful - trying to soundproof it may cost you alot of $$$ considering the car is a few years old.

Dimcorner said:
Did they make changes in NVH between a 13 and a 16? One of the things that stuck out to me was how noisy the CX-5 was back in 2013
Click to expand...


Yes but didn't make that much of a difference.
 
dyingquail said:
I'm convinced that it's not relevant from one person to the nex.
Click to expand...

Yea. I was on the freeway today and at one point sealed up all the windows and turned off the radio. Drove for like 5 minutes on a smooth freeway. I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I may test drive a 17 this week. Taking my car in for first oil change.



Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
7eregrine said:
Yea. I was on the freeway today and at one point sealed up all the windows and turned off the radio. Drove for like 5 minutes on a smooth freeway. I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I may test drive a 17 this week. Taking my car in for first oil change.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

You drove on a smooth freeway, of course there won't be as much noise.

Try driving on a concrete freeway or roads that have older asphalt and then you will notice the noise.

Our freeways & roads are substandard so its much more noticeable. I get it in my Mazda6 and that was supposed to have improved noise suppression for my 2015 model year.
 
dyingquail said:
I'll have to see on the tires. I ordered Continental TrueContact. #2 on CR and #1 at TireRack for noise and comfort. It shouldn't hurt as I'm still OEM tires at 45,000 miles. They've got tread but it's low enough that I don't mind replacing them.
Click to expand...
IMO the drawbacks on 225/65R17 102T Continental TrueContact tire for CX-5 is it's T rated not H rated; and it has 44 psi maximum inflation pressure instead of 51 psi. As for rankings, Tire Rack has TrueContact categorized as "Standard Touring" but General AltiMAX RT43 is in "Grand Touring". So the rankings for noise and comfort are hard to compare between the two. But in theory Grand Touring tires are quieter and smoother than Standard Touring tires.
 
Dimcorner said:
Did they make changes in NVH between a 13 and a 16? One of the things that stuck out to me was how noisy the CX-5 was back in 2013
Click to expand...

Mazda claims to improve NVH on each subsequent models. They have a template for new features each model year and NVH improvement is a default. They will keep improving NVH long after the aliens invade and take over planet earth.

And whats up with people coming to forums and not wanting to encounter conflicting views? Imo one Unob screen shot of 9 mpg @ 90 miles / h per quarter is enough for him to be one of my fav. posters. I love all here.
 
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