Goodbye CX-5 Sport. Hello Forester XT.

jlx21

Member
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16.5 CX-5
After almost three years, I finally traded in my 2016.5 CX-5 Sport AWD for a CPO 2017 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring.

The CX-5 was a solid, reliable family car that never gave me any problems for 24,000 miles. I enjoyed driving it, but always yearned for more power, and always regretted not getting the Grand Touring trim (or at least Touring).

I've also wanted a Forester 2.0XT ever since 2014, and found a good deal on one at a nearby dealer. I've had a Mazda before (2004 Mazda 3s), and wanted to give Subaru a shot since I've always been a fan of the WRX ever since I was a teenager; the Forester XT has the same direct-injection turbo engine as the WRX.

The new GT-Reserve was also very appealing to me but with a toddler in the family and possibly another on the way, the CX-5 was just too tight in space in the back seat and the doors also don't open wide enough. Mazda also seriously needs to add a panoramic sunroof; it's 2019... Installing a child's convertible seat rear-facing behind the passenger renders the front passenger seat useless unless you're 5'3 or under, and that's pretty unacceptable, especially for a crossover.

Anyway, I've had the Forester for about two weeks now and I must say the Forester beats out the CX-5 in utility (so much more space), and 24-7 AWD is nice. And personal preference - i like the boxier design of the forester better, and i prefer the interior of the forester. the CX-5 interior, even the sport, was nice, but i thought it was rather boring. basically just black and white everywhere with a color LCD screen. tons and tons of power with very limited turbo lag, and the CVT isn't bad at all; quite smooth when you're just driving around and not much drone at all.

The aspects of the CX-5 i miss the most, and where it outshines the Forester: steering feel, handling, and how the pedals feel. sorry, i'm not a car guy and don't know how to explain it, but the CX-5 was really just a pleasure to drive. my only complaint with driving the CX-5 was the loud noise combined with slow acceleration when you really put the gas pedal down.

The Touring model for the Forester is top of the line, so it has the leather, pano sunroof, HK sound, adaptive LED headlights, etc. It feels nice to sit in but it's not that quiet inside. all in all, i probably should've just ponied up the extra money back in 2016 and bought a 2016.5 grand touring, and probably would've kept it for 6-7 years. I already kind of miss the CX-5, and will try to convince my wife to get a 2019 CX-5...
 
No picture? :D
Good luck with it! Sad to see you go to that (imo) ugly Forester. hehehe
I like Subaru though.

One point: you said the CX5 doors don't open wide enough. This was changed in 17 and later and they open almost to a full 90 degrees now.
 
Ha, well, it looks exactly like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmS0cOuihf8

Yeah, i am worried about carbon buildup and it already has 40k miles for a 2017 model. I ended up purchasing an extended bumper-to-bumper warranty for 7 yrs/100k miles to be on the safe side.

Will miss you forum people (especially for the wonderful CR-V vs. CX-5 debates, HAHA). Maybe i'll be back if my wife decides to give the new CX-5 a shot.
 
2.0xt is nice. A good friend had one and drove highway mostly. Cvt died along with ac compressor around late 80k mi. , and that kindof soured me on wanting one, even ifnit was a sample of 1.
 
Cvts suck balls and should all die a painful death..cpo cx9 would've been my (strong)suggestion. XT touring sure its not at all a bad place to be but just not engaging enough to want to drive even with that good motor..shame cause it used to be.
 
Installing a child's convertible seat rear-facing behind the passenger renders the front passenger seat useless unless you're 5'3 or under, and that's pretty unacceptable, especially for a crossover.
Just adding more info to this so we don't scare away potential new CX-5 customers. I don't think it is the height of the person, but the length of their legs that really matters. I am 5'6" and can sit on the front passenger seat, with a Britax Advocate convertible car seat installed in rear facing mode. The Britax Advocate is one of the largest convertible car seats available right now. It is a tight fit, but it was still doable for me. Now if I had to install the same car seat in rear facing mode, behind the driver's seat, that would not have worked.
 
In my CX-5 I have a front facing and rear facing car seat and my wife sits in the middle. But that's because my tiny one was tiny when newborn. I have to give credit to wifey not CX5. I tried doing that and got stuck. not 911 help me stuck but stuck none the less. All family under 200 lbs 5 ft 8 inches should be fine - we don't want a 3 row but CX-9 would have been top of the line. While CX5 outshines everyone in handling / driving the CX-9 literally roflstomps every one by a mile in its segment.
 
Can't fault you for the car seat business. I don't know anything about those, but I can imagine it being a pain.

As for the car itself, Subaru is utilitarian, but I've also found it to be very spartan and in the case of my Mom's Crosstrek, horrendously hard and uncomfortable seats on top of being absolutely dog slow.

CVT is an instant "no" for me.

CX-5 is just pure joy to drive.
 
Can't fault you for the car seat business. I don't know anything about those, but I can imagine it being a pain.

As for the car itself, Subaru is utilitarian, but I've also found it to be very spartan and in the case of my Mom's Crosstrek, horrendously hard and uncomfortable seats on top of being absolutely dog slow.

CVT is an instant "no" for me.

CX-5 is just pure joy to drive.

Everyone I know who actually owned a 2.0XT had no issues with the enjoyment of the CVT, and they were all enthusiasts (modded Miatas, AMG63, etc. among the other vehicles they had).

Please tell me how this sucks compared to your CX5.

I prefer the CX5 Turbo, hence I have one, but the CVT is far from a boring machine in the Forester 2.0XT

It's super easy to get the Forester 2.0XT's pulling low 5's 0-60 and low 14/high 13's in the quarter.
 
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Everyone I know who actually owned a 2.0XT had no issues with the enjoyment of the CVT, and they were all enthusiasts (modded Miatas, AMG63, etc. among the other vehicles they had).


Please tell me how this sucks compared to your CX5.
Don't misread me. I compared to my Mom's Crosstrek which absolutely sucks compared to my CX-5.

Can't speak for their 2.0XT, and I didn't. As for the CVT, hers has one, didn't care for it at all.

And even OP said CX-5 "felt" better.
 
Don't misread me. I compared to my Mom's Crosstrek which absolutely sucks compared to my CX-5.

Can't speak for their 2.0XT, and I didn't. As for the CVT, hers has one, didn't care for it at all.

And even OP said CX-5 "felt" better.

I bet the CX5 feels DIFFERENT, but preference plays a role. Noone I know who had an XT found it boring. Even my friend with the AMG63 CLS's kids preferred riding in "Yoda" (wild, but that's what they preferred). I remain a bit jelly of how fast the thing can easily be made, but I know I wouldn't, because warranty, hence the CX5.
 
I am a Subaru guy, hence my forum name. We had a 2017 Forester XT deal worked out before we bought the CX-5. The engine is great and the power/sounds were reminiscent of my 2013 WRX, but two things prevented us from ultimately pulling the trigger. The front seats which my wife couldn't get comfortable in (she is 5' tall), I personally had no problem. The other was the CVT. It is probably the best CVT I have driven, but we still liked the 6 speed auto in the CX-5 better.

It is a great car and probably the last of it's kind with Subaru...hope you enjoy it!
 
I bet the CX5 feels DIFFERENT, but preference plays a role. Noone I know who had an XT found it boring. Even my friend with the AMG63 CLS's kids preferred riding in "Yoda" (wild, but that's what they preferred). I remain a bit jelly of how fast the thing can easily be made, but I know I wouldn't, because warranty, hence the CX5.
Look, if you think I'm shitting on it or something, I'm not. Subaru is just not my thing, but it has its uses being utilitarian and I can respect that.
 
Can't fault you for the car seat business. I don't know anything about those, but I can imagine it being a pain.

As for the car itself, Subaru is utilitarian, but I've also found it to be very spartan and in the case of my Mom's Crosstrek, horrendously hard and uncomfortable seats on top of being absolutely dog slow.

CVT is an instant "no" for me.

CX-5 is just pure joy to drive.

I would have thought the same as well before I bought my wife's Civic EX-T. I rarely drive it, but this past weekend I had to open it up a bit because a guy would not let me merge on the interstate. I really did not listen to the transmission or dwell on anything other than needing a responsive result and it went (rolling about 65 trying to merge went to 90 fairly quick) That little 1.5 seems to move slightly better than my old CX-5. Other calmer driving and the CVT has not bugged me at all like I thought it would. Mainly because of all the negative comments from driving enthusiasts. Doubt my next vehicle will be CVT. What is currently on the top of my list is dual clutch.
 
I would have thought the same as well before I bought my wife's Civic EX-T. I rarely drive it, but this past weekend I had to open it up a bit because a guy would not let me merge on the interstate. I really did not listen to the transmission or dwell on anything other than needing a responsive result and it went (rolling about 65 trying to merge went to 90 fairly quick) That little 1.5 seems to move slightly better than my old CX-5. Other calmer driving and the CVT has not bugged me at all like I thought it would. Mainly because of all the negative comments from driving enthusiasts. Doubt my next vehicle will be CVT. What is currently on the top of my list is dual clutch.

My neighbor's AMG 43 GLC is a DCT, and it's next level. The slushbox in my CX5 is the best of its kind that I've driven, IMO, but the AMG box is just another animal. It's like comparing the tough-guy in highschool to an international pro-MMA fighter.
 
Look, if you think I'm shitting on it or something, I'm not. Subaru is just not my thing, but it has its uses being utilitarian and I can respect that.

I'm saying it's more than utilitarian. It's the ultimate enthusiasts CUV. If I wanted a CUV solely for "fun", but didn't want to spend Porsche or AMG money, it would be that. All day long.
 
I'm saying it's more than utilitarian. It's the ultimate enthusiasts CUV. If I wanted a CUV solely for "fun", but didn't want to spend Porsche or AMG money, it would be that. All day long.

Meh. Maybe. Also looks like crap in my opinion. Not my favored design.

And I don't know if their seats are any better, but my Mom's Crosstrek is horribly uncomfortable.
 
Meh. Maybe. Also looks like crap in my opinion. Not my favored design.

And I don't know if their seats are any better, but my Mom's Crosstrek is horribly uncomfortable.

Well to be fair, the Crosstek is Subaru*s bottom shelf crossover. Kinda like basing an impression of Mazda*s from the Mazda2.
 
Op here. After about a month of having my XT, I have no complaints about the CVT. I have enjoyed driving the XT, with the exception of driving on very curvy roads. My CX-5 used to carve these roads up in the past with no problem, but in my XT, I really have to take it slow and drive cautiously. Hoping installing a thicker rear sway bar will help.

Biggest difference is the power though and I almost got into two accidents because I was accelerating too quickly and didn't even realize it (could floor it in my CX-5 and not end up going fast, heh).

Looking back, a CX-9 probably would've been a solid choice for me but thought the rear end was hideous and was a bit bigger than I would've liked. I was close to pulling the trigger on a Passport EX-L at 37k but didn't want to pay that much.

All in all, happy with my purchase but absolutely miss driving my CX-5 (was a solid, reliable and fun to drive family car). Listed for sale at the dealer here :(

https://www.atsubaru.net/used/Mazda...ville-pa-99d218f10a0e0a1761fdeb488e085fb8.htm
 
Op here. After about a month of having my XT, I have no complaints about the CVT. I have enjoyed driving the XT, with the exception of driving on very curvy roads. My CX-5 used to carve these roads up in the past with no problem, but in my XT, I really have to take it slow and drive cautiously. Hoping installing a thicker rear sway bar will help.

Biggest difference is the power though and I almost got into two accidents because I was accelerating too quickly and didn't even realize it (could floor it in my CX-5 and not end up going fast, heh).

Looking back, a CX-9 probably would've been a solid choice for me but thought the rear end was hideous and was a bit bigger than I would've liked. I was close to pulling the trigger on a Passport EX-L at 37k but didn't want to pay that much.

All in all, happy with my purchase but absolutely miss driving my CX-5 (was a solid, reliable and fun to drive family car). Listed for sale at the dealer here :(

https://www.atsubaru.net/used/Mazda...ville-pa-99d218f10a0e0a1761fdeb488e085fb8.htm

I mean, you could have bought a CX5 GT-R or Signature...identical hp to the 2.0XT, more torque, no CVT (like it or not, I don't think they are proven as reliable as the SA 6A's), and much better handling.

ETA: Nevermind the reliability thing. <25K miles in 3 years or so, you don't put any miles on a car, so no point selling reliability/durability.

That said, the 2.0XT is an awesome CUV. Enjoy it!
 
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