Car and Driver doesnt seem to think the RAV4 beats the CX-5

I'll be honest that I am still struggling thinking that the CX-5 is premium.
Even though they have refined the newer CX-5 I still view it as an economy class CUV.

I may still consider the CX-5 though. Regardless of how I see it classed it has an exceptional bang for the buck.
Besides I am having trouble convincing my wife to let me get a Macan S.

What is "premium"? Is it materials? Features? Name?

A friend of mine owns a DoD company that makes m4 type rifles. They are low volume, high quality. Thermal fit barrels, the works. Over the top. For a while, he used Tapco endplates. Tapco is widely regarded as cheap junk...but their endplates were/are some of the highest quality heat treat and material out there, wierdly enough. Were they premium?
 
In a word I would say refinement. Also lack of budget compromises.

Its not something like HP or a 0-60. Its something that is hard to say a specific requirement but you will know it when you see it.
 
In a word I would say refinement. Also lack of budget compromises.

It*s not something like HP or a 0-60. It*s something that is hard to say a specific requirement but you will know it when you see it.

Everything but a select few vehicles are budget compromises.
 
Everything but a select few vehicles are budget compromises.

Fair point but compare a suspension on the X3 was to a CX-5 or competitor. Its definitely more expensive. But I get what youre saying. You have to draw a line somewhere. Just drawn higher for budget.

I think Mazda does a good job still staying on budget but not feeling like youre compromising as much.
 
Fair point but compare a suspension on the X3 was to a CX-5 or competitor. It*s definitely more expensive. But I get what you*re saying. You have to draw a line somewhere. Just drawn higher for budget.

I think Mazda does a good job still staying on budget but not feeling like you*re compromising as much.

I feel like they give you more for your money with the GTR/SIG than anyone else in that class. Always a compromise, but one you can be proud of.
 
I feel like they give you more for your money with the GTR/SIG than anyone else in that class. Always a compromise, but one you can be proud of.

Yup and for me the part that was missing before as compared to more premium brands was power. They have addressed that one so it rings truer for me now.
 
I'll be honest that I am still struggling thinking that the CX-5 is premium.
Even though they have refined the newer CX-5 I still view it as an economy class CUV.

I may still consider the CX-5 though. Regardless of how I see it classed it has an exceptional bang for the buck.
Besides I am having trouble convincing my wife to let me get a Macan S.

I'd strongly recommend driving a CX-5 and a premium/luxury vehicle in its size class (GLC, Q5, X3, RDX, etc.) back-to-back. Maybe throw in a RAV4 or CR-V for comparison's sake.

I've been heavily cross-shopping Mazda and Audi for over a year now. And sure, the Audi has a bigger sunroof, better cameras and MMI, and fancy touches like selectable-color ambient lighting and auto-dimming exterior mirrors, but it also costs $20K (50%) more than the Mazda! You can narrow the gap to $15K or so by choosing a lower trim on the luxury vehicle, but if you don't care about the logo on the nose, you have to ask yourself why you're paying that much more money for a smaller feature-set and questionable reliability.

And then you get into a(n outgoing 2018) RAV4 and immediately wonder how something that has the design consistency and interior materials quality of a 2010 Hyundai ended up as the class leader in the most competitive segment in the entire automotive market.

Or maybe don't drive these vehicles back-to-back. Otherwise you might end up like me, wanting the nicer vehicle despite over a decade of happy Mazda ownership, but having trouble swallowing such a high price tag with so little to show for it over the CX-5.
 
A co-worker of mine has an RDX that hes not thrilled with and has been talking to me about what he should get. I keep telling him to check out the CX-5 but he seems to be struggling with it not being a premium badge.

Tell him to buy an LV purse so he can carry with him while he is walking with his chin up!!
 
I'd strongly recommend driving a CX-5 and a premium/luxury vehicle in its size class (GLC, Q5, X3, RDX, etc.) back-to-back. Maybe throw in a RAV4 or CR-V for comparison's sake.

I've been heavily cross-shopping Mazda and Audi for over a year now. And sure, the Audi has a bigger sunroof, better cameras and MMI, and fancy touches like selectable-color ambient lighting and auto-dimming exterior mirrors, but it also costs $20K (50%) more than the Mazda! You can narrow the gap to $15K or so by choosing a lower trim on the luxury vehicle, but if you don't care about the logo on the nose, you have to ask yourself why you're paying that much more money for a smaller feature-set and questionable reliability.

And then you get into a(n outgoing 2018) RAV4 and immediately wonder how something that has the design consistency and interior materials quality of a 2010 Hyundai ended up as the class leader in the most competitive segment in the entire automotive market.

Or maybe don't drive these vehicles back-to-back. Otherwise you might end up like me, wanting the nicer vehicle despite over a decade of happy Mazda ownership, but having trouble swallowing such a high price tag with so little to show for it over the CX-5.

:) Yeah I've been looking around outside of Mazda this time, but the new CX-5 has regained my attention. Before the news of the turbo coming my main desire was performance oriented (beyond just horsepower) with a flair of refinement. I will no doubt look at the CX-5 when the time comes. So I hope there are a few more things that get refined in the CX-5 in the next couple of year. Top of my wish list would be better paint quality and thickness, better infotainment screen, better back up camera, hold its resale value and maybe an 8 speed transmission. And my lists is not like I am crazy mad and demand these things or else I walk attitude. I hope the community here do not think I am disparaging Mazda by my comment that I still see the CX-5 as a economy class vehicle. I like my CX-5 a lot (other than the paint sucks and it is kind of slow) and I like it as a daily driver 95% of the time. I have no desire to get rid of it and plan to drive it for at least another couple of years. No telling what will be on the market by the time I plan to buy.

I hope the world outside of Mazda fans and forum members see the CX-5 as something more as well. When we traded in my wife's Mazda 3 it was worth nothing even though it was absolutely mechanically sound and solid. At 100K mileage it ran like new and yet we couldn't get much for it. There were multitudes of them for resale in our area averaging around $3K at most. It just doesn't seem like the world outside of us gives much thought about Mazda and that must be impacting resale value. I would put her 3 up as the most reliable and least cost to own car we have had and the CX-5 has been as solid. I will say that we are generally a buy new keep long term household so resale is not a major deal, but I do like to have some return to put down on the next car. Especially when the car is mechanically sound.

I have not been interested in looking at any other CUVs in the Mazda class. I have not looked at or considered Toyota, Kia, Hyundai or Nissan. I will either go up to something like slightly used Porsche Macan or Audi SQ5 for the performance attributes or I will stay with the CX-5. Or it will be interesting to see if Genesis (Hyundai) comes out with something CUV oriented. The new G70 has evidently been touched by the former German BMW performance engineer they hired. Very impressive car IMO in the reviews I have read and watched. They (Kia, Hyundai, Genesis) have come to seriously play with the usual German performance cars and I think they are just getting started.

edit: and as a side thought. Did Mazda get their paint coaching from Ford? I am into detailing cars as is a coworker. He helped a female coworker detail and put on a ceramic coating on her new black twin turbo Ford Explorer this past weekend. I went out to look at his detailing work and the paint is already riddled with white speck of primer showing through just like my wife's old 3. Thin crappy paint. And what a shame being what she paid for that Explorer. Certainly not a premium quality one might desire when paying almost $50K.
 
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What is "premium"? Is it materials? Features? Name?

A friend of mine owns a DoD company that makes m4 type rifles. They are low volume, high quality. Thermal fit barrels, the works. Over the top. For a while, he used Tapco endplates. Tapco is widely regarded as cheap junk...but their endplates were/are some of the highest quality heat treat and material out there, wierdly enough. Were they premium?

:) as a firearm enthusiast I do like your analogy.

I have a fetish for 1911s and yet I do not own one of the notable premium brands (yet). I have one that I custom built (grew up working in my grandfather's gunsmith shop) with a lot of Wilson Combat internals, but that is the closest I have to premium. My best range performer is a S&W 1911. It is just a run of the mill purchase and yet out of the box it performs as good as I could ever hope. No, it is not even close to being considered premium and it will not resale like a Les Baer. I get what you are saying and I am normally that type of consumer that I buy what suits me. But I will admit that my S&W is not premium and no one else on this planet would consider it to be premium either. So how does one rate something premium? I am not sure to be honest. Like in the gun world it seems to come from what the majority say it is. Perhaps when Mazda is respected out in the world enough by the majority that it holds decent resale value? I don't know...just taking a stab at an answer.
 
Paint imo is up there with windshields as a complaint I see with pretty much every car. I had a Ford also with some definite paint defects. Mazda seems better to me vs the Ford. So what car has Rolls Royce paint that doesnt cost as much as a house?
 
Paint imo is up there with windshields as a complaint I see with pretty much every car. I had a Ford also with some definite paint defects. Mazda seems better to me vs the Ford. So what car has Rolls Royce paint that doesnt cost as much as a house?

The German cars seem to have decent paint in comparison. Most still need some paint correction if you want it to really pop. This one the owner took to a pro to have it corrected and detailed so it is not as if they are perfect either. My friend's that does his own detailing on a modded GTI has a lot better stock paint than my CX-5. I detail and coat mine and have done a little paint correction, but it is thin paint so I try to be careful. Thankfully I have film on the front and the CX-5 still looks pretty good. My gripe is not as much about the orange peel, but I just think the paint is too thin. It is okay paint for an economy car and for the price I paid. I just hope Mazda improves it some or has improved it some.

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Ok so I think were on the same page. If you look close youre going to find flaws with any mass produced car.

Yea the GTI I now own definitely has better paint than my previous Fords did. I havent noticed any major defects (bad enough to warranty) in the Mazda but it definitely has swirls and what not since the wife has taken it through some car washes I recommended against.

On my ST there were some pretty big flaws that I made them fix.

I dont think I have seen any factory paint without orange peel. And honestly it doesnt bother me either.

As for the German luxury cars having better paint I would expect it.

I guess imo the Mazda paint is appropriate for its price point.
 
I don't have a good picture of my wife's new Civic and I think compared to previous Hondas that we have owned it seems like Honda has improved the paint. It also has orange peel as one would expect, but it definitely seems to be a little thicker and has been a breeze to detail so far. Just to say I believe (not sure) that Honda did improve paint quality and this is a $20K car. I am pleased with it for what it is.

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Paint imo is up there with windshields as a complaint I see with pretty much every car. I had a Ford also with some definite paint defects. Mazda seems better to me vs the Ford. So what car has Rolls Royce paint that doesn*t cost as much as a house?

Japanese cars I have owned have all had weak paint and windshields. Infiniti, Nissan, Mazda.
 
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