My wife just bought a '14 CX-5 GT after narrowing it down to CX-5 vs. CRV. I'm not thrilled by this segment (I prefer sedans). That said, I drove both SUVs, and the CX-5 won for me, hands-down. It was fun to drive, and the interior quality was much better than the Honda, which had cheap hard plastics and a hi-mount tranny selector that made me feel like I was in a minivan. We both thought the Honda had better ride quality--smoother, more solid, and less busy. But the Mazda was, overall, much more fun to drive. And the Honda initially seemed much more powerful than the 2.5 L CX-5, but then I noticed the "eco" button was not depressed. In eco mode, the CRV was less peppy than the CX-5, and presumably the mileage figures for the CRV are for when it is in eco mode. The only other place I thought the Honda was better was the front end styling, not b/c the CRV is so beautiful, but because the CX-5's snout is so butt-ugly! If Mazda fixes that, I think they will have a really competitive vehicle.