I bought a new 2014 Mazda 3 with 6-speed and it was the best car ever owned. I had to get rid of it after 36,000 miles due sciatic nerve pains in my legs. I switched to a 2013 Honda Civic Automatic and was the worst car I ever owned. It was noise and really harsh ride. The 3 felt like more up scale luxury car in terms of ride quality. I am not too crazy about leg room in the back of CX-5. The next best thing to the CX-5 is the Kia Sportage but Kia & Hyundai engines are blowing up left and right!
Waid
Yep, same exact experience with my 2014 Mazda3 manual as well. Great car, bad sciatica.
The CX-5 is good, and the 2016.5 TOURING is the sweet spot for Gen1 for me, as it has the
heated cloth seats. The only time
heated cloth seats were available for the CX-5, was on the 2016.5.
The leather seats on the GT models are of different shape and are not as comfortable to me on the Gen1.
I have had lots of Mazda's, and I have to say that the SKYACTIV series of engines appear to be the most reliable yet. Not to mention if you want a transmission that feels direct and engaged, instead of slushy and mushy, or a CVT, the SKYACTIV transmission is very rewarding to those whom like manual transmissions, but can not enjoy the action of the 3rd pedal.
We had a 3yr lease on our 2016.5 CX-5 Touring AWD, and now have just finished buying out the lease and financing the car. I replaced the factory tires with better ones, and added paddle shifters. It still makes us smile, and we plan on keeping it for a long time.