As many how frequent this forum would know I was very active and then went lets just say .. a long hiatus! After having completed approx. 13k miles from Dec. 2015 till today I decided to give a quick update. In between, my drives have been 1st. 3 months in high peak traffic - Central Jersey into NY City and thru the day driving like a freaking taxi driver within NY City. Then, my work profile changed. I drove long distances, mostly highways. Finally, this last 3 weeks - went camping with an attached trailer to my Curtis class-3, climbed Mt. Washington and just this weekend returned from a route which is exclusively and heavily mountain and dirt road.
I am astounded with CX-5. Not a glitch till date - both electrical and mechanical. Not a squeak or any rattles. The acceleration has dramatically improved after about 10k miles, surprisingly. Its now smooth as a silk with depress of pedal. Faster depress - faster acceleration, slow depress - slow acceleration. But nowhere I felt a jerk, i.e. the car waking up and sensing the need to accelerate. Its intuitive as if knows what I want. In this last trip, my friend who I rely on for such off-road travel whims was himself surprised at how CX5 handled dirt roads, steep and almost impossible up/down climbs. Mind you - this guy drove trucks in Himalayas - Nepal. He really knows this type of driving. His best comment - usually I know what's happening, with your car - its seamless. There's this case where entire passenger front and rear were 6-in hanging while turning/crossing a big bump. Nada .. no problems!
I take back everything bad I ever said about the headlights. They turn (and maybe twist too .. LOL). It has saved me numerous times during ramp turns, dirt road turns and it lights up the surrounding far better than ANY vehicle I drove. The trick is to keep them in Automatic.
Mileage - I use Mileage keeper and after all this while it's reporting an average of 26.5 mpg. Please note - during the car's most critical phase was driving exclusively in NY City traffic. I put the data in XLS and if those 3 months are removed, my average is 28.7 mpg.
Till date issues/servicing: Costco free coupon used and filled my OEM tires with N2. Rotation & Balancing done once at 5k miles. Oil change to Mazda OEM done at 6.5k miles. I do NOT use schedule but the new % driven oil report in dash. Now my ODO reads 13.1 k, and oil life reads 50%. I have decided to start thinking and do the oil change when dash reads 40%.
My age old complaint remains intact
- bloody traffic is missing. But in my iPhone heavily use Inrix (not WAZE) as I found it much better.
- windshield is weak. I have now SEVEN dents - all fixed. I refused insurance provided new windshield, since had a price drop when selling my used car with non OEM wind-shield. Lets see.
- Bose sound system continues to SUCK.
If I really asked to comment on something - it'll be the brakes. They are a bit weak for me, too much play initially and there's this DARN noise like a soft click every time I let go the brake pedal. Numerous dealers (3 of them) all said its standard for all cars equipped with Smart City Brake Support system. Also - I do think this car's paint scratches easily.
The tech gizmos - actually has saved me and my family twice and both times the outcome would have been total the car, I am sure. This SCBS and SBS - actually works.
I have absolutely NO complaints about the OEM tires too - they are holding up good, gives good traction and I find them very quiet. Also, my seats are really comfy. They have become slightly softer too! Leather doesn't have 1 wrinkle and clean up real fast. BTW: I regularly (once bi-weekly to be precise) do a quick clean/moisture of interior. Oh - I do love the OEM rubber mats. They are solid rubber and till date black as day-0. A wishful thought - can't they add a massaging option? (LOL) and give some DARN lights to the buttons in the doors??
I am astounded with CX-5. Not a glitch till date - both electrical and mechanical. Not a squeak or any rattles. The acceleration has dramatically improved after about 10k miles, surprisingly. Its now smooth as a silk with depress of pedal. Faster depress - faster acceleration, slow depress - slow acceleration. But nowhere I felt a jerk, i.e. the car waking up and sensing the need to accelerate. Its intuitive as if knows what I want. In this last trip, my friend who I rely on for such off-road travel whims was himself surprised at how CX5 handled dirt roads, steep and almost impossible up/down climbs. Mind you - this guy drove trucks in Himalayas - Nepal. He really knows this type of driving. His best comment - usually I know what's happening, with your car - its seamless. There's this case where entire passenger front and rear were 6-in hanging while turning/crossing a big bump. Nada .. no problems!
I take back everything bad I ever said about the headlights. They turn (and maybe twist too .. LOL). It has saved me numerous times during ramp turns, dirt road turns and it lights up the surrounding far better than ANY vehicle I drove. The trick is to keep them in Automatic.
Mileage - I use Mileage keeper and after all this while it's reporting an average of 26.5 mpg. Please note - during the car's most critical phase was driving exclusively in NY City traffic. I put the data in XLS and if those 3 months are removed, my average is 28.7 mpg.
Till date issues/servicing: Costco free coupon used and filled my OEM tires with N2. Rotation & Balancing done once at 5k miles. Oil change to Mazda OEM done at 6.5k miles. I do NOT use schedule but the new % driven oil report in dash. Now my ODO reads 13.1 k, and oil life reads 50%. I have decided to start thinking and do the oil change when dash reads 40%.
My age old complaint remains intact
- bloody traffic is missing. But in my iPhone heavily use Inrix (not WAZE) as I found it much better.
- windshield is weak. I have now SEVEN dents - all fixed. I refused insurance provided new windshield, since had a price drop when selling my used car with non OEM wind-shield. Lets see.
- Bose sound system continues to SUCK.
If I really asked to comment on something - it'll be the brakes. They are a bit weak for me, too much play initially and there's this DARN noise like a soft click every time I let go the brake pedal. Numerous dealers (3 of them) all said its standard for all cars equipped with Smart City Brake Support system. Also - I do think this car's paint scratches easily.
The tech gizmos - actually has saved me and my family twice and both times the outcome would have been total the car, I am sure. This SCBS and SBS - actually works.
I have absolutely NO complaints about the OEM tires too - they are holding up good, gives good traction and I find them very quiet. Also, my seats are really comfy. They have become slightly softer too! Leather doesn't have 1 wrinkle and clean up real fast. BTW: I regularly (once bi-weekly to be precise) do a quick clean/moisture of interior. Oh - I do love the OEM rubber mats. They are solid rubber and till date black as day-0. A wishful thought - can't they add a massaging option? (LOL) and give some DARN lights to the buttons in the doors??
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