How does CX-5 compare to Lexus NX?

[SpoofeeDotCom]

I know we're talking completely different pricing points, but I'm torn between the two.

I come from a luxury sedan and concerned about the CX-5 if the road noise / comfort.

Has anyone done a comparison between the Lexus NX and the CX-5?

 

[JbCalg]

check other comparison posts - always difficult to compare apples and orangutans - usually get some limited useful info, and a bunch of useless info too

 

[rsanz85]

Have you test driven them? No one can predict how you will perceive each vehicle's road noise and comfort. Obviously, you are on a Mazda forum. The owners who post here will have already decided that road noise/comfort were adequate for their needs, or they would not have purchased the car.

 

[doopie]

I sat in a NX at an auto show and felt snug and confined.

 

[dergibog]

Whats up with the bmw & lexus comparisons?
Let's stick to apples & apples.

 

[Ride92]

Whats up with the bmw & lexus comparisons?
Let's stick to apples & apples.

It's the Driving dynamics of the Mazdas that have people considering it against BMW, Lexus and the like. When you get to the upper trim levels in a Mazda you start to feel the car is sort of a half step above ford, chevy, Honda Toyota and maybe a half step below BMW, MB, Audi, Lexus. I think Mazda is similar to VW in the fact that they seem to a bit nicer then the rest of the crowd but not quite to the premium level yet. We test drove a Q5 and X3 and thought the Q5 was soft feeling and didn't drive all that well. The X3 was very sprorty and fun to drive with a strong engine and great transmission. I would say the Mazda CX-5 drove very similar to the X3 as far as chassis, steering and suspension feel. 50K for an X3 or 30K for a CX-5? The HP and 0-60 times got to the X3 but the rest is pretty even and I consider my GT CX-5 sort of like my poor mans X3. Consumer reports talked about Mazdas and made similar comparisons not to long ago.

 

[CX-5um]

I know we're talking completely different pricing points, but I'm torn between the two.

I come from a luxury sedan and concerned about the CX-5 if the road noise / comfort.

Has anyone done a comparison between the Lexus NX and the CX-5?

Considering you live in the Bay and can afford the Lexus NX go for the Lexus. Our price range is around the 25k range and the cheapest Lexus Nx is 35k and up. So we got the best 25k (or so) suv and midsize sedan for that price = CX-5, Mazda6.

 

[piotrek91]

Has anyone done a comparison between the Lexus NX and the CX-5?

Yup. I did a comparison.

The Lexus is really ugly and the Mazda (especially the 2016 with the new grill) is a good looking CUV.

 

[Mazdan]

As a Lexus and CX-5 (first time Mazda) owner, I actually don't think it is an unfair comparison. The CX-5, Tucson, and NX are the best looking CUVs on the market and it's not close in my opinion. (I think the German brands are satisfied putting their label on an otherwise bland looking car and saying, "There. Now you can buy a CUV from us, too." They are essentially brand-loyalist cars rather than category leaders.) So then the question becomes, how much better is the Lexus at any given thing, and how much do you value that? For me, it came down to exterior looks, interior looks, and driving.

- Exterior - already discussed. I like the NX a touch more, but there are a few things I strongly dislike about it to. I think the NX looks may not hold up as well if you plan to keep the car more than a few years. The CX-5 is more understated, but has classic lines and will look great for a while. The Grand Touring's larger rims help contribute to a higher calibre look.

- Interior - On the Mazda side, I noticed a big difference in quality "feel" going from the Touring to Grand Touring - the leather seats and particularly the different, higher-quality inserts around the cabin contribute a lot to making the car feel more premium. (You need also need to get the upgraded package to get the leather, wood, etc. for the Lexus.) The Mazda dash is much simpler than the NX, but I don't count that as a negative frankly. What you do start to miss are some of the entry-level lux features like power liftgate and memory seats (my personal pet peeve since it's available in Europe).

- Driving - CX-5 is fun to drive. Period. It's a little louder than a Lexus, but not bothersome to me at least.

For us, leather and navigation were requirements. So we were looking at a $12-15k price difference and didn't feel like that was anywhere worth the cost. Like many, I've also found the sound system to be really weak...but I haven't said anything to my wife, who thinks it sounds "great." Mazda is also new to many people, so I've had fun introducing people to the brand.

 

[KimGT]

I really like the NX! it has a really nice exterior design, especially on the rear haunches where it seems almost like a wide fender. The headlights are very futuristic looking and I think will look good even 10 years from now. I don't like the price tag, especially since the higher end models are really what you'd want and the rear taillights do not match the rest of the car.

 

[boandlkramer]

It's the Driving dynamics of the Mazdas that have people considering it against BMW, Lexus and the like. When you get to the upper trim levels in a Mazda you start to feel the car is sort of a half step above ford, chevy, Honda Toyota and maybe a half step below BMW, MB, Audi, Lexus. I think Mazda is similar to VW in the fact that they seem to a bit nicer then the rest of the crowd but not quite to the premium level yet. We test drove a Q5 and X3 and thought the Q5 was soft feeling and didn't drive all that well. The X3 was very sprorty and fun to drive with a strong engine and great transmission. I would say the Mazda CX-5 drove very similar to the X3 as far as chassis, steering and suspension feel. 50K for an X3 or 30K for a CX-5? The HP and 0-60 times got to the X3 but the rest is pretty even and I consider my GT CX-5 sort of like my poor mans X3. Consumer reports talked about Mazdas and made similar comparisons not to long ago.

I'd think the X1 is more CX5 comparable. When I totaled my wife's CX5, being that we are in Germany, I went over to my BMW-MS dealer and checked out the X1. My wife was repulsed by the look and that it is made in the US. I was glad, leaves room for my next car note. [emoji6]

Is the Q3 in the US yet?

Ether way, for price, and looks, I stand by the CX5 over any other SUV in its class.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dr Kev]

In my opinion, it's more accurate to say that the X3 is a foolish person's CX-5.

It's the Driving dynamics of the Mazdas that have people considering it against BMW, Lexus and the like. When you get to the upper trim levels in a Mazda you start to feel the car is sort of a half step above ford, chevy, Honda Toyota and maybe a half step below BMW, MB, Audi, Lexus. I think Mazda is similar to VW in the fact that they seem to a bit nicer then the rest of the crowd but not quite to the premium level yet. We test drove a Q5 and X3 and thought the Q5 was soft feeling and didn't drive all that well. The X3 was very sprorty and fun to drive with a strong engine and great transmission. I would say the Mazda CX-5 drove very similar to the X3 as far as chassis, steering and suspension feel. 50K for an X3 or 30K for a CX-5? The HP and 0-60 times got to the X3 but the rest is pretty even and I consider my GT CX-5 sort of like my poor mans X3. Consumer reports talked about Mazdas and made similar comparisons not to long ago.

 

[bmninada]

Lexus will have substantially better noise and sound insulation than CX-5. Lexus will have softer suspension, you'll feel less road bumps, road, etc. CX-5 has a sportier (Stiffer) suspension. If these 2 are important for you - go for NX.

 

[banjos-n-beer]

The 2016 CX5s are actually pretty quiet on the inside. Not luxury silent, but completely acceptable. However, when comparing the two, one is grossly hideous from the front side, while the other is quite attractive. This simply reminds me of bland Toyota trying to instantly become cool and sporty by injecting a bit of boy racer appearance into an otherwise overly designed but reliable vehicle.

 

[Unobtanium]

I'd definitely go Lexus for reliability and what I would bet is a better residual value, as well as quieter cabin for road trips. The CX5 road noise isn't bad, but it's half-way in between a sports car and a truck. It wears on you after 4-5 hours, IME

 

[yrwei52]

I know we're talking completely different pricing points, but I'm torn between the two.
I come from a luxury sedan and concerned about the CX-5 if the road noise / comfort.
Has anyone done a comparison between the Lexus NX and the CX-5?

If you come from a luxury sedan and you'd better stick with a luxury CUV. Or you'd be surprised to find out many features are missing on pennies-saved-here-and-there CX-5 where you'd expect to be there. For CX-5, there is no memory seat, no power seat on passenger side, no tweeters and sub-woofer for premium audio system, no rear AC vents, no remote liftgate release on driver side or key fob, no one-touch up-down power window for all windows, no power tilting outside rearview mirrors, no compass for navigation system, no lock and light for glove compartment, no full illuminated power window and power lock switches on door panels, no courtesy lights, no dash fog-light indicator, and the list is on and on. You'll find all these features on NX, BTW.

Even the same features offered by both CX-5 and NX sometimes are different. For example, CX-5 has 8-way power driver seat but NX has 10-way for both front seats. On keyless entry system you push a rubber button then pull the door handle to open the locked door on CX-5, whereas you only need to pull the door handle and the sensor in the handle will automatically unlock the door for you on NX. NX's backup camera has additional dynamic gridlines to assist you with parking and other maneuvers. NX's moonroof has larger opening and more interior headroom than conventional moonroofs. Of course the ventilated front seats on NX which is not available on CX-5 would be great in hot summer.

CX-5 has 184 HP 2.5L and NX has stronger 235 HP turbo 2.0L. But CX-5 is 500 lbs. lighter than NX. The quality and reliability is the industry best on Lexus. The interior on NX has more color choices, and plastic and leather have better quality feel than CX-5.

Personally I've always been avoiding the turbo and I'm not in fond of big X front of the Lexus. NX is definitely smoother and quieter on the highway. You really have to test drive them both and see if you can stand the wind/road noise and firmer seat on CX-5.

 

[Algernon6]

I haven't committed to either but have considered both the CX-5 and the NX. Having a BMW now, I always thought I would like a Lexus if they had a model I liked -- better dealer experience, reliability, etc. I personally like the exterior styling of the CX-5 better but would appreciate the build quality and quiet of the NX I think (I have test driven a CX-5 but not an NX). I like the interior color options better on the NX (parchment is too light for me). Infotainment has always been poor on Lexus and the touchpad in the NX is apparently especially bad. The Mazda's seems like a somewhat cheesier verison of my 7 year old iDrive (which does have live traffic). In reality I'm going to use my phone for navigation / traffic anyway.

What kills me on the NX is you can't get blind spot monitoring or cross traffic alert without spending close to $5k on packages I don't really want (Premium Pkg $2890 + Navigation Pkg $1875 required to add the $660 option). At $41k you still don't have leather or rain sensing wipers.

 

[jhu8]

At $41k you still don't have leather or rain sensing wipers.

Wow, that is absolutely insane. I laugh when I see these expensive luxury cars without basic amenities, that are even standard on your average cars. It's odd. That's why it's also annoying with people here bashing the CX-5 for not having a glove compartment light, or lack of fog light indicator, etc. EVERY car and car company skimps in certain areas. Just depends. Do you want to pay $45k and get skimped, or $30k and get skimped. I think the CX-5 offers a wonderful, all around great package for good money. And styling and interior that rivals that of a Lexus, BMW, etc. Not to mention that when/if something goes wrong on that luxury car, be prepared to pay double of what the CX-5 would cost to fix.

 

[CX-5um]

. At $41k you still don't have leather or rain sensing wipers.

Wow, that is absolutely insane. I laugh when I see these expensive luxury cars without basic amenities, that are even standard on your average cars. It's odd.

I think if you're buying a new BMW or Audi it outta have HIDs stock. Yet and still what do we see on the streets of America? Brand New BMWs and Audis rolling around in halogens...even worse some have halogen reflectors. Even the lowest model CX-5 has projectors which make for easier HID conversions vs reflectors. Fail!!!

 

[MikeM.]

The HP and 0-60 times got to the X3 but the rest is pretty even and I consider my GT CX-5 sort of like my poor mans X3.

As Dr Kev pointed out, you have this point backwards.

The CX-5 is the future wealthy mans BMW X3, the X3 is the (getting) poorer mans CX-5.

BMW's take a hell of a depreciation hit (and there are good reasons for that).