2021 Mazda CX-5 announcement

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Mazda CX5
Here is the press release for the 2021 model year. Almost everything is the same, really nice to see a much bigger standard 10.25 inch infotainment. But damn, the msrps have gone way up over the years.
 
The Touring gets a new “package” that almost makes it a Grand Touring. It adds leather seats with power seats for both front seats with memory seating for the driver.
 
Wow a bit early this year and 10 inch screen with the new infotainment. Nice. Carbon edition Touring with the 2.5T.
 
They finally ditched that horrendously slow infotainment. Thank god. I am buying a new CUV this month and a Sig is now back in the mix with this update. Sig or Venza Limited? I was initially dead set on a Venza but:

-Higher MSRP
-No incentives

Obviously a Venza would offer superior MPG and tech. How big is the gas tank in the CX-5? I don’t mind paying for gas, I just hate going to gas stations. I’ve also ragged on the 6 speed transmission on the past but at least it’s appears to be reliable.

What incentives would be available for 2021 models anyone know?
 
The gas tank is relatively small but I think with the awd it's little bit more than fwd. On avg when full, one can do 300-320-340 miles per the computer. btw, Venza appears bigger than the CX5. Next level size.

Incentive wise for the 2021, it's hard to tell at this stage. Probably not a lot until they clean most of the 2020 CX5s in Q4. But it seems this year incentives overall are much better than before. May be Mazda switching from Chase to Toyota financial has something to do with it.
 
Again, similar to the CX-9, these updates are not available for the Canadian market this year. Even though I am a huge Mazda fan I hope this year sales will reflect the questioning marketing decisions that they made over the past 2 years.
 
The gas tank is relatively small but I think with the awd it's little bit more than fwd. On avg when full, one can do 300-320-340 miles per the computer. btw, Venza appears bigger than the CX5. Next level size.

Incentive wise for the 2021, it's hard to tell at this stage. Probably not a lot until they clean most of the 2020 CX5s in Q4. But it seems this year incentives overall are much better than before. May be Mazda switching from Chase to Toyota financial has something to do with it.
Got it. As far as size, I’m single so don’t need much space. Also Venza actually has a smaller interior than the RAV4.
 
Some really nice upgrades but, really disappointing that the Signature is retaining the dark seat and black headliner colors. Maybe next year? Ed
 
Venza looks great but be warned it has a touch sensor volume button for audio instead of a radial. I'd imagine it's several thousand more than a Sig.

Also very cool for the base CX5 to have standard car play and Android. Really makes the base model hard to pass for 2021.
 
....when full one can do 300-320-340 miles per the computer.....

Or 500 +/- if you have a diesel. Jus sayin' 😎 nuck nuck nuck 😁

I know, I know. We'll see how much nuck nuck nuckin' I do when I've gotta replace a DPF or somethin' for a couple grand lol. I better get 'em in while I can.
 
We were in process of trying to find a worthwhile deal on a '20 Sig but can't get any more than 5% off. Seeing all this new tech and that '21s will be on sale next month, we'll now wait a month. It's for a 3rd car so not in any hurry to get one immediately.
 
Or 500 +/- if you have a diesel. Jus sayin' 😎 nuck nuck nuck 😁

I know, I know. We'll see how much nuck nuck nuckin' I do when I've gotta replace a DPF or somethin' for a couple grand lol. I better get 'em in while I can.
I am actually fan of diesels :) Been driving a lot of those in my past life.

It's a shame the market here is not suited for those, because overall I like the cx5 diesel. Mazda tried. Diesel has great mpg, great torque and 'usually' the 4 banger diesel engines last much longer than petrols if maintained.
 
We were in process of trying to find a worthwhile deal on a '20 Sig but can't get any more than 5% off. Seeing all this new tech and that '21s will be on sale next month, we'll now wait a month. It's for a 3rd car so not in any hurry to get one immediately.
I would wait few months...They may even start discounting the 2020 once the 2021s hit the lots.
Obviously most people would want the 2021 with the big screen :) but sometimes very good deals or rebates come up on the old models.
 
New screen is larger, but without a touchscreen.
I do use the touchscreen sometimes when stopped to control music/nav in Carplay.
2020 GT-R/Signature models have an 8" touchscreen. So a move to a larger, non-touch screen is a lateral move, to me.
Not a big deal. Mazda is just following the trend that car buyers want a huge screen.
 
A bigger screen would be better but the real question is whether that extra $300 is reflective of any additional/improved functions that the screen controls. The way the current one navigates is a little clunky, not too bad, but I've gotten used to it pretty quick. Maybe they cleaned that up a bit. But really, if they just moved the same stuff around on a bigger screen with no new or improved functions, well....

I see guys talking about the Venza which I had not previously checked out. I was surprised to see the drive train is hybrid-only across all trims--2.5L paired with 3 electric motors for 219 HP, 176 HP coming from 2.5L. It does have some "button" controls but they are touch buttons. No knobs. You won't be finding any controls by feel. CV tranny of course. I suppose if you're going to buy a hybrid/CVT combo Toyota is the one to buy. They've been punching out that combo very reliably for a long time in the Prius and then other models. You might want to check if this drive train is borrowed from the RAV4 hybrid and if so how it has been performing in the reliability department.

Another surprise out of Toyota is going all-hybrid with the 2021 Sienna. The designers brought their chainsaws to the clay modeling shop for that one. I thought we were nearing the end of Toyota's hidious gaping maw grills but I guess not. But I digress. It looks like Toyota is plowing forward into a hybrid/electric future. They are not betting the whole ranch yet but it looks like a chunk of the back 40.

CRV? You know Honda's reliability has been slipping for some years now and this model comes with a 1.5L turbo with a CVT. I suppose you can lease anything for three years without much of a problem. Or maybe not. You could have bought any of a few $100,000 cars with a bigger block turbos in recent years with a fair chance you'd be burning a quart of oil every 1,000 miles with the manufacturer telling you it's normal. Downscale, Subaru has had a series of problems with various turbos. Somehow hyper-pressurizing tiny cylinders in a tiny block doesn't inspire my confident.

You have to realize that Honda, et. al., are not using small turbos in low-to-mid range cars because it is a better perfoming and more reliable technology. They do it to take weight out of the car. What do they do with that lost weight? Boost the 0-60 time, put the weight back in a little bigger cabin, or take the MPG savings.
 
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It does have some "button" controls but they are touch buttons. No knobs. You won't be finding any controls by feel.
The lack of buttons for volume and AC isn't a huge issue for me because if I want to lower or raise the volume, I can use the volume controls on my steering wheel which is what I do now. Don't think I've ever used the physical volume knob. The AC touch controls are annoying, but not a huge deal breaker.

I've seen a few Venza reviews on YT and they all complain about the lack of knobs for AC/volume. What I find interesting is while all of them complain about it, you don't see these same complaints regarding Tesla's and Tesla's are nearly entirely touch based. Can someone explain that logic to me? I've never been in a Tesla so I don't know what the process is like to change the volume/AC controls. Do they use touch controls also or use buttons? If they use touch, is it somehow easier to use? Someone help me understand.
 
Again, similar to the CX-9, these updates are not available for the Canadian market this year. Even though I am a huge Mazda fan I hope this year sales will reflect the questioning marketing decisions that they made over the past 2 years.

We do get the carbon edition in black or gray though, a choice not available in the US. ;-)
But I agree. I’m really disappointed with the infotainment decision.
The Canadian changes are so negligible that I’m planning on buying out my lease and coming back when there is a truly “new“ CX-5.
 
Venza looks great but be warned it has a touch sensor volume button for audio instead of a radial. I'd imagine it's several thousand more than a Sig.

Also very cool for the base CX5 to have standard car play and Android. Really makes base model hard to pass for 2021

Well the MSRP of a Venza limited with all options it is a little over 3k more than a fully loaded Sig. The problem is if I can only expect to get 5% off MSRP for a vehicle that is in it's last year, I can probably(hopefully) get that 5% off of a Venza as well. I guess it will come down to supply/demand. I know Toyota had a shortage of RAV4 hybrids once they started production. I would argue and say the bigger interior, better MPG, better tech and predicted reliability of the Venza is well worth the extra 3k. Sig IMO is a better driving vehicle, more power and likely to be just as reliable. Not only that but due to it being at the end of its lifecycle, I'm unlikely to run into any issues with it compared to the Venza which is essentially a beta car. It all comes down to how far below I can go under MSRP with Mazda and any incentives they might offer.
 
I just looked and there are still 184 new 2019 CX-5s for sale on Autotrader.

Also saw that the 2020 CX-5 was announced last mid November, so the 21 model has come out 3 months earlier than before. I would say that the resale value for used 19s with low miles is still pretty good.

A bigger screen would be better but the real question is whether that extra $300 is reflective of any additional/improved functions that the screen controls. The way the current one navigates is a little clunky, not too bad, but I've gotten used to it pretty quick. Maybe they cleaned that up a bit. But really, if they just moved the same stuff around on a bigger screen with no new or improved functions, well....

I see guys talking about the Venza which I had not previously checked out. I was surprised to see the drive train is hybrid-only across all trims--2.5L paired with 3 electric motors for 219 HP, 176 HP coming from 2.5L. It does have some "button" controls but they are touch buttons. No knobs. You won't be finding any controls by feel. CV tranny of course. I suppose if you're going to buy a hybrid/CVT combo Toyota's the one to buy. They've been punching out that combo vary reliably for a long time in the Prius and then other models. You might want to check if this drive train is borrowed from the RAV-4 hybrid and if so how it has been performing in the reliability department.

Another surprise out of Toyota is going all-hybrid with the 2021 Sienna. The designers brought their chainsaws to the clay modeling shop for that one. I thought we nearing the end of Toyota's hidious gaping maw grills but a I guess not. But I digress. It looks like Toyota is plowing forward into a hybrid/electric future. They are not betting the whole ranch yet but it looks like a chunk of the back 40.

CRV? You know Honda's reliability has been slipping for some years now and this model comes with a 1.5L turbo with a CVT. I suppose you can lease anything for three years without much of a problem. You could have bought any of a few $100,000 cars with a bigger block turbos in recent years with a fair chance you'd be burning a quart of oil every 1,000 miles with the manufacturer telling you it's normal. Downscale, Subaru has had a series of problems with various turbos. Somehow hyper-pressurizing tiny cylinders in a tiny block doesn't inspired confident.

You have to realize that Honda, et. al., are not using small turbos in low-to-mid range cars because it is a better perfoming and more reliable technology. They do it to take weight out of the car. What do they do with that lost weight? Boost the 0-60 time, put the weight back in a little bigger cabin, or take the MPG savings.

Toyota will try to keep hybrid technology, where they have leadership, around as long as possible, thus the move to exclusive hybrid power for several new models instead of making it optional.

Carplay/Android Auto are worlds better than the standard system. Navigation, Ease of Use, Music, Voice Commands, all superior to the factory infotainment. That's probably why they're offering it as standard now.
 
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