Disappointment and Frustration

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Sorry, but I got an issue with people people who don't properly test drive a $35k+ purchase. The engine, transmission, interior and exterior looks are about the only things you said you liked - pretty poor if those are the reasons you bought the car. Anything close to a reasonable inspection would have caught all of your concerns.

You list only about 4 'pros' - pretty poor reason to buy a car for only..

Interior looks
Exterior looks
Engine
Transmission

Everything you disliked are easily discernable - especially the driving dynamics itself.....

The lack of body control at slower speeds
Any imperfection in the road surface will upset the spring/shock/tire tuning and require constant correction to hold a line.
Drivers seat bottom is too short from the hip to knee.
That and lack of an independent tilt adjustment of the seat bottom results in leg discomfort
The infotainment system is also a bleeding mess.
There is NO touchscreen function.
The climate control interface is located low as to require your eyes to be off the road for too long as its display is not easily interpreted.
Cup holders are in a hard to reach
Safety nannies, Too many to count.
Coherent, in the Soul Red color. Though for the extra cost you would hope there would be less orange peel in it.

Your excuses for a limited test drive? Really? Not sure what you're venting was trying to relay
 
Really, you think that guys that get paid to review cars be they "professionals" from magazines, you tubers, bloggers don't have something to gain or lose from the way they review a certain vehicle. I respect that you took the time to research and drive and are happy with the vehicle. But my experience has been different. And, I stand by everything I said.
And now it's the reviewers fault for telling you that you would like a car that you don't?
 
Everyone has their opinions. I have 600 miles on a 2021 Grand Touring, so my experience with the CX-5 is extremely limited. I am pretty satisfied with it so far. I keep my vehicles in pristine condition. That said, anything would be a step up from our old 2003 Tahoe and 2009 Civic, even though both were/are like new.

We did not test drive any of the CX-5’s competitors. That was probably an error in judgment on my part. I was the decision maker, as my wife wouldn’t know a CX-5 from a WW2 German half track. I bought purely on cost, looks, reputation, reviews, blog comments, and some mechanical knowledge. My thought process went like this: why test drive a RAV-4. It’s ugly. The Honda CR-V has a CVT tranny that most car enthusiasts hate, so why test drive it. I’ll probably hate it too and it’s towing capacity is only 1500 lbs I believe. And on and on with the CX-5’s other competators.

Being a product of the 60s era muscle cars, I love speed and horsepower as much as the next guy, but I drive my cars for gas mileage, not for thrills, not that there is anything wrong with thrills. That said, I saw absolutely no need for the turbo version. I would rarely ever take advantage of its torque and horsepower. And I absolutely would never feed it premium gas to get the full 250 hp out of the engine. You sacrifice some gas mileage with the turbo and add greatly to the complexity of the engine - more to go wrong, more parts to work around under the hood, more expense.

I live in Illinois. We have our share of snow and crappy weather, but not enough to justify the AWD in my opinion. We need it maybe 5 days out of the year. Like the turbo, AWD comes at the expense of a slight reduction in gas mileage and adds complexity to the car. My wife and I are retired. We just stay home on crappy days if possible. If we have to get out, we take our Civic. It is the sacrificial lamb for rust and hazards. The Tahoe was sold and replaced by the CX-5.

My biggest gripes with my CX-5 so far (600 miles) are: the seat comfort, the lack of legroom for rear seat passengers, the 2000 lb towing limitation, and the small cargo area. I am also not a fan of the HVAC push button controls. The infotainment system rotary controller vs. touch screen is a toss-up. I was aware of most of these shortcomings (perceived to be shortcomings by me) before we bought the vehicle. But buying a vehicle consists of compromises. I was willing to accept those shortcomings to gain great styling, near luxury interior, driving dynamics, decent (not great) gas mileage, a 6 speed transmixer that is excellent, and Mazda’s growing reputation for reliability.

While I have some hotrodding DNA still left in me, I would never push my CX-5 to its limits unless forced to do so in an emergency. The CX-5 may have some inherent shortcomings at the limits of its performance, but I don’t plan on finding out what they are. I may have one more hotrod left in me, most likely a newer (but used) Camaro SS or Dodge Challenger R/T. I wouldn‘t buy either one for it’s speed or capabilities, but for the sound of it’s powerful V-8 and the joy of shifting my own gears. The CX-5 will be my wife’s grocery car, my errand car, and our vacation vehicle. It won’t get ridden hard and put away wet. Thus, I expect it will treat me good in return - hopefully! 😬
 
Everyone has their opinions. ///////// I was aware of most of these shortcomings (perceived to be shortcomings by me) before we bought the vehicle. But buying a vehicle consists of compromises. I was willing to accept those shortcomings to gain great styling, near luxury interior, driving dynamics, decent (not great) gas mileage, a 6 speed transmixer that is excellent, and Mazda’s growing reputation for reliability.
Bingo. Yes, entitled to opinion, but in short, as you add up the plusses and minusses, it looks like the OP has a car he is unhappy with. The only thing he left out was the worst-in-class cargo room. You, I, and many others researched and drove the.

I didn't drive any of the others in it's class either, and my test drive was one of my shorter ones - aourr 20-30 minutes. - but during that time I made sure that all my personal boxes where checked - luxury for the price, styling, engine and fun-to-drive (for me).

Now, the whole tone of this thread would be different if the OP ended with "even with my plethora of dislikes, which outnumber my likes by a factor of 5 to 1, I still like this better than any of my options"
 
Okay, my kinder, gentler approach...

This seems to have been your first post, sorry for the attacks. I guess we're all a bit confused about your purchase approach. As you look at the posts, you'll see lots of threads with similar themes... People asking about the car, it's drawback (seats often mentioned), how they like the infotainment system, how does it compares to the new Hyndai/CRV/RAV4, etc, do you think my girlfriend and I can use it to go camping, is there a way to disable, etc.

So your "hey I got this car and it really isn't what I expected" post was going to garner a bunch of "um, sorry, can't help you, but after I did the research it turned out to be an easy decision.

My last car was a 2016 Infiniti, RWD 325HP QX50. It did one thing great - 0-60 in 5.5 sec. , but it was a one trick, luxury wannabe, pony. It was a blast to drive i a straight line, on-ramps as stuff, but now I'd take my 2020 Signature over it any day.
 
-The driving dynamics. Fix the body control or provide Recaro's with big bolsters. Medium to higher speed handling is better as long as the road surface is very smooth. Any imperfection in the road surface will upset the spring/shock/tire tuning and require constant correction to hold a line. Even a straight line.
- Ergonomics
Drivers seat bottom is too short from the hip to knee. That and lack of an independent tilt adjustment of the seat bottom results in leg discomfort in an hour or so. Bring a pillow.
- Controls. The infotainment system is also a bleeding mess.
Cup holders are in a hard to reach location due to placement of the damned Command knob.

Regardless of what Mazda marketing wishes you to beleive there is no Zoom Zoom present. Forget Horse and Rider as well. The suspension tuning, oem tire selection and sway bar, springs, shock choices all conspire to ruin the dynamic handling.

Drove no competitors.

Really bizarre post.
Have you ever driven an SUV before buying the CX-5? It doesn't sound like it.
The fact that you think Mazda needs to "fix the body control" or "provide Recaro" seats tells me you are completely out of touch with the segment and what these vehicles are designed to be.

The CX-5 is a comparatively inexpensive, high-riding, heavy, mainstream compact SUV.
It is not going to handle or have the body control of a light, low-slung sports car.
The CX-5 is not designed, engineered or marketed to drive like a Lotus.

Had you actually driven ANY of the mainstream SUVs on the market, you would have found that Mazda has the best driving dynamics of any vehicle IN THIS CLASS.
It really boils down to the fact that you bought the wrong CLASS of vehicle, as no mainstream SUV can provide what you are looking for.
 
Seems crtic has a decision to make. Drive at least one CRV or Toyota and compare. Decide on whether to keep and live with your decision or sell back to dealer. A tough decision for me and maybe you. Ed
 
I think my 2019 GT-Reserve handles surprisingly well for a high center of gravity 4000+ lb vehicle.
I have owned almost nothing but sports cars all my adult life before necessity required the purchase of an AWD vehicle with reasonable cargo capacity, so I know what good handling is like. I live in the mountains and twisty roads are pretty much all I have for a 30 mile radius.

No complaints about the command knob nor the HVAC controls. A little driving familiarity with both systems allows one to operate them by touch with just a split second glance in most cases. The seats fit me fine and no discomfort on long drives although I know others have the opposite opinion.

My biggest complaint are the tires. The road from the main highway to my house is VERY steep in many sections. The Toyo A36's have very poor traction with any snow at all on the road to the point of being hazardous. Like I can't get going uphill when I pull out of my driveway or can't stop when approaching my house on the downhill. I think it was a major design flaw of Mazda to not allow the use of chains on the front wheels. I suppose the real solution would be to find a set of steel wheels and buy snow tires and install them for the period from November to April. But it sure would make more sense if I could install chains in the comfort of my garage for the few times a year that I really need them.
 
I have a different take on the OP’s post. While I suppose it could be considered as trolling by some, I instead embrace it as a cautionary tale which could help someone avoid making a very costly mistake. When I read the “reviews” of a product, I pay more attention to the negative reviews rather than the positives. Human nature dictates that most of us will try to justify our purchases, so some “fanboy” attributes will be emphasized just as some negatives will be ignored. This trend is so often seen that I always take it into account.

No product is perfect, and while it’s fun to read endless praises of the CX-5, it is also valuable to hear at least a few negatives. High-dollar purchaes should not be taken lightly, and the more information we have, the better decision we can make. Instead of criticizing the OP for a multitude of things he may not have done, we should thank him for presenting his dissenting opinion.
 
Agreed on the attention to negative reviews. The more positive reviews there are the more weight I give to the negative ones. Do not discount that anyone can post a review. I think the more average reviews, 2,3,4 stars for instance are probably the best reflection of what is being reviewed.
 
I have a different take on the OP’s post. While I suppose it could be considered as trolling by some, I instead embrace it as a cautionary tale which could help someone avoid making a very costly mistake.
....

The moral to the OP's "cautionary tale", is put in the research, or pay the consequences.

When your first post starts with: "The 2021 Turbo cx5 we purchased a month ago has been a huge disappointment." That disappointment should be directed at oneself, not at the product that is what it is.
 
The 2021 Turbo cx5 we purchased a month ago has been a huge disappointment. The Bad:
-The driving dynamics. The lack of body control at slower speeds means the body lean is bad enough that the seats are incapable of holding you in position to drive. You must brace yourself. Fix the body control or provide Recaro's with big bolsters. Medium to higher speed handling is better as long as the road surface is very smooth. Any imperfection in the road surface will upset the spring/shock/tire tuning and require constant correction to hold a line. Even a straight line. The G vectoring will fight the necessary corrections through corners. FYI, G vectoring is nothing more than an attempt to automate Trail Braking. You can do it better if you could disable G vector but you can't. Basically the handling is a mess. Comes close to mediocre on interstates in good repair and with moderate corners. Forget off/on ramp fun. It got none.
- Ergonomics
Drivers seat bottom is too short from the hip to knee. That and lack of an independent tilt adjustment of the seat bottom results in leg discomfort in an hour or so. Bring a pillow.
- Controls.
The infotainment system is also a bleeding mess. Confusing to access selections without going through multiple screens and menus. There is NO touchscreen function. Apps like Goggle maps and Waze are designed to use Touchscreen inputs. So, hard to navigate those with Command knob. Android Auto connection is hit or miss as is Bluetooth connection. Mostly miss.
Using the Command control knob is less safe than using a touchscreen, IMO.
The climate control interface is located low as to require your eyes to be off the road for too long as its display is not easily interpreted.
Cup holders are in a hard to reach location due to placement of the damned Command knob. Loose the knob and provide a touchscreen please.
Safety nannies, Too many to count. Find the ones you like and disable the rest. But, except for lane keeping, you can't. Should have an option to disable/enable all driver aids to suit your driving style.
The Good:
Turbo Engine and Transmission. More hp would be nice, as always, but this is a very nicely engineered power train. The 6 speed auto is one of the best I have driven. Smooth and quick shifts when asked for. Ratios are perfectly matched to the engines torque output. A 7 speed to help the highway mpg would have been nice but ... bean counters.
Interior design.
Simple and reserved with good quality materials.
Exterior design.
Coherent, in the Soul Red color. Though for the extra cost you would hope there would be less orange peel in it.

Regardless of what Mazda marketing wishes you to beleive there is no Zoom Zoom present. Forget Horse and Rider as well. The suspension tuning, oem tire selection and sway bar, springs, shock choices all conspire to ruin the dynamic handling. Used to be Mazda's strength. Feels like something designed by committee with an accountant in charge. Shame.
Sorry to run on but a lot to get off my chest. Really wanted to like the CX5. Why did I buy it? Was not completly my call but I agreed. If had a do over I would advise not to base decision after just a 30 minute test drive. Ask to take it home for the weekend to fully evaluate the whole car in a low pressure environment like your garage.

I have no interest in any vehicle manufacturer. The opinions expressed are mine based on my personal experience.
There are much better cars available, but you will spend 10 to 100 thousand dollars more on them. I think that the transmission is clunky at very slow speeds but the rest of the car is so much better than other cars that I hav had so I am satisfied for now. This car will hold me for a while till electric cars get there. 300 mile range and quick charge for road trips, no transmission silky smooth and quick acceleration. It is happening.
 
The 2021 Turbo cx5 we purchased a month ago has been a huge disappointment. The Bad:
-The driving dynamics. The lack of body control at slower speeds means the body lean is bad enough that the seats are incapable of holding you in position to drive. You must brace yourself. Fix the body control or provide Recaro's with big bolsters. Medium to higher speed handling is better as long as the road surface is very smooth. Any imperfection in the road surface will upset the spring/shock/tire tuning and require constant correction to hold a line. Even a straight line. The G vectoring will fight the necessary corrections through corners. FYI, G vectoring is nothing more than an attempt to automate Trail Braking. You can do it better if you could disable G vector but you can't. Basically the handling is a mess. Comes close to mediocre on interstates in good repair and with moderate corners. Forget off/on ramp fun. It got none.
- Ergonomics
Drivers seat bottom is too short from the hip to knee. That and lack of an independent tilt adjustment of the seat bottom results in leg discomfort in an hour or so. Bring a pillow.
- Controls.
The infotainment system is also a bleeding mess. Confusing to access selections without going through multiple screens and menus. There is NO touchscreen function. Apps like Goggle maps and Waze are designed to use Touchscreen inputs. So, hard to navigate those with Command knob. Android Auto connection is hit or miss as is Bluetooth connection. Mostly miss.
Using the Command control knob is less safe than using a touchscreen, IMO.
The climate control interface is located low as to require your eyes to be off the road for too long as its display is not easily interpreted.
Cup holders are in a hard to reach location due to placement of the damned Command knob. Loose the knob and provide a touchscreen please.
Safety nannies, Too many to count. Find the ones you like and disable the rest. But, except for lane keeping, you can't. Should have an option to disable/enable all driver aids to suit your driving style.
The Good:
Turbo Engine and Transmission. More hp would be nice, as always, but this is a very nicely engineered power train. The 6 speed auto is one of the best I have driven. Smooth and quick shifts when asked for. Ratios are perfectly matched to the engines torque output. A 7 speed to help the highway mpg would have been nice but ... bean counters.
Interior design.
Simple and reserved with good quality materials.
Exterior design.
Coherent, in the Soul Red color. Though for the extra cost you would hope there would be less orange peel in it.

Regardless of what Mazda marketing wishes you to beleive there is no Zoom Zoom present. Forget Horse and Rider as well. The suspension tuning, oem tire selection and sway bar, springs, shock choices all conspire to ruin the dynamic handling. Used to be Mazda's strength. Feels like something designed by committee with an accountant in charge. Shame.
Sorry to run on but a lot to get off my chest. Really wanted to like the CX5. Why did I buy it? Was not completly my call but I agreed. If had a do over I would advise not to base decision after just a 30 minute test drive. Ask to take it home for the weekend to fully evaluate the whole car in a low pressure environment like your garage.

I have no interest in any vehicle manufacturer. The opinions expressed are mine based on my personal experience.
Sounds like you want a Cayenne at Mazda prices.
 
Seems crtic has a decision to make. Drive at least one CRV or Toyota and compare. Decide on whether to keep and live with your decision or sell back to dealer. A tough decision for me and maybe you. Ed
Interesting point, especially when you consider (let's be honest) that almost the only 2 things where the CX-5 beats the competitors (according to most reviews) is in styling (int/ext) and driving dynamics - (I thing I have more fun driving this than my 2011 Miata GT PRHT). In most other categories, utility, mpg, cargo, interior room, the CX-5 is usually 2nd or 3rd. That being said, most of us seem to have bought it for the 2 aforementioned winning catagories. OP really needs to check out the RAV4, CR-V, and such, then come back and review
 
I think the opinions regarding proper research and testing are in the right. No car is perfect and asking one to be is like assuming everyone likes the same kind of ice cream or even liking ice cream at all...simply impossible. I think the inflammatory component comes from the way the OP started the thread and made it seem like their own image of what the CX-5 should be is the end all be all. I wholeheartedly agree that the CX-5 isn't perfect, but some of the negatives made are pretty out there, especially when compared to the other options in this vehicle segment. The OP should try driving a RAV4 and then say that the CX-5 has poor body roll control. That thing drives like a truck without the benefits of one....
 
I think the OP is looking for a Mazdaspeed version which doesn't exist. However, a set of high performance tires could help fix the handling issue; perhaps thicker sway bars, stiffer springs & shocks too.

I replaced tires on many new vehicles in the past as most OEM tires are average at best; either noisy and hard or no traction. If not, then Porsche Macan, Audi SQ5, BMW X3, etc. but as someone mentioned, they all cost several thousand dollars more...and maintenance costs are high. Chevy Blazer RS???
 
I think the criticism here are mostly not too far off.
The 2021 Turbo cx5 we purchased a month ago has been a huge disappointment. The Bad:
-The driving dynamics. The lack of body control at slower speeds means the body lean is bad enough that the seats are incapable of holding you in position to drive. You must brace yourself. Fix the body control or provide Recaro's with big bolsters. Medium to higher speed handling is better as long as the road surface is very smooth. Any imperfection in the road surface will upset the spring/shock/tire tuning and require constant correction to hold a line. Even a straight line. The G vectoring will fight the necessary corrections through corners. FYI, G vectoring is nothing more than an attempt to automate Trail Braking. You can do it better if you could disable G vector but you can't. Basically the handling is a mess. Comes close to mediocre on interstates in good repair and with moderate corners. Forget off/on ramp fun. It got none.

This is probably the one area I most disagree with you on. Frankly, maybe it's me but it's good enough as is. I had no issues with it although I didn't test it the way you may have. I spun it in a parking lot and it was pretty much what I remembered from the 2015 in that respect so it was fine. Power, handling, NVH were all fine, much better than the 2015 I owned.

- Ergonomics
Drivers seat bottom is too short from the hip to knee. That and lack of an independent tilt adjustment of the seat bottom results in leg discomfort in an hour or so. Bring a pillow.
- Controls.

Yep, I had pain in less than an hour test drive. No bueno!

The infotainment system is also a bleeding mess. Confusing to access selections without going through multiple screens and menus. There is NO touchscreen function. Apps like Goggle maps and Waze are designed to use Touchscreen inputs. So, hard to navigate those with Command knob. Android Auto connection is hit or miss as is Bluetooth connection. Mostly miss.

I think I could live with this, if not for the whole center console piece. The arm rest is too far back, the cup holders are in a strange place, the knob gets in the way. It's a mess there. Getting rid of knob would do huge things for this section of the car. Mazda is kind of stubborn about things and apparently they know what's best for us.

The seats and the center are the two biggest negatives to me.

Safety nannies, Too many to count. Find the ones you like and disable the rest. But, except for lane keeping, you can't. Should have an option to disable/enable all driver aids to suit your driving style.

Non-issue to me, except I wish the LKAS actually existed. I would prefer a better system, I like how my Accord can borderline drive to work for me. Drove my father's 10 year old truck, no adaptive cruise, no parking sensors, no LKAS and it had me thinking, "how did I do this before, maybe school really was uphill both ways".

The Good:
Turbo Engine and Transmission. More hp would be nice, as always, but this is a very nicely engineered power train. The 6 speed auto is one of the best I have driven. Smooth and quick shifts when asked for. Ratios are perfectly matched to the engines torque output. A 7 speed to help the highway mpg would have been nice but ... bean counters.
Interior design.
Simple and reserved with good quality materials.
Exterior design.
Coherent, in the Soul Red color. Though for the extra cost you would hope there would be less orange peel in it.

Agree, mostly here. I'm looking for smaller, but not too small, and the Mazda fits, just too many compromises in the seat and center stack. Don't remember if you mentioned the HUD but I thought it was solid as well.

I doubt I'll be buying a CX-5, absent some way to test one for a day, but, what the hell, had some time, tossed some comments in.
 
Dyingquail, are you nuts!!!! You mean to tell me you test drove the car to make sure it operated and fit the way you would be comfortable with for the next several years? And then, after you discovered it wasn't as great as you thought it would be, you didn't buy it???? I didn't think that was possible. I mean, after all, how could you not buy a car based on how terrific the reviews are???

Okay, your post above is what everyone was trying to relay.
 
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