I made a mistake and put in 2007 Honda Fit stats and labeled it a 2009, which has 118 horsepower so I edited that post. The stats are correct but the year was wrong.
Maxwax you are welcome. I decided that just putting up the facts would speak for themselves. It's also interesting to compared them and see how things stack up. I also think you've done some really good and interesting writups about your experiences with the CX5 and enjoyed reading them.
I'm curious what your impression on power differences was when you test drove the bigger engine after test driving the 2.0 with the manual?
There is a noticeable difference between the 2.0L Sport engine and the 2.5L Touring engine. But it is not night-and-day difference: it's not a one is bad and the other is good comparision. I chose my words carefully in one of my original reviews that the 2.0L is good, but the 2.5L is just better.
It reminds me of how I've always felt in my Hondas with only a driver and then with passengers. With only a driver, the car feels like 100% of power. With three adults weighing it down, it feels like 60, 70 or 80% of the normal experience depending on the power of the car and whether you're climbing hills.
I'd suspect that to a 2.5L engine driver, driving a 2.0L might feel like the same car but with some passengers weighing it down. It's the same Automatic transmission, the same features, the same comfort, just with a little less power. I don't expect to see many 2.0L drivers take a 2.5L test drive and rush out to trade up. It's not
that good.
My first two test drives in 2014 CX-5s were a Sport Manual and a Sport Automatic. I test drove them in Fort Collins Colorado on mostly polite suburban roads but the middle of the drive featured a 300 foot elevation gain into the foothills near a local reservoir. Both models handled the hills confidently and steadily without a need to push the pedal very hard.
I think Sport owners (especially those with manuals!) should relax and enjoy it. I bought a Touring because I was really drawn to the bluetooth connectivity, backup camera, blind spot monitoring, and power seat & with lumbar support. Those got me considering a Touring and then adding the bigger engine helped sway me towards it. If it weren't for those, I'd be writing about my Sport Manual.
BTW, 7" Ground clearance fully loaded is great for me. A huge improvement over my Fit:
http://www.maxwellspangler.com/blog/uploaded_images/dsc_1303-706580.jpg Notice the rear wheel well. I wasn't sure it was safe, but it went from one coast to another like that. Never less than 29 MPG.
PS. Thanks for telling me those were 2007 Fit numbers. I was going to ask you to check with CR and post those for me. They're great for posterity.
