Hello!
Well it's been exactly one month since I bought my 2014 Mazda CX5 and I thought I'd update the lurkers on what I've observed. (This is a long post aimed at shoppers considering the purchase of a new CX-5. See my other "Review" threads for past information and ask me anything.)
Summary: Satisfied, enjoying it overall. Adjusting to the switch from a small sporty car to a Crossover. Looking forward to using it in the mountains and the snow.
* Gas Mileage has met expectations.
Of the four tanks I've tracked, I got 28.x MPG on three and 26.x MPG on the last. The last involved a few short trips moving a friend on a hot day with the AC running all day.
https://www.fuelly.com/driver/maxwax/cx5
This is a sensitive attribute for me because my last car, a little Honda Fit got 33 MPG for its 6 year lifetime. I'm switching from 10 gallon fill ups at $30-$35 a tank to 13 gallon fill ups at $45-50 on the CX-5. So there is an increase in cost but I remind myself that I'm driving the best in class MPG with the CX-5 and that 28 MPG is pretty good for something that weighs 800 pounds more than the Honda.
* I got a little bored of driving the CX-5 in week three.
My Honda Fit was a 1.5L 109HP manual transmission, small, light, low to the ground, nimble and fun to drive despite its economy car class. I worked the gears, revved the engine and took corners pretty fast. Think: Go Kart by Honda.
Driving the much larger, heavier and powerful CX-5 has definitely changed my driving style, at least for now. I've been very delicate with it this month in order to break it in and establish a baseline of fuel economy in ideal conditions. That's meant driving like I've borrowed a grandma's Buick LeSabre and I don't want to wreck it. It's been comfortable, but sometimes uninspiring on the daily commute and highway drives.
The cause of this is the larger, more powerful engine, the excellent automatic transmission and the tuning of the transmission towards fuel economy. These three things combine to rob me of what I'm used to in the Honda: working the manual transmission, high-revving the engine and taking corners and curvvy off ramps fast.
Here's an example from two days ago: Driving down a highway, doing say 65 MPH, and I gently floor the pedal and it does pretty much nothing. Other automatics I've driven would downshift and take off, but not the CX-5.
A few minutes later I realize this is the CX-5's bias towards fuel economy so it's staying in 6th gear as much as possible. I test this by pulling my foot off the pedal then quickly flooring it. The CX-5 downshifts 2 gears, takes off and I'm doing 90 in a few seconds. So now I realize I was more aggressive with dealer's cars on test drives than my own: I always liked the way the 2.5L engine would pull me into the seat when accelerating from say 20 to 60.
So here's my take: I'd rather have the fuel economy and *really smooth* daily driving rather than a jumpy automatic that shifts up and down to make the car *feel* fast. When I want to go fast, I'll work the CX-5 and make it perform. It's just not the same experience as what I'm used to and I'll always miss the manual transmission.
* Driving in mud is fun!
After a really intense thunderstorm with a lot of rain on Friday night, I went out driving to follow the storm and check out the lightning. When I'd had enough and turned around, I found about 50 feet of fresh mud near me and decided to try it out.
This was one of my first experiences with the CX-5 off pavement and I really enjoyed it. Despite spinning wheels, I felt solidly planted, in control and ready for more. I had zero worry about getting stuck, which I could never say about the Honda. This has left me looking forward to more mud and snow in the Colorado winter.
I bought the CX-5 instead of a smaller, sporty car in order to enjoy living in Colorado where dirt roads, mud, and steep hills are easy to find. So I'm now realizing that the CX-5 is a Crossover SUV and not a sportscar. It can't be both and I've chosen something that can play in the mountains over something that zips on streets like my old car. Expect a happy review this winter after the first snow
* Happy with a bunch of small issues:
- Love the backup camera. LOVE IT. I use it all the time but my best experience with it was rushing to back the CX-5 into my rather small garage with a dresser blocking some of the space at the end. I was able to get within just a few inches of it rather quickly and avoid an impending hail storm.
- Blind Spot Monitoring has been reassuring. It hasn't saved me from an accident yet, but it's been nice to have and it will save me in the future.
- I've been coasting on a frequent basis which helps the CX-5 feel like a crossover and not a truck. It's weight and momentum can bring it to a stoplight without a huge loss in speed. In the trucks I've driven this wasn't the case and provided a driving experience that was less comfortable for me.
- I've had several hour long telephone calls using my iPhone paired to the Bluetooth hands-free speaker system. Both I and my callers report voices sounding a little mechanical and artificial but no of us had any complaints. It's been really comfortable talking while driving this way and I'm glad I have it.
- The 6 speaker stereo exceeds my expectations for sound quality and I'm really happy with it. High notes are clear and there is almost too much bass. No need for an upgrade to the Bose unit, for me.
- The integrated Pandora app on my iPhone links up nicely with the Pandora interface on the Mazda touch screen. I don't have a paid Pandora account and find their advertising annoying but so far I've really enjoyed using Pandora through the touch screen. No advertisements, excellent sound quality, and I like using the touch screen for interactions instead of reaching for the phone.
- I use the KCRW app on my iPhone to stream music from the internet to the Mazda. With my phone mounted on a Gomadic suction cup iPhone holder above the dash, I get album art on the phone and track details on the Mazda display. This is really nice and sound quality has been great.
- I've gotten used to having a push button start instead of a key in the ignition. I have, once, exited the car, walked away and only when the car wouldn't lock using the key fob did I realize the car was parked and still running.
- While moving a friend I dropped the middle 20% seat back in order to put a narrow lamp in the car. It was nice to have and it's not just for skiis.
Finally, no problems so far. Nothing broken, not working, acting strangely.
I hope this helps if you're considering the CX-5. Ask questions if you have them!
Well it's been exactly one month since I bought my 2014 Mazda CX5 and I thought I'd update the lurkers on what I've observed. (This is a long post aimed at shoppers considering the purchase of a new CX-5. See my other "Review" threads for past information and ask me anything.)
Summary: Satisfied, enjoying it overall. Adjusting to the switch from a small sporty car to a Crossover. Looking forward to using it in the mountains and the snow.
* Gas Mileage has met expectations.
Of the four tanks I've tracked, I got 28.x MPG on three and 26.x MPG on the last. The last involved a few short trips moving a friend on a hot day with the AC running all day.
https://www.fuelly.com/driver/maxwax/cx5
This is a sensitive attribute for me because my last car, a little Honda Fit got 33 MPG for its 6 year lifetime. I'm switching from 10 gallon fill ups at $30-$35 a tank to 13 gallon fill ups at $45-50 on the CX-5. So there is an increase in cost but I remind myself that I'm driving the best in class MPG with the CX-5 and that 28 MPG is pretty good for something that weighs 800 pounds more than the Honda.
* I got a little bored of driving the CX-5 in week three.
My Honda Fit was a 1.5L 109HP manual transmission, small, light, low to the ground, nimble and fun to drive despite its economy car class. I worked the gears, revved the engine and took corners pretty fast. Think: Go Kart by Honda.
Driving the much larger, heavier and powerful CX-5 has definitely changed my driving style, at least for now. I've been very delicate with it this month in order to break it in and establish a baseline of fuel economy in ideal conditions. That's meant driving like I've borrowed a grandma's Buick LeSabre and I don't want to wreck it. It's been comfortable, but sometimes uninspiring on the daily commute and highway drives.
The cause of this is the larger, more powerful engine, the excellent automatic transmission and the tuning of the transmission towards fuel economy. These three things combine to rob me of what I'm used to in the Honda: working the manual transmission, high-revving the engine and taking corners and curvvy off ramps fast.
Here's an example from two days ago: Driving down a highway, doing say 65 MPH, and I gently floor the pedal and it does pretty much nothing. Other automatics I've driven would downshift and take off, but not the CX-5.
A few minutes later I realize this is the CX-5's bias towards fuel economy so it's staying in 6th gear as much as possible. I test this by pulling my foot off the pedal then quickly flooring it. The CX-5 downshifts 2 gears, takes off and I'm doing 90 in a few seconds. So now I realize I was more aggressive with dealer's cars on test drives than my own: I always liked the way the 2.5L engine would pull me into the seat when accelerating from say 20 to 60.
So here's my take: I'd rather have the fuel economy and *really smooth* daily driving rather than a jumpy automatic that shifts up and down to make the car *feel* fast. When I want to go fast, I'll work the CX-5 and make it perform. It's just not the same experience as what I'm used to and I'll always miss the manual transmission.
* Driving in mud is fun!
After a really intense thunderstorm with a lot of rain on Friday night, I went out driving to follow the storm and check out the lightning. When I'd had enough and turned around, I found about 50 feet of fresh mud near me and decided to try it out.
This was one of my first experiences with the CX-5 off pavement and I really enjoyed it. Despite spinning wheels, I felt solidly planted, in control and ready for more. I had zero worry about getting stuck, which I could never say about the Honda. This has left me looking forward to more mud and snow in the Colorado winter.
I bought the CX-5 instead of a smaller, sporty car in order to enjoy living in Colorado where dirt roads, mud, and steep hills are easy to find. So I'm now realizing that the CX-5 is a Crossover SUV and not a sportscar. It can't be both and I've chosen something that can play in the mountains over something that zips on streets like my old car. Expect a happy review this winter after the first snow
* Happy with a bunch of small issues:
- Love the backup camera. LOVE IT. I use it all the time but my best experience with it was rushing to back the CX-5 into my rather small garage with a dresser blocking some of the space at the end. I was able to get within just a few inches of it rather quickly and avoid an impending hail storm.
- Blind Spot Monitoring has been reassuring. It hasn't saved me from an accident yet, but it's been nice to have and it will save me in the future.
- I've been coasting on a frequent basis which helps the CX-5 feel like a crossover and not a truck. It's weight and momentum can bring it to a stoplight without a huge loss in speed. In the trucks I've driven this wasn't the case and provided a driving experience that was less comfortable for me.
- I've had several hour long telephone calls using my iPhone paired to the Bluetooth hands-free speaker system. Both I and my callers report voices sounding a little mechanical and artificial but no of us had any complaints. It's been really comfortable talking while driving this way and I'm glad I have it.
- The 6 speaker stereo exceeds my expectations for sound quality and I'm really happy with it. High notes are clear and there is almost too much bass. No need for an upgrade to the Bose unit, for me.
- The integrated Pandora app on my iPhone links up nicely with the Pandora interface on the Mazda touch screen. I don't have a paid Pandora account and find their advertising annoying but so far I've really enjoyed using Pandora through the touch screen. No advertisements, excellent sound quality, and I like using the touch screen for interactions instead of reaching for the phone.
- I use the KCRW app on my iPhone to stream music from the internet to the Mazda. With my phone mounted on a Gomadic suction cup iPhone holder above the dash, I get album art on the phone and track details on the Mazda display. This is really nice and sound quality has been great.
- I've gotten used to having a push button start instead of a key in the ignition. I have, once, exited the car, walked away and only when the car wouldn't lock using the key fob did I realize the car was parked and still running.
- While moving a friend I dropped the middle 20% seat back in order to put a narrow lamp in the car. It was nice to have and it's not just for skiis.
Finally, no problems so far. Nothing broken, not working, acting strangely.
I hope this helps if you're considering the CX-5. Ask questions if you have them!
