I'm in the process of moving from the Pacific NW to NW Arkansas. This is around 2200 miles. I elected to drive my CX-5 GT along with a couple hundred pounds of stuff that were not in storage. So, it's like me and a passenger.
Here are some of my observations so far for a long distance trip.
The drivers seat: I did not like the seat when I bought the car but after the leather broke in to my butt it got better. It has always felt a little thin in the seat cushion though, and I thought that might be a long distance issue. But, it has not been bad. Not super comfy but acceptable.
Driving has been great. So far I've been cruising at 85 through Idaho, carving twisties in The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and The Bighorn National Park (I can just tool and survey the scenery or push the curves, and there are a LOT of curves) and more 75 mph cruising through Wyoming. The car performs very well. It tracks well in hard cross winds and is fairly quiet.
Fuel economy has been very good. Always in the 25-30 mpg range regardless of how fast, slow or hard I've been driving. I believe I've gone over four passes of around 9000 foot as well, so there's that.
The Nav System: I never used it much in Washington because I knew where I was going. For this trip I programmed in every daily destination. Once you have done it a few is becomes easy. It's also easy to do this on the fly for side destinations. It works very well. I'm impressed with the accuracy and clear instructions from "the voice". Let's call her Betsy. Betsy only becomes annoying when I take impromptu swerves to see a "point of interest". Betsy's complaint of "recalculating route" got a little tiring. It became a ritual... I would change course, she would passively aggressively tell me I was wrong, I would make small talk with her while eventually getting back to the route and we would accept each other till the next course deviation. Question: If you converse with your Nav voice is it a sign of car cabin fever, and what should you do?
My one major gripe with the CX-5 (and I should have noticed this in test driving, but I didn't) is the view from the drivers seat. I come from having several Foresters, and they have a large greenhouse. I like to crank the seat up high, but when I do in the CX-5 the rear view mirror blocks the view to the right. I have to duck down to see views that way or to see the exit of a right hand curve. This is not good in a "Grand Touring" vehicle. But the driving dynamics are much more engaging than the current crop of Foresters (except maybe the XT) so that's why I'm in a CX-5.
Anyway, that is where I'm at on this trip so far. The CX-5 is a great driver with pretty good views from my position.
Here are some of my observations so far for a long distance trip.
The drivers seat: I did not like the seat when I bought the car but after the leather broke in to my butt it got better. It has always felt a little thin in the seat cushion though, and I thought that might be a long distance issue. But, it has not been bad. Not super comfy but acceptable.
Driving has been great. So far I've been cruising at 85 through Idaho, carving twisties in The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and The Bighorn National Park (I can just tool and survey the scenery or push the curves, and there are a LOT of curves) and more 75 mph cruising through Wyoming. The car performs very well. It tracks well in hard cross winds and is fairly quiet.
Fuel economy has been very good. Always in the 25-30 mpg range regardless of how fast, slow or hard I've been driving. I believe I've gone over four passes of around 9000 foot as well, so there's that.
The Nav System: I never used it much in Washington because I knew where I was going. For this trip I programmed in every daily destination. Once you have done it a few is becomes easy. It's also easy to do this on the fly for side destinations. It works very well. I'm impressed with the accuracy and clear instructions from "the voice". Let's call her Betsy. Betsy only becomes annoying when I take impromptu swerves to see a "point of interest". Betsy's complaint of "recalculating route" got a little tiring. It became a ritual... I would change course, she would passively aggressively tell me I was wrong, I would make small talk with her while eventually getting back to the route and we would accept each other till the next course deviation. Question: If you converse with your Nav voice is it a sign of car cabin fever, and what should you do?
My one major gripe with the CX-5 (and I should have noticed this in test driving, but I didn't) is the view from the drivers seat. I come from having several Foresters, and they have a large greenhouse. I like to crank the seat up high, but when I do in the CX-5 the rear view mirror blocks the view to the right. I have to duck down to see views that way or to see the exit of a right hand curve. This is not good in a "Grand Touring" vehicle. But the driving dynamics are much more engaging than the current crop of Foresters (except maybe the XT) so that's why I'm in a CX-5.
Anyway, that is where I'm at on this trip so far. The CX-5 is a great driver with pretty good views from my position.
