CX-5 review It's all about the handling

[fdew]

I just finished a 6 state run in 8 days. I like my CX-5 a lot.

First a little about what I want in a car so you can decide if you care what I think.

I love, and require a good handling car. I discovered good handling with a 1968 BMW 2002. (Yes, I am old) Since then I have chosen all my cars based on fun to drive / good handling. 2002, BMW 1800, A few Saab 96s and a Saab 95, one Saab 99, a couple of Peugeot 504s and 2 Peugeot 505s one 405. (Peugeots handle like BMW but cost a lot less in the US. A couple of VW golfs and finally a Audi Allroad. All of the above were bought used or very used. Note that my wife and I raised two kids and never owned a mini van.
I now have a health issue that makes driving uncomfortable unless I sit up kind of straight. A crossover was the best option. I didn't try the Audi A5 because I wanted to go with new and couldn't afford the Audi. I also didn't try anything by GM because they are made by the government. (political decision, different forum or PM please)

I did try the Tiguan I expected it to be very good and it wasn't even close. I tried the Roge, the Outlander and others. The CX-5 was by far the best.

I should stop and define handling. It is not 0-60 time. It is not top speed. It is the ability to follow a line through a curve. It is also the ability to communicate to the driver what it is doing, how close to the limit it is, and while doing all this on a road with nothing but curves, make the driver GRIN. It turns out that Mazda has a name for this. Zoom, Zoom.

I had to drive 7 hrs today. I chose to change the trip to 7.5 hrs by making it more direct but half of it on secondary roads. For the last hour I was in an area I know so I got off the secondary roads and took my favorite back roads. Still paved, but often with no lines, and lots of turns.

By the time I got home I was grinning from ear to ear. After dinner I just had to do something so I went out and mowed the lawn. I LIKE THIS CAR a lot.

The toys worked and are nice. Auto wipers, Blue tooth, locks ETC. Looks, I was in a restaurant a couple days ago and happened to be at a window in front of my car. I was a bit surprised at the look of it. I hadn't studied it before. I just like driving it.

Frank

 

[Reggae]

Have had similar experiences in the past most recently this weekend doing a NY to Erie, PA trip. Totally agree with you Frank.

 

[gmuffley]

The only complaint I have with the CX-5 is the body roll on sharp curves. I have the GT with 19 inch wheels. I plan on getting H & R springs, which will lower the car slightly, but will also control the roll better.

 

[MikeM.]

I just finished a 6 state run in 8 days. I like my CX-5 a lot.

Excellent. Sounds like a fun road trip!

I also didn't try anything by GM because they are made by the government. (political decision, different forum or PM please)

If there is a subject you prefer to avoid discussion on, then YOU should not raise that subject and especially not in a factually inaccurate manner.

The Government sold off the last of it's GM stock last year. Regardless of whether you approved of the Governments previous actions (which ended up saving American taxpayers billions of dollars) there is no rational basis for claiming GM cars are made "by the Government". GM is 100% privately owned.

I had to drive 7 hrs today. I chose to change the trip to 7.5 hrs by making it more direct but half of it on secondary roads. For the last hour I was in an area I know so I got off the secondary roads and took my favorite back roads. Still paved, but often with no lines, and lots of turns.

By the time I got home I was grinning from ear to ear. After dinner I just had to do something so I went out and mowed the lawn. I LIKE THIS CAR a lot.

I like the handling a lot also. I never liked cars with excessive body roll which is why I've avoided SUV's until the CX-5 was released. It has the least body roll in it's class.

Body roll is naturally increased significantly by weight up high (like on/in the roof). So to maintain the best handling it's important to avoid things like permanent roof racks. Even the sunroof adds considerable weight which I would have preferred to avoid but not if it meant giving up the excellent Xenon headlights. I wish Mazda allowed a little more customization in this regard but, apparently, Americans really love their sunroofs and are either unaware of, or don't care about the effect on handling.

 

[pt00323i]

The only complaint I have with the CX-5 is the body roll on sharp curves. I have the GT with 19 inch wheels. I plan on getting H & R springs, which will lower the car slightly, but will also control the roll better.

if you have 2wd, just install rear swaybar instead of springs if you don't want the drop, they are very nice addition, it doesn't under steer that much anymore

 

[katman]

Some roll is needed- if you reduce roll, you increase the likelyhood of the tires losing contact with the ground.

 

[speedbegone]

Some roll is needed- if you reduce roll, you increase the likelyhood of the tires losing contact with the ground.

I learned that fast as a kid with gran turismo. The first car I started changing the suspension settings (think it was a supra), I went all crazy on low and stiff... boy was that a disaster. the car was tail happy and would constantly slide of the road.

Its a fine line to achieve the proper driving dynamics, and I think mazda have always been putting priority on the sporty nature of the suspension rather than the comfort... Its a gamble on their part that may have cost them sales to the likes of honda and toyota, but for driving enthusiasts, this is such a rewarding drive compared to the other brands.

There is still room for improvement for sure, but it should be done with caution.
There is enough ground clearance to lower it a bit without sacrificing the utility part of SUV. (8.5 inch of ground clearance compared to a VW tiguan witch has 6.9"). So a 1.6" drop is no problem at all.
Add stiffer springs, wider rims/tires and a better offset, this CX5 would surprise the hell out of some cars in cornering speed

 

[katman]

I'm no suspension guru, but I have worked on many a suspension and one of my cars is a '06 Gto with every bushing replaced with poly, aftermarket springs, shocks, sways.
My opinion of the CX5 suspension is, it is awesome!If you try to lower it, you'll surely make it crappier.Why would you want to make it crappier?
I have ridden in many a car with modded suspensions that felt "kitted". By that, they had a bad ride which the owner mistook for better handling. Yes, making things stiffer and lower can actually hurt your handling!
CX5- Makes use of advanced rubber for better handling- large bumps are absorbed by rubber first, not springs! Look at the rear tire well- see that beige plastic looking thing on the shock? It is tuned to the spring and shock. If you replace the spring with a shorter one, you will have to cut that bump stop down. How much? I have no idea, but I bet you don't either.
Shorter spring means you need a shock that can work with it. Stock shock won't work well with a shorter, stiffer spring. Aftermarket springs will have to account for less travel otherwise you get short life and/or bad ride and handling.
How's the camber looking with it lowered? Most Japanese cars lack camber adjustment, so you can count on increased inside tire wear as well.
Really, when i drive this car (and I have driven lots of sports cars, from vett's to Porsches) I see no deficiencies. It handles well, rides well, takes turns with class. It has a great balance of qualities. I truly believe that lowering it will result in a poorer handling/rougher riding car.

 

[atoz350]

I'm no suspension guru, but I have worked on many a suspension and one of my cars is a '06 Gto with every bushing replaced with poly, aftermarket springs, shocks, sways.
My opinion of the CX5 suspension is, it is awesome!If you try to lower it, you'll surely make it crappier.Why would you want to make it crappier?
I have ridden in many a car with modded suspensions that felt "kitted". By that, they had a bad ride which the owner mistook for better handling. Yes, making things stiffer and lower can actually hurt your handling!
CX5- Makes use of advanced rubber for better handling- large bumps are absorbed by rubber first, not springs! Look at the rear tire well- see that beige plastic looking thing on the shock? It is tuned to the spring and shock. If you replace the spring with a shorter one, you will have to cut that bump stop down. How much? I have no idea, but I bet you don't either.
Shorter spring means you need a shock that can work with it. Stock shock won't work well with a shorter, stiffer spring. Aftermarket springs will have to account for less travel otherwise you get short life and/or bad ride and handling.
How's the camber looking with it lowered? Most Japanese cars lack camber adjustment, so you can count on increased inside tire wear as well.
Really, when i drive this car (and I have driven lots of sports cars, from vett's to Porsches) I see no deficiencies. It handles well, rides well, takes turns with class. It has a great balance of qualities. I truly believe that lowering it will result in a poorer handling/rougher riding car.

I'm with you on this one. I do believe lateral handling can be improved with stickier tires and a thicker anti-roll bar. I would not consider lowering the CX-5 for handling improvements. If it's for cosmetic reasons, then go for it.

 

[katman]

I'm with you on this one. I do believe lateral handling can be improved with stickier tires and a thicker anti-roll bar. I would not consider lowering the CX-5 for handling improvements. If it's for cosmetic reasons, then go for it.

If you want more grip, you could try wider tires. Perhaps more effective would be to replace the control arm bushings with poly, but then again, you could have noise and extra harshness. I have read rumours of minor running changes to improve ride, so it is possible that there might be two different durometers for their a arm bushings. As for sways, I haven't looked at them, but if they have rubber bushings, those could be replaced with poly to give you some of the benefits of a larger bar for maybe $30.

 

[ManMachine]

There has been little after market support for the suspension components, shocks etc. maybe that'll change down the road?

 

[katman]

There has been little after market support for the suspension components, shocks etc. maybe that'll change down the road?

I very much doubt it. I don't think many people think of modding a cx5. Also, it takes more than just selling parts; they must be tested to verify that they work in harmony with other parts. i don't see anyone wanting to spend the $ to R&D something for a market that doesn't exist.

 

[V8toilet]

Frank, I liked your review. When I read the tittle, my first thought was who buys an SUV for just the handling. This was of course until I got to your part about the health and sitting straight up thing, which makes perfect sense.

The reason I bought this SUV myself was for the gas mileage and reasonable cargo capacity. It never occurred to me that any SUV could be any fun to drive at all. I had just come from a Toyota Tundra and I didn't like the current offerings, prices, and poor gas mileage of new or used trucks at the time. I found the CX5 sort of by accident because I wanted something that had reasonable cargo capacity and good gas mileage. I still remember when I first test drove one and took this sharp turn on an interstate and being amazed at how well it felt. So fantastic gas mileage + reasonable cargo sealed the deal and the handling was an unexpected bonus. This is no sports car by any means but for something that has a center of gravity 26" off the ground it certainly feels like it handles very well and it does. I also remember thinking that "Skyactiv technology" was just another marketing gimmick and so I did tons of research on this engine and transmission before I even considered a test drive. I'm glad I was wrong.

I'm also like you and I prefer vehicles that handle well. I once owned an 88 Pontiac Fiero 5-speed stick that I had a lot of fun driving and modifying. I took a V6 Camaro engine, built and blue printed the long block, installed roller rockers, a nice healthy camshaft, headers, and ported heads. I liked Mazdas focus on driving dynamics enough to purchase my wife a new 2012 Mazda 5 sport, which by the way is an even better handler than the CX5 is.