CX-5 Towing Report

G

Guest2019C20

Prior tow vehicles: 2000 Outback 2.5 w/5 speed manual, 2012 Outback 2.5 w/CVT.

In a word: fantastic.

The 2000 Outback towed well, as I recall. Enough grunt to pull this 1,000 pound boat/trailer up the boat ramp. Wasn't a speed demon, needed to be revved on the highway.

The 2012 Outback stunk. Very slow, engine revved high any time acceleration was needed. The soft suspension allowed the trailer to wag the dog, errr, the OB. Bumps threw the softly-suspended OB all over the place.

The 2016.5 CX-5 was just wonderful. Finally, the stiff suspension comes into it's own. Other than a reduction in acceleration, and being able to feel 100 pounds of load at the hitch, there was no noticeable effect on the ride, handling, stability. Even hitting larger bumps on a highway corner at 65 mph didn't disrupt the CX-5 at all. No bump steer, nothing. The car tracked straight.

I ended up running in 5th gear with the manu-matic, revs at 2,500. Even there, there wasn't much acceleration at 65 mph. The car would auto-shift into 6th when allowed. Pulling out from a stop was anticlimactic. That low first gear allowed the boat to be pulled up the ramp at idle, and I backed *up* my driveway at idle, too. The mirrors, through the open rear gate, gave a great view for me to back the boat down the ramp for the very first time. The quick steering was wonderful for keeping the trailer going where I needed it.

The only 'downside', if you can even fairly call it that, was that gas mileage for this stretch of road went from 32ish, to 24. That's due to the massive air drag from a 16 foot long, deep-V hull aluminum boat, sitting very high in the air.

I was going to trade in my 2012 Impreza on a crosstrek. Boy, am I glad I test-drove a CX-5 before that happened!
 
That fits my experience. I toss a lot in the summer including a 8 hr one way trip and a 5 hr one way trip. Both on secondary roads with lots of hills. Plenty of power. Good control. Great tow vehicle.
 
Can't wait to hear people's impressions of the diesel for towing when it comes out. Should nullify most of those 'negatives'.
 
Can't wait to hear people's impressions of the diesel for towing when it comes out. Should nullify most of those 'negatives'.

I'm disappointed that the towing capacity is so low. My 1997 Nissan Hardbody 4 cylinder, which surely is significantly lighter, has a 3500lb rating. I'm afraid the diesel will be limited to 2000 in spite of the engine.
 
I tow my 18 ft HD alloy cuddy cab with my '16 Akera diesel AWD. That was one of the main reasons I got the diesel. Prior to the Akera I had a company GT diesel for three years for the same reason.

Boat/trailer combo weighs in at 1200-1400kg depending on how loaded up with gear, ice boxes etc it is.

The CX5 tows it very nicely. Pulled the boat out of some very steep slippery boat ramps without any issues at all.

Max rated towing capacity here is 1800kgs. I gather in the UK it is 2000kgs. Cant really fathom why the difference.

 
I'm disappointed that the towing capacity is so low. My 1997 Nissan Hardbody 4 cylinder, which surely is significantly lighter, has a 3500lb rating. I'm afraid the diesel will be limited to 2000 in spite of the engine.

The current CX-5 can already tow 3500#. The 2.0 petrol is rated that in Europe. US regulations won't allow it though due to our higher highway speeds.
 
I'm too old for tossing any more, but enjoy. :)

That fits my experience. I toss a lot in the summer including a 8 hr one way trip and a 5 hr one way trip. Both on secondary roads with lots of hills. Plenty of power. Good control. Great tow vehicle.
 
Seriously isnt 1000 pound less than 500kg?
So most cars I've owned would tow that with out effort, in the uk you can tow that weight with no trailer brakes (750kg usually).

I've towed a 1565 kg caravan for 6 years with out effort, mostly using 6 th gear on motorways, and intend towing a 1700kg one which has recently been delivered, and it will tow that I'm sure.

I think the manual 175ps was a little more able at towing but not by much, as said the UK limits are 2000kg for the diesel, and 1800kg for the petrol 165ps.
 
For pretty much every where in the world that isn't North America the CX-5 is rated to tow 1800kg which is 3,968lbs. Close enough to just call it 4,000lbs. Why is this you ask? Well in one word, lawyers! I'm going to compare the UK against USA in this argument for simplification as I'm not an expert on towing regulations across the entire globe. Basically in the UK there is much stricter regulations when it comes to towing a trailer. Anything over 1000kg needs to have trailer brakes, that's not the case in the USA. Also when pulling any load in the UK speeds can not exceed 100km/h which is roughly 62mph in the states. That is because the higher the speed the more likely one will experience in-correctable trailer sway. Also in the UK you can only tow with the standard license if the total weight of vehicle and trailer load is less then 3500kg or about 7700lbs. In the USA you can tow up to 10,000lbs trailer with out needing a CDL license. And in the USA when towing that amount of there is no speed restrictions other then the posted limit. That means some guy who has never towed before in is life can go buy a pick-up and tow 10,000lbs of weight at 75mph! That a lot of weight at a high speed. Now most trailers in the USA weight there loads a bit closer to the hitch, usually above 15% tongue weight. where in the UK its at or below 15% tongue weight. That makes a big difference in how the trailer acts at speed.

So in conclusion, the CX-5 can tow a heavier load then stated in the NA owners manual, one just needs to follow the UK rules and do so at there own risk because if something happens, Mazda will not be responsible and you will be at fault for not following the guide lines. If one really needed to they could tow 4,000lbs if the trailer was weighted correctly, they had trailer brakes and did not excced 62mph. The car will handle it. Should you do, or do it often, No, but once in awhile I see no problem in doing so.

We just bought a 2016 GLE350 with a 7,200lbs towing limit, before that I was considering getting a small boat and towing it with the CX-5 twice a year to the boat launch (we'd keep it on the lake) which is about 5 miles away. Weight of the boat we were looking at is about 3,800lbs with boat and trailer.
 
I'm disappointed that the towing capacity is so low. My 1997 Nissan Hardbody 4 cylinder, which surely is significantly lighter, has a 3500lb rating. I'm afraid the diesel will be limited to 2000 in spite of the engine.

I see Ride92 has largely covered the points I would have made.

So long as your not stupid (proper weight distribution, trailer brakes, keep your speed in check etc), even the 'lowly' gas 2.5L should easily be able to tow 3500lbs (well below the global 4000lb limit) comfortably regardless of any (likely 2000lb) limit in the North American (LAWYERS!!!) manual.

The diesel even more so.

I'm not terribly concerned as my trailer's only ~1200lbs, so even with 800lbs of of gear strapped on top, I'd still be fine 'legally' and the diesel CX5 will hardly break a sweat towing it. It also has trailer brakes (I'm a fan of overkill) even at that low weight. I've been towing it with a 2011 Suzuki SX4 with zero problems (though I've avoided overly mountainous terrain for obvious reasons).

I'm pretty stoked for the diesel CX5! It and my lightweight trailer are going to make a hell of a nice lightweight/efficient towing/road trip setup IMO (cabpatch)

2uq0z6q.jpg

rhrjo8.jpg
 
Seriously? The CX-5 can do almost 4,000?!? The Jeep Cherokee with the 4 cylinder is only rated to 2,500. You have to get the V6 to get to 4,500.
 
It's the US law that forbids it, a lot of cars that are rated to tow much heavier load is "not recommended" to tow in the US even though the drivetrain and brakes are exactly the same
 
It's the US law that forbids it, a lot of cars that are rated to tow much heavier load is "not recommended" to tow in the US even though the drivetrain and brakes are exactly the same

I am not aware of and I can not find any US laws on towing. Everything I can find is from the states. I would like to know where the Mazda CX-5 towing recommendations come from.

Is it from Mazda?
Is it based on law or on Mazdas interpretations of US speeds / roads ETC
Does it have any effect on warranty.

We all know what we think, but what is the truth?
 
Im towing a 6x10 foot enclosed V-Nose trailer (8ft tall) loaded to about 2000 - 2200 lbs with my 2.5L. The biggest thing I notice is the wind resistance especially on the highway but for the most part the cx5 handles it fine at 60-65 mph. Occasionally I will get a burning smell when coming off the highway to a stop. Im hoping its just the breaks and not the clutch.
 
My trailer has a 3500 LB axle, and the trailer weighs about 500 pounds, so I try to keep the loads under 2500 if possible. Heaviest thing I have hauled is a pallet of concrete, which was 35 bags at 80 pounds each, so roughly 2800 pounds. I could tell it was back there, but towed it no problem.
 
Back