NinjaNoises
Member
- :
- CX-5 Sport MT
It's time that someone put the claims of all the Mazda executives and biased reviewers to the test.
I have to admit that I considered starting this thread before taking the CX-5 out on the track, but it was my first participation in a track day event. The nightmare was having to update my own thread with photos of my CX-5 carcass driven halfway into a barrier.
Everything turned out fine. My friends who were there with me to drive their GTI, FR-S and MazdaSpeed3 were very encouraging. They are regulars at track days. Theses are the guys I frequent indoor go-karting with. I got a couple of high-fives from strangers for ballsing up the courage to bring an econo SUV to the track. The remainder of the people dished out the ridicule looks I ballsed up for. The only other SUVs at the track had trailers attached to them.
Mine is a Sport trim 2.0 with 6-speed manual transmission. Only modification being 18" Enkei M52 wheels paired with 235/55-18 Continental ExtremeContact DWS wheels.
For Class D (beginner) drivers, the day starts at 8am, with a 20 minute session with the instructor driving your car at about 60% to show you the recommended lines, breaking and acceleration points. The second session, he rides shotgun to give verbal coaching while he pretends not to be nervous. Three more sessions were available in the afternoon for you to practice an improve your lap times.
Is it Zoom-Zoom worthy? Somewhat. The car never stops reminding you that you're in an SUV. Each braking point is taken with a heavy nose-dive, and turn-ins are accompanied with a roll that doesn't inspire confidence. With a more taut suspension setup, this car would be a lot more fun at the track. These claims were echoed by my instructor as I shared them with him. Is the car a total let down? Absolutely not. While it's no Mazda Miata, I believe the purpose of this car is to deliver smiles, not blazing lap times.
This is the car that does everything pretty well, but not a single thing exceptionally. It'll handle the occasional trip to IKEA, but you'll still need a truck for the large items. It'll handle a day at the track, but you'll have more fun there in something else.
The front tires were a bit chewed up after a hard session. Nothing unexpected. (below)
The rears were chewed up a little bit more. This is a good indication the car is rotating a bit more than it needed to. Oversteering is the word.
Lastly, here's the video! My best time was a 2'40.96 (93mph) that day. I am absolutely satisfied with it. You'll even see in the video I managed to pass a Miata and WRX
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6kBVOe2FcRo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I have to admit that I considered starting this thread before taking the CX-5 out on the track, but it was my first participation in a track day event. The nightmare was having to update my own thread with photos of my CX-5 carcass driven halfway into a barrier.
Everything turned out fine. My friends who were there with me to drive their GTI, FR-S and MazdaSpeed3 were very encouraging. They are regulars at track days. Theses are the guys I frequent indoor go-karting with. I got a couple of high-fives from strangers for ballsing up the courage to bring an econo SUV to the track. The remainder of the people dished out the ridicule looks I ballsed up for. The only other SUVs at the track had trailers attached to them.
Mine is a Sport trim 2.0 with 6-speed manual transmission. Only modification being 18" Enkei M52 wheels paired with 235/55-18 Continental ExtremeContact DWS wheels.
For Class D (beginner) drivers, the day starts at 8am, with a 20 minute session with the instructor driving your car at about 60% to show you the recommended lines, breaking and acceleration points. The second session, he rides shotgun to give verbal coaching while he pretends not to be nervous. Three more sessions were available in the afternoon for you to practice an improve your lap times.
Is it Zoom-Zoom worthy? Somewhat. The car never stops reminding you that you're in an SUV. Each braking point is taken with a heavy nose-dive, and turn-ins are accompanied with a roll that doesn't inspire confidence. With a more taut suspension setup, this car would be a lot more fun at the track. These claims were echoed by my instructor as I shared them with him. Is the car a total let down? Absolutely not. While it's no Mazda Miata, I believe the purpose of this car is to deliver smiles, not blazing lap times.
This is the car that does everything pretty well, but not a single thing exceptionally. It'll handle the occasional trip to IKEA, but you'll still need a truck for the large items. It'll handle a day at the track, but you'll have more fun there in something else.
The front tires were a bit chewed up after a hard session. Nothing unexpected. (below)
The rears were chewed up a little bit more. This is a good indication the car is rotating a bit more than it needed to. Oversteering is the word.
Lastly, here's the video! My best time was a 2'40.96 (93mph) that day. I am absolutely satisfied with it. You'll even see in the video I managed to pass a Miata and WRX
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6kBVOe2FcRo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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