Mazda looks to next-gen CX-5 for a lift

I'm on my fourth Mazda, which will likely be my last for a while.

My MS6 was exciting, despite my love/hate relationship with it. They no longer offer anything exciting. It's all a breadth above mundane. I love my CX-5 and it has been terrific. But I'm excited to leave the flimsiness behind. Yes, the wobbly hood, shaking mirrors, etc. None of it really bothers me individually, but collectively...it just motivates to make an upgrade. My Mazda 3 is just a car to me. There's absolutely nothing about it that I appreciate beyond merely being economical, low cost transportation.

Start producing trim levels or variants with flagship engines and amenities. I feel like I'm just driving a cookie cutter that just rolled off an assembly line.

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Agree. That is what made Hyundai what they are today. Originally, they were the equivalent of Geo and Yugo. They slowly raised their prices and brought out the 10 year 100K warranty, which was unheard of at the time and people jumped at it.

I think Mazda should do a 5 year/50K bumper to bumper and a 10 year/100K powertrain.

The Hyundai/Kia warranty is full of exclusions and caveats. It's marketing with a huge asterisk next to it. Very few components are warrantied for the entirety. It also only applies to the original owner.
 
They slowly raised their prices and brought out the 10 year 100K warranty, which was unheard of at the time and people jumped at it.
So you mean Hyundai / Kia were even more cheaper than they are today?
Driving one of these two brands automatically means you can't afford a Toyota / Honda. Santa Fe will be similarly priced to CX-5, they have tons of rebates which they *don't* disclose etc. Like you can sign up for Uber drive nothing and claim $1000 rebate.
 
Agree. That is what made Hyundai what they are today. Originally, they were the equivalent of Geo and Yugo. They slowly raised their prices and brought out the 10 year 100K warranty, which was unheard of at the time and people jumped at it.

I think Mazda should do a 5 year/50K bumper to bumper and a 10 year/100K powertrain.

The 10-year warranty was a marketing gimmick although a very successful one. I'm sure that warranty alone brought many people to a Hyundai/KIA dealership. Mazda is stressing the 60% retention rate as that's the gold standard in terms of turning the perception around for a car manufacturer. Perception sells. Look at Toyota. Just about every family member in mine buys it because its the car their parents bought and some have been kept in the family for a long time. I get the stank eye when relatives see my Mazda lol. Hyundai/KIA had just about 60% retention rates for some of its models before the maker got as huge as is is today. Mazda saw that historical trending and wants to simulate that to a smaller extent. Hyundai is a huge company and is actually the world's largest shipbuilder making anything from oil tankers to Naval ships. Shoot some ships that ship Mazda cars were probably made by Hyundai. So Mazda does not have the infrastructure to mass produce as much cars but its key to surviving is retention.
 
So you mean Hyundai / Kia were even more cheaper than they are today?
Driving one of these two brands automatically means you can't afford a Toyota / Honda. Santa Fe will be similarly priced to CX-5, they have tons of rebates which they *don't* disclose etc. Like you can sign up for Uber drive nothing and claim $1000 rebate.


Yes. Kia was not even around at that time (in the USA). The Hyundai and Yugo were basically the same price. Very cheap cars. Their warranty might be a marketing trick but in reality, everything is a marketing trick. I mean, what they hell is skyactive?
 
Yes. Kia was not even around at that time (in the USA). The Hyundai and Yugo were basically the same price. Very cheap cars. Their warranty might be a marketing trick but in reality, everything is a marketing trick. I mean, what they hell is skyactive?

Hyundai has a ton of fleet sales. Keep that in mind. Used Hyundai market is well - watered down. You can get a base 16 Sonata hybrid with 20k miles for 15-16K. Do you know what base Camry hybrid goes for that ? 2013 with 35k miles.
So yeah Hyundai has done a lot of sales partly because folks in the US always want to keep up with the Jones's - buying beyond their means. Kia / Hyundai is a great way to get a new car with good features for 10% or more discount than others. Ford is in a similar boat.

Back on topic - I dont think Mazda will sell the same numbers as Toyota or Honda in near future. Over a few years maybe it will compete. Right now - it sells well for where it is at. Surprising to see sales of 6 and CX-9 so low.
Perceptions in US will change over time.
 
Hyundai has a ton of fleet sales. Keep that in mind. Used Hyundai market is well - watered down. You can get a base 16 Sonata hybrid with 20k miles for 15-16K. Do you know what base Camry hybrid goes for that ? 2013 with 35k miles.
So yeah Hyundai has done a lot of sales partly because folks in the US always want to keep up with the Jones's - buying beyond their means. Kia / Hyundai is a great way to get a new car with good features for 10% or more discount than others. Ford is in a similar boat.

Back on topic - I dont think Mazda will sell the same numbers as Toyota or Honda in near future. Over a few years maybe it will compete. Right now - it sells well for where it is at. Surprising to see sales of 6 and CX-9 so low.
Perceptions in US will change over time.

In a recent video about the CX9, Mike Coleman (Mazda engineer) said Mazda is happy with 2% market share. Whether that remains the case in the future or not is unknown. Also, Mazda has to meet future CAFE standards. With their relatively low volume, selling much more powerful cars would prevent them from hitting those lofty CAFE goals, which would incur fines, and even possible revocation of sales in particular parts of the world (thinking California first and foremost).

Lastly, since they're building/selling the Mazda 2 as a rebadged Toyota, I wonder how big of an impact that is having on their overall volume, and whether that gets included in the CAFE calculations.

The Mazda 3 does well and much better than the 6 because, (in my opinion) its considered an entry level car. I see countless teenage girls driving them around.
 
Hyundai has a ton of fleet sales. Keep that in mind. Used Hyundai market is well - watered down. You can get a base 16 Sonata hybrid with 20k miles for 15-16K. Do you know what base Camry hybrid goes for that ? 2013 with 35k miles.
So yeah Hyundai has done a lot of sales partly because folks in the US always want to keep up with the Jones's - buying beyond their means. Kia / Hyundai is a great way to get a new car with good features for 10% or more discount than others. Ford is in a similar boat.

Back on topic - I dont think Mazda will sell the same numbers as Toyota or Honda in near future. Over a few years maybe it will compete. Right now - it sells well for where it is at. Surprising to see sales of 6 and CX-9 so low.
Perceptions in US will change over time.

If Mazda truly wants to pull in and retain new customers they should look through these forums. I bought the 2016 CX-9 Signature edition. Normally I don't go for the most expensive vehicle but really liked what I knew about it before it's release. Now that I have owned a few months I still believe it is an awesome vehicle overall. The problem is why am I having infotainment rebooting issues on $45K vehicle. I know, first world problem but so it Mazda wanting to go premium. If they want to be premium provide a premium experience. It's really embarrassing having your infotainment system reboot while riding with friends and family telling them how great the vehicle is.
 
Why Mazda, can't have the biggest trunk space, the most cubbies, the lowest loading trunk height, etc as other SUVs? That is very important for buyers?
 
If Mazda truly wants to pull in and retain new customers they should look through these forums. I bought the 2016 CX-9 Signature edition. Normally I don't go for the most expensive vehicle but really liked what I knew about it before it's release. Now that I have owned a few months I still believe it is an awesome vehicle overall. The problem is why am I having infotainment rebooting issues on $45K vehicle. I know, first world problem but so it Mazda wanting to go premium. If they want to be premium provide a premium experience. It's really embarrassing having your infotainment system reboot while riding with friends and family telling them how great the vehicle is.
That is what i observed with CX-5 as well.
Lots of GTs on dealer lots. Few Tourings and very few Sport trims. Exactly opposite of Toyota / Honda. I agree about infotaintment reboot - has happened 3 times in 3 months so no biggie to me. It happens on its own, so I lose 2 mins of music. But not being able to use Navi is a big one. In DFW where i live i can take 5 routes to work and back, so traffic info is very critical as its gets clogged often.
 
I'm beginning to wonder if Mazda's market data is wrong or that they aren't paying attention to it. Some of this stuff had to turn up at some point.
 
What 2 brands do you think he's talking about in terms of staging a comeback? My best guess is Subaru and Ford.
 
The more I study the vehicle the more I despise the front bumper. I actually think it would be a show stopper for me.

All I can see is those women who inject their lips with crap and end up with Trout Pout or Fish Lips. Epic fail.

The front bumper's side profile on the first gen looked like the Mutos from the last Godzilla movie. Nice and aggressive.
 
Yes. Kia was not even around at that time (in the USA). The Hyundai and Yugo were basically the same price. Very cheap cars. Their warranty might be a marketing trick but in reality, everything is a marketing trick. I mean, what they hell is skyactive?

Actually a Kia back in '87 would have been the Ford Festiva here in NA. Those early Hyundai Excels were some real junk. It would be surprising 5 years later to not see one with a smoking exhaust pipe. Actually Yugo was 1-2K dollars cheaper IIRC. The marketing gimmick was cheapest new car that started at $3990. The Hyundai might have been a comparable Honda to the Yugo for reliability and refinement if that says anything.

YUGO-1.jpeg
 
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If Mazda truly wants to pull in and retain new customers they should look through these forums. I bought the 2016 CX-9 Signature edition. Normally I don't go for the most expensive vehicle but really liked what I knew about it before it's release. Now that I have owned a few months I still believe it is an awesome vehicle overall. The problem is why am I having infotainment rebooting issues on $45K vehicle. I know, first world problem but so it Mazda wanting to go premium. If they want to be premium provide a premium experience. It's really embarrassing having your infotainment system reboot while riding with friends and family telling them how great the vehicle is.

You should see the problems $200,000+ cars have. Some Aston Martin's have a notorious problem opening the gas cap cover.
 
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my CX-5 and have zero regrets about owning it. That said, when I get it in it (or others get in it for that matter), it just doesn't feel "premium". Why? I think the single biggest reason is that it's not quiet inside. IMHO opinion, all other things being equal (interior design and layout, quality materials used, etc.), that's the single biggest factor in what makes a vehicle just feel "premium". Think about the last time you got in a quiet vehicle; didn't it affect your sense of "premiumness" (if that's a word)? I know that improvement have been made in the 2017, but not having been in one yet, it remains to be seen if it's a step up or not. Just my 2.
 
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my CX-5 and have zero regrets about owning it. That said, when I get it in it (or others get in it for that matter), it just doesn't feel "premium". Why? I think the single biggest reason is that it's not quiet inside. IMHO opinion, all other things being equal (interior design and layout, quality materials used, etc.), that's the single biggest factor in what makes a vehicle just feel "premium". Think about the last time you got in a quiet vehicle; didn't it affect your sense of "premiumness" (if that's a word)? I know that improvement have been made in the 2017, but not having been in one yet, it remains to be seen if it's a step up or not. Just my 2.

I know what you're saying. Premium vehicles by and large insulate you from the outside world. When I opened/closed the doors on my brothers new XC90 T5, you can feel their heft. Nothing like the light doors on the CX5. Having said that, it seems Mazda is trying to find a balance between "feeling connected to the road" and "premium driving experience".

A Porsche is definitely a luxury or premium sports cars (whatever one decides to use as an adjective), but how is the road noise in a 911? Is the ride nice and quiet, or does some tire and/or road noise make its way into the cabin? I've never been in anything that nice, so I can't state either way.
 
I know what you're saying. Premium vehicles by and large insulate you from the outside world. When I opened/closed the doors on my brothers new XC90 T5, you can feel their heft. Nothing like the light doors on the CX5. Having said that, it seems Mazda is trying to find a balance between "feeling connected to the road" and "premium driving experience".

A Porsche is definitely a luxury or premium sports cars (whatever one decides to use as an adjective), but how is the road noise in a 911? Is the ride nice and quiet, or does some tire and/or road noise make its way into the cabin? I've never been in anything that nice, so I can't state either way.

BMW E46 3-series is a good reference. They let the good sound (engine and exhaust notes) in while isolating wind and tire noise pretty good.
 
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