New Mazda owner

d3hmidnight

2021.5 CX-5 Kuro Edition
Hi, first time Mazda owner here. Just bought the 21.5' CX-5 KE

I've been driving my 2011 BMW 328xi for the past four years and I wanted to stop using it in the winters. So I looked at a few compact suvs never having owned one.

I looked at the CX-5, RAV4, Honda CRV, Nissan Rogue and the WV Tiguan. I almost went with the Tiguan R-Line trim because it's German, but then I looked at some reviews and boy is it awful.. good lord. Anyways, CRV CVT transmission and where the gear shifter is located was a deal breaker for me and the RAV4 looked like a truck. Nissan we wont talk about. So I went with the Mazda.

The Mazda dealership in town had a few 2021.5 CX-5 Kuro Editions in inventory,

The owner tried to sell me the black one with black seats, I said no.
He said it's $1k more for the polymetal, I said it's okay.

IMG_1058.jpeg


kuro3.jpg
 
Congrats and welcome to the Forum. Polymetal is a great color. I looked at the RAV and CR-V, Volvo T40 & 60, Audi Q3 and Q5, Merc GLA/B and Macan. IMO The Macan was definitely the best of the lot but the CX-5 GT-R was second and $20k less expensive. After 6 months i still feel i made the best decision.
 
Congrats and welcome to the Forum. Polymetal is a great color. I looked at the RAV and CR-V, Volvo T40 & 60, Audi Q3 and Q5, Merc GLA/B and Macan. IMO The Macan was definitely the best of the lot but the CX-5 GT-R was second and $20k less expensive. After 6 months i still feel i made the best decision.
Thanks. I've only driven it for one day so far but it feels like a nice ride, it came with 5km so it's going to take me a bit before I can really drive it. Oh and congrats on your GT-R that's sick.
 
Thanks guys, I'm glad to be part of this community.

I'm getting tints for the front door windows and I plan on replacing the stock exhaust.
 
To keep that great pain color looking great you should consider PPF on the front end and side mirrors. I added hood struts which make working on the engine much easier.
 
To keep that great pain color looking great you should consider PPF on the front end and side mirrors. I added hood struts which make working on the engine much easier.
Will keep that in mind, definitely want to keep the side mirrors looking nice. Thanks for reminding me about the hood struts, I did notice that you have to lean over a lot to work on the engine.

How much will it be costing to replace the exhaust?
So I haven't decided on between Racing Beat Power Pulse or Borla Exhaust Touring. If I go with the Racing Beat It's going to be about CAD$700 for the cat-back system and I will be installing myself.
 
I'm going to double down on what AZCX5 said. I'd way put PPF on before the exhaust. I had someone actually say to me "I'd rather spend money on something I can notice, not PPF" Well, you'll notice the lack of PPF real soon, like in a month, when those stone chips start to accumulate. Just my thoughts, I know people like cool sounding cars, but as they say, it's your car, do what brings you joy
 
Nice car, I have nearly the same car. Is it the turbo?

Note that neither borla, racing beat, or any other option is a true cat-back, they're all axle-backs

There isn't really an inexpensive option either.
 
Nice car, I have nearly the same car. Is it the turbo?

Note that neither borla, racing beat, or any other option is a true cat-back, they're all axle-backs

There isn't really an inexpensive option either.
No, it's not turbo. Here in Canada the Kuro Edition that I bought does not have a T option, only GT and Signature have turbo. I have seen your CE and it's really nice congrats.

I didn't know Mazda included a non removable catalytic converter unit. Noted.

As Hal2 said, you'll definitely notice that you don't have PPF. I also did the A and B/C pillars, the B/C with black PPF.

These guys make nice Mazda parts. But US $600 also.
https://corksport.com/2017-mazda-cx5-turbo-axleback-exhaust.html

I'll be installing their oil catch can in a couple of weeks, its on order now.

Best hood struts:
https://www.redlinetuning.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=Mazda+CX-5+2021
There are cheaper ones, if you don't mind the hood falling on your head.
Those hood struts will do, thank you!
 
I would also recommend the PPF. Mazda, and practically every other brand these days (aside from the German brands, possibly), is using softer paint due to environmental concerns. PG may hide swirl marks and minor scratches a bit better than some other colours, but paint chips can still happen, especially if you follow too closely behind other cars, or if you find yourself behind a construction vehicle. When I first got my CX-9, I lived in Calgary, and I had PPF installed on the front bumper, part of the hood and fenders, and the door mirror caps before I took delivery. The unprotected part of the hood has some tiny rock chips from having to drive behind gravel trucks on a busy highway for the first year of ownership. I live in a different city now, and I rarely have to get on a highway, and it seems like the number of stone chips hasn't increased at all.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd have gone with the full hood and fender PPF instead of the partial.
 
Lucky to have those variants…in S.E. Asia, units from Malaysia dont have those.

How much do PPF for the full front cost roughly over there?
 
My car is Soul Red and I live in AZ where there are lots of rocks on the road so I did front bumper, full hood and full front fenders, A pillars and across roof between front window and sunroof, mirrors. Basically all forward facing surfaces. Also did top of rear bumper to protect against scratches when loading rear storage. SunTech for $1500.
 
^^^ yup, makes the car a joy to look at everyday. Even makes it easier to clean up bug splatters and other types of Mischief on the bumper and Hood. Brings me to tears when I see other people spending that kind of money on body kits suspension kits exterior lighting and such. Unfortunately, took most of us well into our twenties and thirties to realized that nobody else is looking at our car thinking about how cool those mods are, but they might actually notice how clean it looks
 
How about a full wrap over a common color like white? Then you can pick almost any color you like.
 
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