Passenger - Mazda's new ads

[sillyxone]

I had an LOL (as a compliment to the idea), at least it works well for me.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/270386/mazda-continues-driving-matters-thematic.html

 

[jhu8]

I do know the feeling and I don't even travel for a living. Just after one day of not driving my CX5, I love getting into it and driving. Such an odd thing to feel that way about a CUV.

 

[MikeM.]

I do know the feeling and I don't even travel for a living. Just after one day of not driving my CX5, I love getting into it and driving. Such an odd thing to feel that way about a CUV.

Rental cars always feel like a bucket of bolts to me (even though they typically have less than 10K on the odometer).

The upside is when my vacation is over and I return home, my CX-5 drives like a fine European touring machine. (thumb)

 

[Rarebit]

Rental cars always feel like a bucket of bolts to me (even though they typically have less than 10K on the odometer).

The upside is when my vacation is over and I return home, my CX-5 drives like a fine European touring machine. (thumb)

Agree with one exception. I rented a Mazda 3 GT in 2008 while on business. I asked for a sub-compact, and that's what they had. At the time my car was a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo. My 2 days in the Mazda 3 made me wonder why I paid so much for a Volvo - it was smooth, quiet, comfortable and handled well. They're in totally different classes, but the driving experience was so good I put the 3 GT on my shopping list.

 

[Z06Trev]

Rental cars always feel like a bucket of bolts to me (even though they typically have less than 10K on the odometer).

The upside is when my vacation is over and I return home, my CX-5 drives like a fine European touring machine. (thumb)

Normally I agree with this, but about a year ago my wife needed a rental while she was in Atlanta and requested a small SUV. Previously she had rented a Chevy Equinox and was not impressed. This time she got a CX-5 purely by chance, and she really liked it. A few days later I met her in Atlanta and I was also impressed. This was actually one of the main reasons we included the CX-5 on our short list when shopping for a small SUV.

This is in contrast with the brand new Mitsubishi Lancer I just rented in Florida. Now that was definitely a bucket of bolts. An absolutely awful car. It was unbelievably noisy and had no directional stability on the highway.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I think the worst rental car I ever had was a final production year 2001 Chevrolet Lumina. Literally a brand new rental car we had in Maui. A total POS... rattled.. ran rough and uncomfortable. The absolute worst car on the drive to Hana. That 3.1L barely chugged it's way to the top of Haleakala.

Always dreamed of driving a Miata there.

 

[nubbers]

I recently rented a Mercedes GLA 250 for a week and that is a fun little SUV to drive (especially in sport mode). There'd were a few things I really liked about it...

-Really solid drive - felt responsive when steering and was fun in the corners.
-The turbo was great...how I would love that extra oomph in the CX-5.
-The MB version of faux leather was surprisingly comfortable; the driver's seat felt well-cushioned and supportive.
-Pull out / extended thigh support on the drivers seat.
-Seamless integration b/t my iPhone 5S and the infotainment unit every run I jumped into the car.
-Paddle shifters - this was purely a nice-to-have.

...and a few things I found odd...

-No standard backup camera - the GLA has even more limited view out the back window and backing up is blind.
-Limited trunk space - it was a squeeze to fit my large duffle, medium suitcase, and two pilot cases
-Only a mesh covering to the panoramic sunroof.

I'm not so certain the GLA will ever make my short-list of future cars to consider, but it was a joy to test out in FL and I think it looks sharp.