Road Noise?

[SayNoToPistons]

Oh God, an Enclave. Would never been caught dead in one of those. Well actually, I lied. Drove one as a rental a few years back. Granted it felt like it was riding on clouds and was equally quiet as its "luxury" competitors, everything else was lack luster. Especially its build quality and driving dynamics. Utter turd in every other aspect actually. I am surprised that they even went against Lexus, Audi, BMW, Benz or even Lincoln with that turd of a boat.

 

[b_scott]

I just got a 2014 GT and rode it on the interstate last night - super quiet. Of course I'm not used to driving luxury cars so maybe it's less quiet than those, but even with the radio off (which I never drive that way) it was pretty darn quiet. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Dimcorner]

When I tested the CX5 it's a little quieter than my 06 Mazda3. It's definitely noisier than my old 2000 S4 and noisier than an RDX.

 

[Tuktanuk]

I traded in a 2012 CR-V EX-L for the 14 CX-5 GT. I was blown away at how quiet it is compared to the Honda. The CX I test drove was a Touring with 17's and it was quieter but, the GT to the Honda is a stark comparison for sure. It's funny because Honda supposedly addressed Noise in the 12 CR-V. LOL Not after driving the CX-5 you didn't Honda! Oh and there was only 20K miles on the stock Honda tires. From mile 1 on; the road noise was the same. +1 For Mazda quietness and ride.

 

[CX-SV]

I traded in a 2012 CR-V EX-L for the 14 CX-5 GT. I was blown away at how quiet it is compared to the Honda. The CX I test drove was a Touring with 17's and it was quieter but, the GT to the Honda is a stark comparison for sure. It's funny because Honda supposedly addressed Noise in the 12 CR-V. LOL Not after driving the CX-5 you didn't Honda! Oh and there was only 20K miles on the stock Honda tires. From mile 1 on; the road noise was the same. +1 For Mazda quietness and ride.

Good point, because a vast majority of the complaints come from CX-5 owners are on 17'' tires. The Toyo 19" tires are a nice quiet Grand Touring tire that contribute to low road noise. I drove an new Escape with 18's back to back with CX-5 GT on 19's and the Escape had more road noise.

When my Toyo 19's wear out at an estimated 65,000+ miles (I have 21,000 miles on them now) I will probably replace them with OEM tire, they work perfectly for the way I use them in CA. The price of these tires are not a problem given the long wear.

 

[jabba]

Good point, because a vast majority of the complaints come from CX-5 owners are on 17'' tires. The Toyo 19" tires are a nice quiet Grand Touring tire that contribute to low road noise. I drove an new Escape with 18's back to back with CX-5 GT on 19's and the Escape had more road noise.

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to go re-test a GT CX-5. The one I tested had the 17 in tires I guess, and I wasn't too impressed with the road noise. Somewhat better than my Mazdaspeed 3, but definitely louder than our CX-9, a Highlander I had just tested, and an Avalon I had recently rented. It might be that SUVs based on compact frames are simply "cheapened" out in terms of good noise isolation, but SUVs based on midsize frames might get more attention to noise insulation (for example, the 2014 Highlander makes a point of saying it will use special low noise glass, etc. etc). There's also a price difference, mind you.

After renting that Avalon, when I got back into my Mazdaspeed I though I had left a window open. Nope. The Mazda is simply that much louder.

I guess my taste in cars might be changing, used to like something rougher around the edges, but now with the kids and all, I'd prefer something a little more quiet. So we'll see what those 19" tires on the CX-5 do for road noise.

 

[OctSK]

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to go re-test a GT CX-5. The one I tested had the 17 in tires I guess, and I wasn't too impressed with the road noise. Somewhat better than my Mazdaspeed 3, but definitely louder than our CX-9, a Highlander I had just tested, and an Avalon I had recently rented. It might be that SUVs based on compact frames are simply "cheapened" out in terms of good noise isolation, but SUVs based on midsize frames might get more attention to noise insulation (for example, the 2014 Highlander makes a point of saying it will use special low noise glass, etc. etc). There's also a price difference, mind you.

After renting that Avalon, when I got back into my Mazdaspeed I though I had left a window open. Nope. The Mazda is simply that much louder.

I guess my taste in cars might be changing, used to like something rougher around the edges, but now with the kids and all, I'd prefer something a little more quiet. So we'll see what those 19" tires on the CX-5 do for road noise.

We have a GS AWD with 17" wheels. The only time I found road noise was a little high was on a highway trip, over 110km/hour with crosswinds. My fuel economy was terrible on that trip and the road noise was high. However, on the way back, with no winds, fuel economy went up and the road noise has disappeared.

I would definitely not think CX 5 has more noise based on that trip. It is average, at least for me and I only noticed it then.

 

[ALafya]

The Geolanders score poorly on tirerack. I am planning to get rid of them before the ski season.
That said, I am not complaining about noise at all so far.