Test drove an awd touring and a fwd manual sport today. My opinion.......

[mikeee2]

Went to the dealer to test drive the cx-5 today. I am mostly interested in the m/t. When I went there the sales guy said the m/t is sold so I can only test the grey awd touring model. So it was sales guy, me, wife and my 5 yr old daughter in the cx-5. I wasn't expecting the cx-5 to have any surprising acceleration after reading so many reviews, etc. I also had the AC turned on because it was too hot. Anyway, with AC on and full passenger, the awd wasn't quite up to speed. I find myself at full throttle during testing a few times and see that the car was revving pretty high to keep up. I have a g35 and a sentra so i have a decent v6 car and a quite slow sentra so that's what I am comparing to. I do like the touring model which includes backup camera as standard. The inside and outside of the cx5 looks very nice and looks more expensive than the msrp price. Seat was pretty comfortable, interior was a bit too black I think.

After the test drive, I told the sales guy I would like to test the m/t the next time he has one. To my surprise, he took the cx-5 (already sold) and said I can have a spin. GREAT!!!!!!! Feel bad that I am driving a car that is already SOLD. To make a long story short, it was a black fwd m/t with no options. Right off the bat, I noticed the clutch was very light. Shifting into 1st was buttery smooth and so was other gears. It's definitely not short throw but the shifting was really smooth. As for acceleration, it seem a little better, at least knowing that I can hold on to a gear and rev it as high as I want. The shifting was just fun and smooth even though it wasn't pulling hard. Maybe if I had AC off and drove by myself then it might of felt a bit faster. The handling was definitely there and it felt a bit weird shifting on a suv. 155 horses is really cutting low on horses. If it has another 25 horses I think you would see plenty more buyers. Overall, I like the cx-5 but really wish it had a little more punch to it.

Does anyone know why the sport base headlight looks like the HIDs? Fake HID halogen?

 

[CX-SV]

Good to hear about a test drive of the MT, nice report.

Btw - if the 2.0L had 25 more horsepower it would no longer have the best fuel efficiency in its class (class including CRV, Rogue, Escape, Tucson, Tiguan, Sportage, Rav4). As of today Mazda is struggling to meet higher than forecasted demand for CX-5. Most dealers in US and Canada have low inventory levels.

 

[Bcdad182]

Driving in stop and go traffic, 25 extra hp is irrelevant.

 

[nXt]

Does anyone know why the sport base headlight looks like the HIDs? Fake HID halogen?

Uh they're projector headlights. Pretty much all Mazdas have it and nice cars have it.
Reflector halogen lights are old crappy 'technology'.

 

[mikeee2]

Good to hear about a test drive of the MT, nice report.

Btw - if the 2.0L had 25 more horsepower it would no longer have the best fuel efficiency in its class (class including CRV, Rogue, Escape, Tucson, Tiguan, Sportage, Rav4). As of today Mazda is struggling to meet higher than forecasted demand for CX-5. Most dealers in US and Canada have low inventory levels.

Correct but would be nice to have an option for a bigger engine. If all the other SUV's you've mentioned shrink their engine a bit then they'll close the mpg gap vs cx-5 as well. When I was at the dealer yesterday there were definitely plenty more cx-5 in the lot but only 1 manual though.

 

[mikeee2]

Driving in stop and go traffic, 25 extra hp is irrelevant.

Well no roads are always stop and go. There will be a stretch that is not, there will be night hours that is not, there will be rural areas when you go on weekends / road trips that are not. That 25 HP is very relevant. Especially low end torque if you have fully loaded passengers. I am not asking for a rocket launcher. Even merging into the highway you need a little punch. It can be dangerous merging into traffic if there's no pick up. The person in back of you doesn't have a whole day to wait for you (not in NYC). I feel that everyday when I drive the sentra.

 

[mikeee2]

Uh they're projector headlights. Pretty much all Mazdas have it and nice cars have it.
Reflector halogen lights are old crappy 'technology'.

Hmmm, who else uses projector headlights (NON HID) other than mazda? I haven't noticed it from other cars. I thought projectors were all HID. It sure looks good from a distance. So from a distance if the light is off, no one can tell if those are regular projectors or HID projectors right?

 

[Antgli]

Hmmm, who else uses projector headlights (NON HID) other than mazda? I haven't noticed it from other cars. I thought projectors were all HID. It sure looks good from a distance. So from a distance if the light is off, no one can tell if those are regular projectors or HID projectors right?

Mikeee2...there are a few cars that have projector headlamps that are non-HID. For example, my 2009 Subaru WRX have the projector style lamps with halogen bulbs. My old E39 BMW had projector style lamps with halogen bulbs too. With the lights turned off there's no way to know if they're HID's or halogens but when they're turned on there is a huge difference !

 

[mikeee2]

Mikeee2...there are a few cars that have projector headlamps that are non-HID. For example, my 2009 Subaru WRX have the projector style lamps with halogen bulbs. My old E39 BMW had projector style lamps with halogen bulbs too. With the lights turned off there's no way to know if they're HID's or halogens but when they're turned on there is a huge difference !

Interesting. Good to know. It looks so much better (at least during day time).

 

[GiddyGoanna]

Hmmm, who else uses projector headlights (NON HID) other than mazda? I haven't noticed it from other cars. I thought projectors were all HID. It sure looks good from a distance. So from a distance if the light is off, no one can tell if those are regular projectors or HID projectors right?

Hyundai i30 among others use projector headlights.
In Australia it is a requirement by law that all HID headlights have jetwashers installed as HID's efficiency is drastically reduced when dust/dirt accumulates on the headlight. Are they HID's?, look for the washer mounted below!

 

[CX-SV]

Correct but would be nice to have an option for a bigger engine. If all the other SUV's you've mentioned shrink their engine a bit then they'll close the mpg gap vs cx-5 as well. When I was at the dealer yesterday there were definitely plenty more cx-5 in the lot but only 1 manual though.

2.2L tt diesel will most likely be that bigger and more expensive choice for North American buyers in 2013 per plans.

 

[katmar]

As for acceleration, it seem a little better, at least knowing that I can hold on to a gear and rev it as high as I want.

Keep in mind that the automatic has a manual mode which lets you hold a gear until you tell it to shift. Not quite the same "feel" as a manual though.

I feel pretty much the same as you, I'm borderline on getting one just because the power is so iffy for high-speed merging and passing. I LOVE the handling though, as well as the perfect driving position and great visbility.

 

[mikeee2]

Keep in mind that the automatic has a manual mode which lets you hold a gear until you tell it to shift. Not quite the same "feel" as a manual though.

I feel pretty much the same as you, I'm borderline on getting one just because the power is so iffy for high-speed merging and passing. I LOVE the handling though, as well as the perfect driving position and great visbility.

That's just fake manual. I don't see why automatic cars even come with that mode. Some are push to shift up, some are pull down to shift up, yadda yadda. Some would hold gear for you, some would shift when you get to redline. Some would downshift gear when your speed drops. Don't really need to go on. A true manual is a H gate, anything else is just not a manual. Maybe the DSG / clutchless automatic. Just maybe. But who wants to know how many times you have tab it to shift?. If i am in highway on 6th gear, exiting out and braking, I can drop to 2nd gear. On the manual or dsg what do I do? tab it 4 times? and if i over it, did it 5 times and it went to 1st gear by accident. OMG. Redline!

I do like the cx-5. My only argument is it can be a much better car with just a little bit more punch.

 

[mikeee2]

Hyundai i30 among others use projector headlights.
In Australia it is a requirement by law that all HID headlights have jetwashers installed as HID's efficiency is drastically reduced when dust/dirt accumulates on the headlight. Are they HID's?, look for the washer mounted below!

Never heard of a Hyundai i30 in the states. We have Accent and Elantra here which is similar to the i30. I don't recall them having projector headlight though. There are plenty of HID cars here with no washer. Only the luxury brands might have them.

 

[mikeee2]

2.2L tt diesel will most likely be that bigger and more expensive choice for North American buyers in 2013 per plans.

The mazda 3 has the 2.0 and 2.5. 2.5 is not skyactiv though. As for diesel, not a big fan of it because not everywhere has diesel fill up. Even if it does, it's just maybe 1 out of the 8 that is at the gas station. Last thing I want is you are running out of gas in a suburban area and there's no diesel gas station.

 

[CX-SV]

The mazda 3 has the 2.0 and 2.5. 2.5 is not skyactiv though. As for diesel, not a big fan of it because not everywhere has diesel fill up. Even if it does, it's just maybe 1 out of the 8 that is at the gas station. Last thing I want is you are running out of gas in a suburban area and there's no diesel gas station.

Yes, we know about 2.5 which is probably reaching the end of road, not being Skyactiv engine (the predominate selling engine available in Mazda3).

Diesel has headwinds in the US market for the availability reason you mentioned, plus typically higher price of diesel fuel (higher than premium gasoline), higher purchase price of vehicle (probably at least $3K more), higher maintence costs associated with twin turbos, DPF, etc. In the US market the diesel will round out the product line nicely, but will not expected to be the predominate or top-selling selling engine in CX-5.

 

[PhoenixINX]

Hmmm, who else uses projector headlights (NON HID) other than mazda? I haven't noticed it from other cars.

Here are just a few I can think of off the top of my head - Nissan, Toyota, and Honda.

300zx

Supra

3G Integra (Both USDM and JDM)

 

[mikeee2]

Yes, we know about 2.5 which is probably reaching the end of road, not being Skyactiv engine (the predominate selling engine available in Mazda3).

Diesel has headwinds in the US market for the availability reason you mentioned, plus typically higher price of diesel fuel (higher than premium gasoline), higher purchase price of vehicle (probably at least $3K more), higher maintence costs associated with twin turbos, DPF, etc. In the US market the diesel will round out the product line nicely, but will not expected to be the predominate or top-selling selling engine in CX-5.

Time to bring in the speed3 engine. With so many magazine reviews of the cx-5 being slow, it's just a matter of time (if not 2014...then 2015 model for Mazda to do something about it).

 

[CX-SV]

Time to bring in the speed3 engine. With so many magazine reviews of the cx-5 being slow, it's just a matter of time (if not 2014...then 2015 model for Mazda to do something about it).

It's already in the works for release in US in 2013 as reported by the magazines, the 2.2L tt diesel (doing something about need for more speed). Significantly quicker, more expensive, keeping with the best in class fuel efficiency (being Skyactiv), already established by the 2.0L gasser.

 

[mikeee2]

It's already in the works for release in US in 2013 as reported by the magazines, the 2.2L tt diesel (doing something about need for more speed). Significantly quicker, more expensive, keeping with the best in class fuel efficiency (being Skyactiv), already established by the 2.0L gasser.

I see. Would of prefer a non-diesel engine but more options are always better.