thinking of buyin- need advice

[veejayy]

so i like everything about the cx-5. test drove in city so did not get to wind it out.

currently own rx-8.

so here is the thing- the mags say it is sluggish up the hills. however, i presume that if u down shift to 3rd let's say it should be ok- no?

thanks mazda lovers!

 

[Nodnerb]

I find i almost HAVE to drive in manual mode in hilly areas or even a bridge. It is reluctant to downshift in automatic and you end up slowing down up a hill while the car is trudging along at 1500 rpm. Then if you give it enough gas it will downshift hard and rev higher than i want. Its not bad per se, but takes some getting used to. But in manual mode it is fine. Just downshift as you approach so youre at at least 2k rpms and its fine.

In 1st to 3rd gears the car is peppy. Once you hit 4th to 6th it is sluggish and highway acceleration is slow. I do little highway driving so not much of an issue. I tend to drive in manual mode most of the time.

I do love the car though and dont regret it at all.

 

[bcooper]

x2

 

[Jcanracer]

If you already drive manual, then get the manual CX5: same great shifter that is common among Mazdas nowadays and total control over which gear you are in. I don't find it to be slow at all <for a crossover>; in fact I think its kind of like driving a Miata in the sense that it rewards good driving with a great experience.

oh, and what Nodnerb said is correct, the 1-3 gears are geared for acceleration (3rd is still 1.3:1 I think) with 4th being the closest to 1:1 gearing, 5th still geared a bit low (can drive in 5th at 40mph in city) and 6th gear is straight-up overdrive for highway.