Touring or GT advantages?

[x10dude]

One thing that has always puzzled me is how similar Mazda makes the 3 different models (Sport, Touring and Grand Touring)

Disclaimer: I bought a Mazda5 Touring model this past summer. But in reality one of the biggest reason why I go the Touring model is because we could not find the right color in Sport within 200 miles of us. I probably would have been perfectly happy with the Sport... and probably less poor.

My only regret I feel in my purchase is that I had to spend and extra $2000 for the Touring model and all I got was a sunroof and foglights (which I rarely use) and a 6-disc CD player (which is basically obsolete with my MP3 player).

In the GT you get leather and a a few items like moisture sensor wipers, and garage door opener... but is it worth the $4-5K premium? I would think that at the very least the GT would have a better engine or suspension but it's exactly the same as the Sport.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I missing something?

 

[rweatherford]

That's why I own a sport. If I was purchasing one new (mine was used) I would have ordered the PEP package with side sills and rear "spoiler". I think it also had an upgraded 6-disk radio.

 

[sunglassguyjack]

You have to admit that even the sport is very well equipped. I think we bought the touring more than anything for the sunroof. On our 06 we got fogs,6disc,climatecontrol,rear spoiler and the thing between the seats as part of the touring. I plan on keeping the car til the wheels fall off so i didn't want to have any regrets. Both my cars have sunroofs and i love having them.

 

[Shaun K]

I can't stand plastic steering wheels, plain and simple. I had to have leather. The moonroof is nice but it rains 2/3 of the year here, so it's only good for letting in a little more light most of the time. LED tails and rear spoiler were nice touches too, but is it worth that much more over the Sport? Maybe not, but our Touring was only $500 more than the MSRP of the Sport, so why not? It'll increase resale value in the future too.

 

[mrbwa1]

That's why I own a sport. If I was purchasing one new (mine was used) I would have ordered the PEP package with side sills and rear "spoiler". I think it also had an upgraded 6-disk radio.

We looked at an 07 Sport with the PER before finding out 07 Sport "stripper." I seem to remember the PEP adding almost as much as to the bottom line as going with a touring.

To be honest, I think that Mazda builds the touring models as the most likely to satisfy needs selection in a lineup. Curiously, the 3 and 6 sport have traditionally come sans Alloy wheels and other niceties, but still with the same basic engine and suspension setup as the higher-end models.

I think the differences are much smaller in the 5 due to Economies of Scale. In order to keep the price down as a whole, it is cheaper to build things in quantity. Any 5 can roll down the assembly line and get a pretty good distance before it is "branded" as a Sport, Touting, or GT. The basic body shell is the same (except the sunroof I suppose), the engine, transmissions, wheels are all the same. Most of the interior bits are the same, save a leather steering wheel vs plastic.

When we were shopping, I started to thing Mazda must have had a pile of left over side sills and CD changers, because you just couldn't find a base sport. Even with the 08 changeover, there are so many things the same, that prices have to be pretty cheap.

One of our draws to the 5 sport was the tremendous feature set on the "base" sport. We managed to get a model with all-weather mats (wanted) and the auto-dimming mirror (no choice there) when most sports here the PEP or a sunroof in this area.

There are a couple things that I do wonder about though. why doesn't the 5 sport have 16" wheels? the Canadian GS has 16" alloys; overseas have 15" steelies (though they wouldn't fit on a North America 5 due to the bigger brakes). Also, why isn't a 5 or even 6sp manual more prevalent? If the option is there overseas and the 5s for the entire world roll down one assembly line, fitting a manual gearbox to an NA GT should be cake. There must be some limitations based on projected sales. And last, where is the VSC/ESP/Whatever you want to call it. The 3 has it, and the 5 and 3 are basically the same...

 

[barryWest]

I've got an 08 GS, which is the base model here in the great white north.(canada) The GT is a mixed bag of good and bad. Out of all the extras, the only stuff that appealed to me was the ACC and cruise so I just got a GS with those two options and saved a bundle. In my opinion, the rest was fluff. Do I need a leather steering wheel, LED tailights and slightly larger tires on my mini-minvan kid hauler? I didn't think so. I took the extra $$ I saved and spent it on something more practical such as roof racks and window tinting.

 

[skyhawk]

I noticed the side sill does serve its purpose of becoming the sacrificial surface to hit the curb first at parking lots. It makes a nasty grinding noise as it rubs over the parking 'islands' when I turn too early.

In winter, it also serves to somewhat prevent the snow and salt from hitting directly at the underside of the car. Eliminating the need for OEM splash guard for the GT (just a theory).

 

[rweatherford]

The OEM splash guard is a joke.... I purchased them. Plain old straight ones would work better.

 

[jeebusm3]

We got the touring because it had the spoiler, side sills, LED tails, middle seat shelf thing, upgraded stereo, fogs, and leather steering wheel. But I would have gotten a Sport if I hadn't found a Touring w/Manual trans.

 

[x10dude]

I wonder if anyone has any stats on the breakdown of sales of the 3 different models.

Don't get me wrong, the Touring and Grand Touring have nice touches but IMO the Sport still offers the best bang for the buck.

Again just my opinion, but if Mazda ever decides to offer ESC and a more powerful engine in the GT and kept it under 24K... I'd say that would be the Mazda5 of choice!

 

[Shaun K]

We got the touring because it had the spoiler, side sills, LED tails, middle seat shelf thing, upgraded stereo, fogs, and leather steering wheel. But I would have gotten a Sport if I hadn't found a Touring w/Manual trans.

I still don't know how you found a Touring with a manual trans. It's not even listed as an option.

 

[skyhawk]

I still don't know how you found a Touring with a manual trans. It's not even listed as an option.

I think there is only GT and GS in Canada. And Automatic is an option for both.

http://driving.canada.com/research/compare/compare.spy?cls=Passenger&id1=1093900302&id2=1093900301

 

[x10dude]

I think the Manual is ONLY available in the Sport model in the US... which makes it the ONLY choice for those in the market for a manual shift.

 

[coolmazda5]

Mazda also said that for the 08 Sport w/ MT the PEP was no longer available, and yet I got one. I also found more 08 Tourings with Manual in Autotrader, too late for me though

They are difficult to find, but they do exist. Hopefully this trend keeps for the 09, check these findings:

http://www.mazdav.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3646818&postcount=400

Canadian GS and GT can have MT...

 

[Shaun K]

I wish I had known that was available, we might have gotten a manual Touring instead...

 

[jeebusm3]

I still don't know how you found a Touring with a manual trans. It's not even listed as an option.

I think the Manual is ONLY available in the Sport model in the US... which makes it the ONLY choice for those in the market for a manual shift.

They just happened to have one in Galaxy grey, sitting on the lot in february. I didn't understand its existence either. The dealer wasn't quite sure about it either. But it was labeled touring, had everything a touring has, and yet it had the manual. I also managed to only pay $18,500 for it. It was like a car fairy made the entire purchase possible. (rlaugh)

 

[GWDavis281]

Jeebusm3, you are so lucky man!! I've been searching high and low for a touring with a 5MT in it. Was it badged as a Touring?

Glenn |B)

 

[jeebusm3]

Jeebusm3, you are so lucky man!! I've been searching high and low for a touring with a 5MT in it. Was it badged as a Touring?

Glenn |B)

Badged where? On the Window sticker it was. I dunno anywhere else that a Touring says "touring". Do you?

But yeah, it was pretty lucky. It was weird because I saw it like 3 weeks prior and didn't even know it was anything special. Once the wifey and I decided we wanted a Mazda5, I realized it was actually a rare car. I couldn't believe it was still on the lot when I went back there. Nobody was selling 5's in Feb. Now they fly off the lots.