Ugh...Tired of seeing the CX-5 everywhere

[CTt3P5]

No waving for me while in the CX. The MX is another story.

Like I said above, there's not a lot of MX-5s around here but plenty of other convertibles. I'll wave at the Miatas and the other brands of convertibles as well. I don't make a habit of it though, had enough of that while riding my motorcycle.

Same here in the CX. I wave when driving the MX (solo) and about 50% of drivers wave back. When my wife is with me, she prefers I don't wave as it embarrasses her.

I occasionally wave. Unless it's a woman. Not to be sexist or anything. Just afraid a woman might misunderstand the wave. or the nod. Although I did speak to a woman in a CX5 at a light once. Cool story I shared once before.
Pull up to a light and saw a woman driving a Mazda CX5. Had temp tags. Nice day, windows were down. It was a 17 or better.
"Nice car" I say... "Do you love it?"
"I do! It's so quiet and handles really well!"
"Yea, they're great cars!"
"Yea, I didn't love paying extra for this red but it is so pretty!"
Then she says... "Do you have one?"
"Yea, this one is mine. It's the older generation one though..."
She has a puzzled look on her face...
Light change... "Have a good one!"
"You too!"
She turns right, I go straight and then realize why the odd look... I was driving my mother in laws Jeep!

That is a great story!

 

[sm1ke]

I will never be annoyed at seeing more and more people enjoying this brand, especially after my good experiences with my first Mazda. There is no such thing as exclusivity in an affordable price bracket. If a vehicle in this price point is not seen often, its either because it's new, or it's a crappy product.

When I got my CX-9, the 2nd gen had already been out for 2 years. I remember not seeing another CX-9 on the road for months. 4 years into this generation and I'm seeing at least one other CX-9 daily. That tells me that despite its low sales volume compared to the competition, more and more people are seeing the appeal of the brand. It's a good problem to have, if you can even call it a "problem".

 

[ColoradoDriver]

There were 4 cars I was looking at when I bought my 2016. One of the (many) reasons I bought the Mazda is because... you don't see them everywhere. I like not seeing my car everywhere. I like not having the #1 selling car.. in fact I would avoid the #1 selling car. Just for that reason.
And now... 7 years later... they are EVERYWHERE. My god... Counting mine there are 3 in my small office parking lot right now. No other car has 2. We were driving on the freeway a few days ago and I kid you not I was at one point in a cluster of 2 other 5's and a CX-3. I don't know about the rest of the world... but I would bet you paychecks that the CX5 is hands down the #1 selling crossover in NE Ohio.
There are 8 Mazda dealers within 100 miles of me, as if I needed to prove it.

How popular is Mazda where you live?

Yeah tell me about it. I bought mine in 2013, it was the second model year (2014) with the upgraded 2.5L engine. Literally no one around here had them. Nowadays? I see many of them every single time I go out to drive. I see two of them out in the parking lot right now!

It feels a little pedestrian now, but I mean its a crossover, so I just see it as others finally figured out what I figured out nearly 10 years ago now.

I bought the CX-5 before it was cool.

 

[Chas]

Yeah tell me about it. I bought mine in 2013, it was the second model year (2014) with the upgraded 2.5L engine. Literally no one around here had them. Nowadays? I see many of them every single time I go out to drive. I see two of them out in the parking lot right now!

It feels a little pedestrian now, but I mean its a crossover, so I just see it as others finally figured out what I figured out nearly 10 years ago now.

I bought the CX-5 before it was cool.

Did the same thing, buying our 2014 2.5 in Spring of 2013. That car is still soldiering on today as our DIL's DD.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Think it depends on your geograpic location
and status. In my area the Mazda is slightly more upscale.

See more in the city.

I'm surrounded by subies(5 of them) and pickups at work. Mine is only mazda.

In my home area, it's fords, chevys, jeeps, hyundais, audi's and pickup trucks.

However starting to see more mazda cx5's in my area. Driving home saw three pass me on highway, and a couple around town.so they are becoming slightly more mainstream.

Which for me is a good things. Need more sales so there will be more available junkyard vehicles/part's .

 

[consultant]

I see other's driving CX-5's and think, there's another wise person. Then I look and see someone driving the same class SUV but a Jaguar (F-PACE) and think, there's a dumb person (with their money.) If you're so concerned at standing out from the crowd, just go be one of the dumb people and pay a huge premium on driving a more exclusive brand and not getting double the car for double the price.

 

[-hef-]

i am ok with driving a popular car. i stand out a little bc of the color of mine (Deep Crystal Blue) and the fact that it's a Turbo Sig. i see a TON of them in my area. i am outside of Pottstown, PA. it is the land of hyundai, kia, and mazda. i had an Audi SQ5 when i moved into the area and i felt out of place enough to trade it (for a Jeep at the time). i missed my Audi so much, i traded my Jeep for another SQ5. eventually, traded that for another Jeep and then i got into the CX-5 a couple years later. i am really happy to drive a reasonably priced car with reasonable upkeep costs and that has all the extras that i like. hell, neither of my expensive Audi's had ventilated seats!

some stats on Pottsvegas, if you are a stat nerd like me (they're not great but it is a shockingly nice place to live if you know what spots to choose):

2020 POPULATION
22,633

2020 POVERTY RATE
15.3%

2020 MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
$50,130

2020 EMPLOYED POPULATION
11,594

 

[wlong01]

i am ok with driving a popular car. i stand out a little bc of the color of mine (Deep Crystal Blue) and the fact that it's a Turbo Sig. i see a TON of them in my area. i am outside of Pottstown, PA. it is the land of hyundai, kia, and mazda. i had an Audi SQ5 when i moved into the area and i felt out of place enough to trade it (for a Jeep at the time). i missed my Audi so much, i traded my Jeep for another SQ5. eventually, traded that for another Jeep and then i got into the CX-5 a couple years later. i am really happy to drive a reasonably priced car with reasonable upkeep costs and that has all the extras that i like. hell, neither of my expensive Audi's had ventilated seats!

some stats on Pottsvegas, if you are a stat nerd like me (they're not great but it is a shockingly nice place to live if you know what spots to choose):

2020 POPULATION
22,633

2020 POVERTY RATE
15.3%

2020 MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
$50,130

2020 EMPLOYED POPULATION
11,594

and you're close to the Yuengling brewery!

 

[IamVAguy]

Lots of CX-5s in Northern VA. But they are still outnumbered by CR-Vs and RAV-4s.

 

[-hef-]

and you're close to the Yuengling brewery!

yeah, Pottsville is about 45 min north of me.

 

[veritas80]

There are a lot where i live, but they are mostly red and white & dark blue. Its nice driving the Carbon Edition around as its not typical. I've seen CEs of course but none are around where I live which is nice.

 

[Conrad 16.5]

Same here in the CX. I wave when driving the MX (solo) and about 50% of drivers wave back. When my wife is with me, she prefers I don't wave as it embarrasses her.

Sounds to me like a good reason to wave when she's with you!

 

[7eregrine]

I bought the CX-5 before it was cool.

Truth. Got mine when the wave was starting.

 

[Freedom55]

I think all Mazda models look great except perhaps for the 3 hatchback with its large C pillar and that's why we see many Mazda vehicles. Crossovers being popular, the CX-5 (and CX-30) probably replaced the market previously filled with the 3 and the 6. There were many 3 in my area, very few nowadays; lots of CX-3, CX-30, CX-5, CX-9.

 

[Busch]

The original poster and the others that chimed in must have been listening to the conversations in my car. Driving through New England (from Philly), I noticed as many CX-5’s as RAV4s. I am afraid our secret is out.

I know a woman who has Honda HR-V and is looking to replace it in the next few months. She is leaning toward the 2023 HR-V (EX-L) which is a new generation of it. She does not want anything as large as CR-V or Rav4 and I think a new CX-5 S Select would be perfect for her for features, price, and size. I may be jumping into a consulting role.

 

[SimpleCanuck]

Lots of CX-5's around here including my snowflake white '22. However, I also see a lot of BMW, Mercedes and Land Rover/Range Rover SUV's which do not impress me at all, so I am always happy to see a CX-5 or any Mazda model drive by. 😁

My short-lived '20 CX-5 was soul red and a few people approached me to praise its colour. Never experienced that with any other car.

On the other hand, my '12 Mazda3 hatch's colour was Newport slate. Not as common, so it stood out among all other 3's in the area.

 

[Bird-Dog]

I live in a fairly affluent area. BMW X5 is the #1 SUV around here, with the expected representative mix of Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Lexus, Tesla, and Audi. (Cadillacs and Lincolns are somewhat rarer, but still around too)

But as a single SUV model, not brand, Mazda CX-5 is probably #2, which I think says something about their reputation for driving excellence and value. And those I see are almost exclusively Gen-2.

Of course, we also get the normal array of run-of-the-mill Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, Fords, Hyundais, VW's, Jeeps, and such. But I'd venture to say, about half of those are driven by teens, while the Mazdas, Lexuses, (Lexi?), Acuras, and European brands are driven by parents.

We also get to see the occasional exotic, including SUV's from Maserati, Aston-Martin. Bentley, and Rolls-Royce, all of which have dealers nearby (also have a Ferrari dealer about a mile from my house, but I've yet to see a Purosangue on the road). Closest Alfa-Romeo dealer is a good ways off, so based on the numbers, those might just as well be considered exotics too.

Point being, in an area I'd say is markedly discerning about what they drive, the CX-5 is extremely popular. But, I don't see them quite as often when I venture out into many other areas of the city where Hondas, Toyotas, and their ilk still rule.

 

[7eregrine]

Offtopic-ish, but you got me thinking
I work with people that make a lot of money. One of the attorneys that I like a lot, we go to lunch often, got an X3. She's "Wanted a BMW my entire life". I do get that. And I've driven it. And it's nice. She knows I am a car guy.
But I do grin every time she says something like.
"Look at that! It has xx feature" because, across the board, the CX5 has every feature that her car does. Every single one.
Now... the 360 camera setup is about the biggest difference. It is A LOT better then Mazda's. I mean a lot a lot. But not... $20,000 nicer.

 

[Buzzman12]

When I bought my 6 in 2017, one of the reasons I got it was because no-one else had one. I drove to Florida in early 2018, and didn't see a single Mazda 6 on the interstates.
Even today, I rarely if ever see another 6. I'm happy about that. Now that they have stopped making them, it feels even more exclusive.
As for the CX-5, I see them everywhere around here. There is a dealership that opened up a few years ago, less than five miles away, so there are a lot of them around now.