vs Forester?
- Thread starter shaendra
- Start date
Unless you're talking about the XT trim with the turbocharged 2.0 engine, I would not consider it. To be fair to the Forester, it has better visibility all around than the CX-5 and has more cargo space. And if you're into modding (again go with the XT trim), there are some aftermarket support for it, better aftermarket support than the CX-5.
Drove a 15. Non XT. My car was totaled and friend was out of country so he left his car with me.
Interior looks like from 2005. There is so much hard plastic you can build a tank with it. Refinement cannot be found at all - my leg at a red light was shaking, we are in 2016 arent we.
The transmission feel goes from usain bolt speed to Santa claus and back again based on what speed you are driving.
Resale in dallas seems stellar. A brand new Impreza depreciates less in 4 years than a 2 year old Camry would in 4 years. I cant understand if its a dallas thing or whole USA - you cant buy an Impreza 2013 with 30K miles for the price of a 2015 certified camry with 20k miles on it. Same trim same features.
I have never been in snow and maybe even if I did - winter tires would be more important than AWD. So I would consider a Rav4 over this. Atleast with Rav4 there is more linearity in the way it drives and feels.
Interior looks like from 2005. There is so much hard plastic you can build a tank with it. Refinement cannot be found at all - my leg at a red light was shaking, we are in 2016 arent we.
The transmission feel goes from usain bolt speed to Santa claus and back again based on what speed you are driving.
Resale in dallas seems stellar. A brand new Impreza depreciates less in 4 years than a 2 year old Camry would in 4 years. I cant understand if its a dallas thing or whole USA - you cant buy an Impreza 2013 with 30K miles for the price of a 2015 certified camry with 20k miles on it. Same trim same features.
I have never been in snow and maybe even if I did - winter tires would be more important than AWD. So I would consider a Rav4 over this. Atleast with Rav4 there is more linearity in the way it drives and feels.
OK, this is what I was looking for. Thanks
I think I will miss some of the visibility you get on a true compact SUV (ie: the Escape I'm driving now, and to a lesser extent the Forester) vs a crossover (which are - let's face it - hatchbacks on stilts), but the finish and ride seems like it would outweigh that step backwards, for me.
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- 2005 Mazda3
I test drove the XT a few months ago. A blast to drive(the only 'fun' car to drive in this segment IMO) unfortunately both the exterior and interior are very dated. Not to mention the interior it full of hard plastics. It will likely be redesigned this year or next. If you really like it I would advise on getting a used one and not new IMO.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Forester is a mini-SUV, CX-5 is a car on stilts. That about sums it up, IMO.
caverunner17
Member
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- 2014 6MT Sport
Sounds about right. GF has a 15' Premium Forester, i have a 6MT Sport CX-5.
The Mazda interior is superior in pretty much every way, but the utility and AWD of the Forester is superior, without question.
My CX-5 feels a lot more sporty and maneuverable than the Forester does, but we'll take hers skiing or into the mountains when hiking.
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- Denver, CO
That said, my AWD system has worked fantastically in every winter/snowstorm/blizzard or generally bad winter conditions I've had to drive in.
Granted I had and loved a '99 Forester, but I did drive and seriously consider the '17 before buying my CX-5. The above is spot-on. The visibility is unmatched and it drives pretty well. I actually much prefer the older Foresters, though, that were a bit smaller and (imo) looked nicer.
While the CX-5 doesn't have full time all wheel drive, the predictive iActive AWD system from Mazda is no slouch. If you look at the winter driving academy test that Mazda did a year ago, they compared all wheel drive versions of the CX-5, CRV and Forester, the CX-5 did pretty well.
My 2015 Forester has turned into a rattle trap! It's so annoying. Other than that, it's a bit under powered, the seats aren't that comfortable, and the air vents and blower make too much noise. Those are my biggest gripes and why I'm presently looking to switch to Mazda. I will miss the ruggedness and confidence that I have off road and in blizzards with the Forester, but don't expect it to be too big of a problem.
Not just pretty well, from what I remember the CX5 met or exceeded the Forester in AWD performance in every test. When I first saw that video I was strongly considering a Forester and hadn't really looked into the CX5, it really got my attention and ultimately led me to make the decision that a CX5 is the vehicle for me. From what I've read, Subaru actually has used a wide variety of AWD systems, some much better than others. Their reputation for having the best AWD is largely an artifact of history rather than a universal rule that can be applied to all Subarus.
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- 2014 QX70 AWD
Personally, I would apply that same logic to Toyota and Honda. They earned their reliability credentials long ago....
caverunner17
Member
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- 2014 6MT Sport
Test are always dependent on what tires are used. You can bad tires on one car and have it fail and better tires on another and have it "win"
Toyota's, Honda's, Mazda's etc all have part-time AWD and are primarily a FWD car. They aren't meant to be AWD for long periods of time. This is fine for occasional slipping, but for serious off roading / snow travel in rural areas, the Subaru will be better. I remember reading prior posts of the AWD systems on the Mazda overheating due to constant usage. This won't happen with the Subarus.
Now this is extreme. For most, the AWD system in the Mazda, Honda, Toyota, Chevy etc will be just fine. But if you're rural or plan on going off road in muddy dirt roads/snow, the Subaru system is significantly better.
The AWD in the Forester is also part-time, I believe it uses a system very similar to what's in the CX5. I'm not aware of any evidence that it is significantly better than the AWD in the CX5. I do know the AWD Honda uses has been reported to overheat and disable itself faster than comparable vehicles when it's pushed heavily, not sure if other brands perform as poorly but I've never seen anything about this happening in a Forester, CX5, RAV4, etc. I don't think it's accurate to say "the Subaru system is significantly better". They do have AWD systems which perform better, but not all of them do and if comparing a Forester to a CX5 the only significant difference I am aware of is that the Forester has "X-Mode" which allows you to force the AWD into an enabled state. Actual performance is nearly identical, except that the CX5 is slightly superior in certain conditions (e.g. accelerating from a stop up hill with the wheels turned, as demonstrated in the video of the snow academy thing on youtube is something the CX5 is great at but the Forester AWD is unable to handle).
Re: Tires, I'm pretty sure the video I saw had all vehicles running identical winter tires. Cheating like that is super obvious.
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They used the same tires on all three vehicles in that test.
For city driving, the AWD system in the Forester is not that much superior to the AWD system from Mazda. The CX-5 can run in FWD mode to save gas if it doesn't need the traction with the rear tires. You cannot do that with the full time AWD system with the Subarus. I will concede, maybe the Subaru has an advantage with AWD in an off-road scenario, but the CX-5 is not an off-road vehicle in the first place, it is really meant for city driving.
7eregrine
The man, the myth, the legend
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- Land of Cleve
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- 2016.5 CX5
We had an '06 XT stick- that car was quite fun to drive despite having no steering feel/weight or suspension tuning to match what the powertrain could do. I drove the new XT (before the CX-5) figuring I'd likely buy it but was left cold. Still no steering, no suspension to match what the powertrain could do..interior was still pretty far behind the curve and other being able to go more swiftly in a straight line I actually found this vehicle horribly disappointing in terms of fun factor. Even just taking acceleration (while certainly fast enough) into account I found it was just unsatisfying for 1 reason only- the CVT transmission. I'm not trying to turn this into another one of those, I just disagree..the XT SHOULD be fun and to some people I get that it could be but for me...it was a hard pass thanks. For my roads (hilly/twisty) and driving (briskly but not 4000 to redline) CX-5 all day
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The CX-5 is built on the Mazda3 chassis and has the same wheel base. The Forester is built on the Impreza (2012-2016) platform. Even shares the same exact interior.
Your statement is incorrect. They are both "crossover" vehicles build off of compact car chassis.
