- :
- Denver, CO
So I had a chance to take a look at the new CX-5 Touring and get some impressions about it. Sadly was not able to take it for a test drive.
Observations:
1. The 2017 Touring is much "nicer" on the fit and finish than my 2014 Touring.
2. Yeah, that commander knob is nice and I wouldn't turn down having one.
3. The steering wheel is definitely a softer leather than mine, and seems oval shaped.
4. Leatherette was not quite what I expected it to be.
5. Definitely noticed all the new chrome around the windows.
Impressions:
1. I think I much prefer my not as nice 2014 from a stylistic perspective. To me, the 2017 had too much leather on the dash and interior for my tastes. I guess that remedies a previous complaint about the amount of plastic in my 2014, but maybe a different material besides leather?
2. Although that commander knob is nice, I did not at all like the shifter re-design in this one (which I believe is the same as the 2016) to accommodate it. Whereas mine is basically a stick without a button and feels great in manual mode, this one has the button on the shifter and shifted down in one line and then had the manual mode to the left. I just didn't like this as much as it feels more like an "automatic" shifter than mine does, though it definitely saves on real estate vs. the shifter in my 2014.
3. I would say that the 2017 steering wheel felt better in hand than my 2014 one does.
4. I didn't like the leatherette seats at all. Felt cheap to me, and I would much rather have had cloth seats.
5. I thought the touchscreen "tablet" protruding out of the top of the dash would bother me, but oddly enough, it did not once I saw it in person.
6. Still don't like all the new chrome around the windows or the larger amount of chrome around the front grill.
7. I still miss the "swoop" design on the side, but some of the other front and rear lines on the 2017 were definitely nice to see in person and an improvement visually. Though the front I think protrudes out a little to far. I don't care for the "overhang" and how the front emblem protrudes out from the grill.
8. Feature wise, a nice improvement over the 2014 Touring.
Overall, I have to say it's a nice car, but at the same time I felt like it was not for me. As a 26 year old male, the 2014 I think retains that slightly "sporty" feel to it's fit and finish (design of the shifter with the handbrake and not putting leather on everything) that combined with how it feels driving, really makes me smile. By contrast, the 2017 fit and finish felt like those "nicer" cars I test drove before I settled on the CX-5. I hate to say it but the interior felt like an older person's kind of CUV and exhibited some of the things I didn't like about the competition back in 2013 before I bought my CX-5. I didn't feel like I was sitting in that "driver's CUV" that a yound 20's person like myself would like anymore.
Maybe I am discovering that I like the simpler things.
The 2017 is clearly the nicer vehicle, but I will not be trading my 2014 in for it. It's hard to spell out on paper, but there's just a feel to the 2014 that I love that I didn't get sitting in the 2017.
Regarding my point about the shifter, mine looks like this:
Compared to the 2017 which looks like this:
And I gotta say, just the feel of using my 2014 shifter vs. the 2017 made me love my 2014 so much more and it's the little things like that that impacted my impression. Again, clearly the 2017 is "nicer", but it took away some of that "feel" I liked in the 2014 CX-5 even if by comparison it feels/looks cheaper.
Anyway, that is all for now. I also had a chance to sit down in a Miata RF and I gotta say I want one, but damn if it wasn't hard to get in and out of.
Observations:
1. The 2017 Touring is much "nicer" on the fit and finish than my 2014 Touring.
2. Yeah, that commander knob is nice and I wouldn't turn down having one.
3. The steering wheel is definitely a softer leather than mine, and seems oval shaped.
4. Leatherette was not quite what I expected it to be.
5. Definitely noticed all the new chrome around the windows.
Impressions:
1. I think I much prefer my not as nice 2014 from a stylistic perspective. To me, the 2017 had too much leather on the dash and interior for my tastes. I guess that remedies a previous complaint about the amount of plastic in my 2014, but maybe a different material besides leather?
2. Although that commander knob is nice, I did not at all like the shifter re-design in this one (which I believe is the same as the 2016) to accommodate it. Whereas mine is basically a stick without a button and feels great in manual mode, this one has the button on the shifter and shifted down in one line and then had the manual mode to the left. I just didn't like this as much as it feels more like an "automatic" shifter than mine does, though it definitely saves on real estate vs. the shifter in my 2014.
3. I would say that the 2017 steering wheel felt better in hand than my 2014 one does.
4. I didn't like the leatherette seats at all. Felt cheap to me, and I would much rather have had cloth seats.
5. I thought the touchscreen "tablet" protruding out of the top of the dash would bother me, but oddly enough, it did not once I saw it in person.
6. Still don't like all the new chrome around the windows or the larger amount of chrome around the front grill.
7. I still miss the "swoop" design on the side, but some of the other front and rear lines on the 2017 were definitely nice to see in person and an improvement visually. Though the front I think protrudes out a little to far. I don't care for the "overhang" and how the front emblem protrudes out from the grill.
8. Feature wise, a nice improvement over the 2014 Touring.
Overall, I have to say it's a nice car, but at the same time I felt like it was not for me. As a 26 year old male, the 2014 I think retains that slightly "sporty" feel to it's fit and finish (design of the shifter with the handbrake and not putting leather on everything) that combined with how it feels driving, really makes me smile. By contrast, the 2017 fit and finish felt like those "nicer" cars I test drove before I settled on the CX-5. I hate to say it but the interior felt like an older person's kind of CUV and exhibited some of the things I didn't like about the competition back in 2013 before I bought my CX-5. I didn't feel like I was sitting in that "driver's CUV" that a yound 20's person like myself would like anymore.
Maybe I am discovering that I like the simpler things.
The 2017 is clearly the nicer vehicle, but I will not be trading my 2014 in for it. It's hard to spell out on paper, but there's just a feel to the 2014 that I love that I didn't get sitting in the 2017.
Regarding my point about the shifter, mine looks like this:
Compared to the 2017 which looks like this:
And I gotta say, just the feel of using my 2014 shifter vs. the 2017 made me love my 2014 so much more and it's the little things like that that impacted my impression. Again, clearly the 2017 is "nicer", but it took away some of that "feel" I liked in the 2014 CX-5 even if by comparison it feels/looks cheaper.
Anyway, that is all for now. I also had a chance to sit down in a Miata RF and I gotta say I want one, but damn if it wasn't hard to get in and out of.
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