RBrylawski
CX70 Turbo S P+ and CX50 Turbo S P+
This past Saturday we became a TWO Mazda household and we couldn't be more pleased. I introduced my new CX70 Turbo S Premium Plus about six weeks ago and here's a link if you want to read about it --> My New Red CX-70 I-6 Turbo S Premium Plus. And now I'm pleased to introduce our new 2024 CX50 Turbo S Premium Plus in Zircon Sand Metallic, with the Terracotta Leather interior.
We previously owned two Genesis GV70 2.5T Sport Prestige SUVs. But to say owning Genesis was beyond a disaster is an understatement! My original GV70 suffered from the all too common Electronic Limited Slip Differential (eLSD) issue. The second replacement, in under 8K miles, went over 30 days to repair. At that point, I told my dealer I planned to Lemon Law it. They talked me out of doing so to avoid the "hassle" of going through the process, instead encouraged me to trade it for a 2024 GV70 resulting in more money out of pocket and a higher payment. Could I have been MORE STUPID, if I tried? I don't think so. After driving the new GV70 the engine blew at 850 miles. This was caused by an extra bolt deposited in the drive shaft at manufacture which eventually worked it's way through the drive shaft, crank shaft, transmission and then blew through the engine block, destroying them all. In my opinion, Genesis is simply NOT ready for prime time. I offered them the opportunity to replace the car which was met with utter silence. At that point, I then demanded Genesis buyback the vehicle which took almost three months and more pain than you can possibly imagine just to get them to approve the buyback. I still don't have my money as that will take another month. Fortunately we had a loaner but had to give the loaner back, thus, needing a new car. To be clear, we traded the other GV70, which was my husband's car, on my CX70 since it too was headed towards having the eLSD replaced. We just no longer had any confidence in Genesis at this point.
Before deciding on the CX50 we looked at just about everything out there. He did not want an SUV as large as the CX70. And to be honest, no matter how many other car brands we looked at, NO OTHER brand out there offers what comes standard with the CX50. Plus the CX50 is just a great looking SUV, which is sporty and aggressive looking and comes with Mazda reliability, which trumps all other attributes after our Genesis nightmare.
We took delivery Saturday, so we haven't put many miles on it but here are our overall impressions.
It's GREAT LOOKING and extremely comfortable. The seats are supportive but with a Germanic feel to them. We prefer firm seats and these are definitely firmer than most other options we looked at. The interior of the car, while not from a luxury brand, is certainly equal to luxury brands in fit, finish and overall quality of materials, though I could do without the piano black in the console around the gear shift. The leather on the dash and doors with the cross stitching is very premium and a classy touch with a touch of ruggedness thrown in. Thank goodness Mazda has NOT gone the way of overly complicated touchscreen-only cars. I'm speaking to you Mercedes, BMW and Audi!. The layout of the controls in the CX50 is almost identical to the CX70. They are so simple to operate using the controller knob and equally easy to program taking no time at all to feel completely comfortable with the operation of just about everything. Wireless Apple CarPlay is wonderful as is the Heads Up Display (HUD) and it doesn't matter what navigation program you're using, directions are seen through the HUD, regardless - NICE! Of course, if you wear sunglasses during the day the HUD is a bit harder to read which is common with all HUD's out there. Mazda, is not much on ambient lighting which is one feature we'll miss on the Genesis but that's really a small nit. All the buttons and controls are well lit at night, which is most important.
Mazda is not fond of touching screens while driving. And neither are we. The Controller knob is easy to use and makes it less likely you'll take your eyes off the road to try to find and tap something on a screen. That said, the screen is touch ready if you use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Still, the screen is further back, so using the controller is the way to go with a Mazda.
The engine using Premium Unleaded puts out 256HP with the twin-scroll Turbo. The 6 speed transmission is sublimely smooth with lots of Zoom Zoom get up and go. There is something in the DNA of Mazda steering which is outstanding, precise and confidence inspiring. And the brakes are excellent with just the right feel. The instrument cluster on the CX50 is part digital, part analog. The center display is all digital and slightly customizable. We're using the center with the car graphic which alerts you to cars in blind spots and the speed displayed digitally. Mazda made them all look totally integrated that it's hard to notice they aren't all digital. You can also choose how you want your gas gauge and gas mileage displayed in one of two ways. The 360 degree surround camera system is astonishingly good! If you want to engage it manually, the button to do so is not conveniently located. It is located to the left of the steering wheel in a row of buttons which includes the i-Stop button as opposed to where it is on the CX70, which is in the gear shift area. A small nit there. Over broken pavement there are no rattles or discomfort.
The Bose sound system in the CX70 is outstanding and the system in the CX50 Premium Plus is the same system. If anything, it might be even better in the CX50 since the CX50 is smaller than the CX70 so it fills the car even better with astonishingly great bass from the huge subwoofer which is housed in the middle of the spare tire in the cargo area. I do wish they included the ability to adjust the midrange, in both cars, but even with just Treble and Bass you can customize it for a great listening experience. Changing programmed stations could be a bit more refined. Yes, you can move up and down stations through the steering wheel but if you have a number of stations programmed that's not optimal. To get to all of your programmed stations you tap the Favorites button near the round controller knob bringing up everything you've saved as a favorite (including any addresses you've saved, like home or work). It doesn't open to the station you're currently listening to. You have to use the scroll controller to get to the station you want starting from the top of the list. It's easy to get used to but could be a bit more convenient. You can use Split Screen in the Navigation Settings meaning you can have maps with entertainment shown on the right hand of the screen. Actually, the split screen is better implemented in the CX50 than it is in the CX70, which makes the station information look superimposed on the map screen.
And it has all the safety features you could want or need, without being overly sensitive and being constantly nagged by your car. It's just a solid, great looking, fun to drive, well built, reliable Mazda!
So this is how we became a two Mazda family and we couldn't be happier we did! And now some requisite pictures!
We previously owned two Genesis GV70 2.5T Sport Prestige SUVs. But to say owning Genesis was beyond a disaster is an understatement! My original GV70 suffered from the all too common Electronic Limited Slip Differential (eLSD) issue. The second replacement, in under 8K miles, went over 30 days to repair. At that point, I told my dealer I planned to Lemon Law it. They talked me out of doing so to avoid the "hassle" of going through the process, instead encouraged me to trade it for a 2024 GV70 resulting in more money out of pocket and a higher payment. Could I have been MORE STUPID, if I tried? I don't think so. After driving the new GV70 the engine blew at 850 miles. This was caused by an extra bolt deposited in the drive shaft at manufacture which eventually worked it's way through the drive shaft, crank shaft, transmission and then blew through the engine block, destroying them all. In my opinion, Genesis is simply NOT ready for prime time. I offered them the opportunity to replace the car which was met with utter silence. At that point, I then demanded Genesis buyback the vehicle which took almost three months and more pain than you can possibly imagine just to get them to approve the buyback. I still don't have my money as that will take another month. Fortunately we had a loaner but had to give the loaner back, thus, needing a new car. To be clear, we traded the other GV70, which was my husband's car, on my CX70 since it too was headed towards having the eLSD replaced. We just no longer had any confidence in Genesis at this point.
Before deciding on the CX50 we looked at just about everything out there. He did not want an SUV as large as the CX70. And to be honest, no matter how many other car brands we looked at, NO OTHER brand out there offers what comes standard with the CX50. Plus the CX50 is just a great looking SUV, which is sporty and aggressive looking and comes with Mazda reliability, which trumps all other attributes after our Genesis nightmare.
We took delivery Saturday, so we haven't put many miles on it but here are our overall impressions.
It's GREAT LOOKING and extremely comfortable. The seats are supportive but with a Germanic feel to them. We prefer firm seats and these are definitely firmer than most other options we looked at. The interior of the car, while not from a luxury brand, is certainly equal to luxury brands in fit, finish and overall quality of materials, though I could do without the piano black in the console around the gear shift. The leather on the dash and doors with the cross stitching is very premium and a classy touch with a touch of ruggedness thrown in. Thank goodness Mazda has NOT gone the way of overly complicated touchscreen-only cars. I'm speaking to you Mercedes, BMW and Audi!. The layout of the controls in the CX50 is almost identical to the CX70. They are so simple to operate using the controller knob and equally easy to program taking no time at all to feel completely comfortable with the operation of just about everything. Wireless Apple CarPlay is wonderful as is the Heads Up Display (HUD) and it doesn't matter what navigation program you're using, directions are seen through the HUD, regardless - NICE! Of course, if you wear sunglasses during the day the HUD is a bit harder to read which is common with all HUD's out there. Mazda, is not much on ambient lighting which is one feature we'll miss on the Genesis but that's really a small nit. All the buttons and controls are well lit at night, which is most important.
Mazda is not fond of touching screens while driving. And neither are we. The Controller knob is easy to use and makes it less likely you'll take your eyes off the road to try to find and tap something on a screen. That said, the screen is touch ready if you use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Still, the screen is further back, so using the controller is the way to go with a Mazda.
The engine using Premium Unleaded puts out 256HP with the twin-scroll Turbo. The 6 speed transmission is sublimely smooth with lots of Zoom Zoom get up and go. There is something in the DNA of Mazda steering which is outstanding, precise and confidence inspiring. And the brakes are excellent with just the right feel. The instrument cluster on the CX50 is part digital, part analog. The center display is all digital and slightly customizable. We're using the center with the car graphic which alerts you to cars in blind spots and the speed displayed digitally. Mazda made them all look totally integrated that it's hard to notice they aren't all digital. You can also choose how you want your gas gauge and gas mileage displayed in one of two ways. The 360 degree surround camera system is astonishingly good! If you want to engage it manually, the button to do so is not conveniently located. It is located to the left of the steering wheel in a row of buttons which includes the i-Stop button as opposed to where it is on the CX70, which is in the gear shift area. A small nit there. Over broken pavement there are no rattles or discomfort.
The Bose sound system in the CX70 is outstanding and the system in the CX50 Premium Plus is the same system. If anything, it might be even better in the CX50 since the CX50 is smaller than the CX70 so it fills the car even better with astonishingly great bass from the huge subwoofer which is housed in the middle of the spare tire in the cargo area. I do wish they included the ability to adjust the midrange, in both cars, but even with just Treble and Bass you can customize it for a great listening experience. Changing programmed stations could be a bit more refined. Yes, you can move up and down stations through the steering wheel but if you have a number of stations programmed that's not optimal. To get to all of your programmed stations you tap the Favorites button near the round controller knob bringing up everything you've saved as a favorite (including any addresses you've saved, like home or work). It doesn't open to the station you're currently listening to. You have to use the scroll controller to get to the station you want starting from the top of the list. It's easy to get used to but could be a bit more convenient. You can use Split Screen in the Navigation Settings meaning you can have maps with entertainment shown on the right hand of the screen. Actually, the split screen is better implemented in the CX50 than it is in the CX70, which makes the station information look superimposed on the map screen.
And it has all the safety features you could want or need, without being overly sensitive and being constantly nagged by your car. It's just a solid, great looking, fun to drive, well built, reliable Mazda!
So this is how we became a two Mazda family and we couldn't be happier we did! And now some requisite pictures!
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