What are your favorite aspects of your CX-5?

[cx5boo333]

Hello all! I was curious what your favorite things about your cx-5 are I love everything about the cx-5 and I thought a thread of pure appreciation would be cool!

I absolutely love my cx-5. The way it looks (hard lines mixed with curves, the head/taillights), the manual mode, the steering/handling feel, the throttle response and linearity, the high revs (of the NA at least), even the layout and functionality of the interior! I can haul stuff cross country, car camp (I'm 6'2), AND carve canyons. (I have rarely driven sedans/shorter cars, let alone any sporty ones, so the cx5 is the best handling car I've ever experienced driving) That's a lot of different purposes that it executes amazingly. Lastly, the eternal blue and soul red are just beautiful colors, the way they sparkle in the sun and such. (Oh, and the presumed reliability)

Feel free to write about your favorite few aspects, it could be as detailed as not having a touchscreen or as broad as the styling and drive.

 

[Busch]

The Infotainment screen, Commander knob and camera are my favorite aspects. Fingerprints on the screen bother me to no end. They obscure the screen and worsen when the sun hits it at certain angles. With the Commander knob so easily reached, my passenger and I can avoid touching the glass entirely. However, I also keep a microfiber towel in the glove box in case I cannot stop rogue fingers heading toward the glass.

The clarity of a clean screen helps the rear camera also. I drive many brands of cars as part of my job. The Audi is the only screen that rivals the CX-5’s display. No matter how the sun hits the camera or the screen itself, I get a clear view when backing up.

My only real gripe is the chrome trim around the interior air vents. They reflect on my windows when the sun hits them whereas the flat black of the vents don’t reflect at all.

When I bought my first Mazda, the salesman told me that many owners don’t like the knob but after they get accustomed to it, they find they cannot do without it. In my opinion, he was right.

 

[Chocolate]

The value. I paid $25,803 for my car (the first car I've bought new), and it has LED projector headlights, factory tow hitch and wiring, leather steering wheel, laminated windshield and front windows, double door seals. Underbody panels for better aero and felt material in the wheel wells for noise absorption.

The electric power steering on the CX-5 is very good and often praised by reviewers.

The styling... it's a good looking vehicle.

4-wheel independent suspension (no cheap torsion bar garbage) - I won't buy a vehicle without it.

At the same price range with a RAV4 you get cheap reflector headlights, steel wheels with plastic covers, and a plastic steering wheel.

I don't like that Mazda included a touchscreen (until the most recent CX models) that you can't use when the car is in motion. That is a really stupid decision since a touchscreen costs more than a non-touch screen (the expense is built in to the car and you can't use it...) and Carplay/Android Auto work better with a touchscreen. But the overall package is very good and I would recommend it over a CR-V or Rav4.

 

[ADS-B]

For me is the manual mode and the HUD. I've had a Navdy HUD on my previous Mazda and I fell in love with it.Now I can't imagine driving without a HUD( exaggerating a bit). I think it's the best invention to a modern car.

 

[181962]

Handling, ride, reasonably quiet cabin when not giving it the beans, interior materials, fit and finish, CPO warranty. Reliability would be the chief consideration but at 2 years 9 months and 17k miles since originally titled (2 years 3 months and 14k miles in my hands), it's too soon to tell. No repairs so far.

I appreciate the blind spot detector and backup camera and alert. I'm indifferent toward or don't use the the rest of the i-Activesense stuff, or the rain sensing wipers, auto headlights or radar cruise.

Least favorite thing? The transmission, with occasional mild lugs and bumps from 3rd. gear on down at low RPMS, the only thing spoiling a very good value proposition.

 

[ceric]

My answer is also the total package vs. value.
One co-worker asked me about buying a small SUV... Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4.
Instead of answering his question, I told him that he should also put CX5 on his shopping list. And, he did. He bought a CX-5.
He said, in the end, Mazda CX5 has the total package at great value.
Cannot agree with him more.

 

[Chocolate]

My answer is also the total package vs. value.
One co-worker asked me about buying a small SUV... Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4.
Instead of answering his question, I told him that he should also put CX5 on his shopping list. And, he did. He bought a CX-5.
He said, in the end, Mazda CX5 has the total package at great value.
Cannot agree with him more.

I believe part of this is because Honda and Toyota both have luxury brands. So they can't make the standard CR-V or Rav4 TOO nice because it will affect the luxury brands. So you have to pay a lot extra for a higher trim for what should be standard. How else can you explain such an appallingly cheap steering wheel?

 

[Mantra 7]

For me, it was the interior and overall driving experience, especially with the turbo. I was originally going for fuel economy and looking at Toyota, but decided that buying a car with fuel economy as the primary factor was a bad idea. The final nail in the Rav4 coffin was when I figured out why the Toyota's front end looked so familiar.

 

[murky]

The Heads Up Display, and how it drives.

There is a list of things I would improve, but mostly minor compared to other vehicles. It still often leaves me smiling, and 4+ years in, it still feels like everything is functioning like new.

 

[ceric]

I have two CX-5s ('17 NA and '22 Turbo).
On the scale of 1-100, I give the '17 NA a solid 80.
The Turbo? At least 90.
Love to drive the Turbo whenever I can.
Yes, I can feel the lower MPG at the pump. Not that bad.
Maybe 5-10% lower.

 

[cx5boo333]

I have two CX-5s ('17 NA and '22 Turbo).
On the scale of 1-100, I give the '17 NA a solid 80.
The Turbo? At least 90.
Love to drive the Turbo whenever I can.
Yes, I can feel the lower MPG at the pump. Not that bad.
Maybe 5-10% lower.

I've still never driven the turbo cx5, mostly since folks hype it up so much I see no need to get a taste of something I'll probably never have Cool to hear though!

 

[wlong01]

My only real gripe is the chrome trim around the interior air vents. They reflect on my windows when the sun hits them whereas the flat black of the vents don’t reflect at all.

Back around 2016 Mazda did offer black trim vents because so many people complained about the reflection in the side mirrors from the chrome vents. I remember a lot of people painting or dipping them.
I notice the reflection alot in my 16 and have gotten used to it but don't notice it in my 19.
Mazda probably moved the position of the vents slightly.

 

[rponfick]

I love my 2022 CX-5 turbo when you goose it a little bit. Takes off nicely. I also only run premium fuel, so you can tell I am not worried about the mileage.

 

[mrplt]

First up, the way it looks. That was a big selling point for me in the first place. Inside and out.

The way it drives and how quiet it is. I drove the RAV4, the Escape and the Tucson before I bought my CX-5. The RAV4 drives like a Toyota while the CX-5 is closer to Lexus. The Escape... is a Ford. Tucson was not bad but not as good as the CX-5. Same thing with the material quality.

Features. When I bought my CX-5, I could have got a RAV4 XLE Premium (Canadian-spec) for the same price. It wouldn't have a Blind Spot Monitor, cooled front/heated rear seats, auto-dimming mirror etc. Aside from parking sensors and a lane-centering system, my CX-5 has everything I was looking for. Rain-sensing wipers, how come is it not standard equipment yet?

Engine. I don't have the Turbo, but I am regardless happy with the performance. It definitely doesn't embarrass me on the highway and I will take a larger naturally aspirated engine over a smaller turbo'd engine any day. (Horsepower and torque numbers would be similar, with the NA reaching those numbers at higher revs)

Anyways, the favourite aspect of my CX-5 is that it's almost a premium car without the price tag or stripped features. When I started looking for an SUV, I never thought I would end up with such a quiet and well-equipped car.

 

[Cooter Boy]

. . . Feel free to write about your favorite few aspects, it could be as detailed as not having a touchscreen or as broad as the styling and drive.

I just picked my '23 up on Halloween night. I had to drive it home 20 miles in the dark, knowing nothing whatsoever about it, and that was frustrating.

The worst thing was the dealer experience which soured me on the whole thing. I'm old (72), bought my first new car in 1968 -- a new Camaro -- and this Mazda deal was the worst in 54 years of car- truck-buying.

Now, after 2+ weeks and the horrible dealer experience fading (although I have to go back next week), I'm starting to like the car. But I've got a lot of things to figure out yet. My trade-in was a '17 Tacoma, and it had zero nannies on it which suited me fine. It had a touch screen, bluetooth, USB port, and not much else as far as high-tech.

Questions: I've not found the answer to this, even searching the PDF manual. What music formats will the USB drive read? I have a stick with a bunch of music on it but it doesn't see all of them and there are several different formats.

I don't think there is, but is there a button inside somewhere to open the hatch? (It has the "Preferred trim" with moonroof, climate control, etc.

Is there a way of shutting off the lane warning thingy?

 

[mrplt]

I just picked my '23 up on Halloween night. I had to drive it home 20 miles in the dark, knowing nothing whatsoever about it, and that was frustrating.

The worst thing was the dealer experience which soured me on the whole thing. I'm old (72), bought my first new car in 1968 -- a new Camaro -- and this Mazda deal was the worst in 54 years of car- truck-buying.

Now, after 2+ weeks and the horrible dealer experience fading (although I have to go back next week), I'm starting to like the car. But I've got a lot of things to figure out yet. My trade-in was a '17 Tacoma, and it had zero nannies on it which suited me fine. It had a touch screen, bluetooth, USB port, and not much else as far as high-tech.

Questions: I've not found the answer to this, even searching the PDF manual. What music formats will the USB drive read? I have a stick with a bunch of music on it but it doesn't see all of them and there are several different formats.

I don't think there is, but is there a button inside somewhere to open the hatch? (It has the "Preferred trim" with moonroof, climate control, etc.

Is there a way of shutting off the lane warning thingy?

First of all, congratulations!

If my memory serves me right, the user manual doesn't say what formats the multimedia system will read, I have not had any problems with mp3 or flac files.

Is the trunk powered? If so there should be a button to the left of the steering wheel, a bit above the levers to pop the hood or the fuel door. That is also where you would find the button to turn off the lane warning.

 

[Cooter Boy]

First of all, congratulations!

If my memory serves me right, the user manual doesn't say what formats the multimedia system will read, I have not had any problems with mp3 or flac files.

Is the trunk powered? If so there should be a button to the left of the steering wheel, a bit above the levers to pop the hood or the fuel door. That is also where you would find the button to turn off the lane warning.

Thanks.

I'll have to look through the files and see what plays and what doesn't.

All I know about the hatch is the button above the license plate to open it. I'm assuming it's not powered. I will check that and the lane warning in the daylight.

 

[potownrob]

Handling, ride, reasonably quiet cabin when not giving it the beans, interior materials, fit and finish, CPO warranty. Reliability would be the chief consideration but at 2 years 9 months and 17k miles since originally titled (2 years 3 months and 14k miles in my hands), it's too soon to tell. No repairs so far.

I appreciate the blind spot detector and backup camera and alert. I'm indifferent toward or don't use the the rest of the i-Activesense stuff, or the rain sensing wipers, auto headlights or radar cruise.

Least favorite thing? The transmission, with occasional mild lugs and bumps from 3rd. gear on down at low RPMS, the only thing spoiling a very good value proposition.

the adaptive cruise control is very good. a lot of people tell me there's no point to it and they'll never use it but, then again, they've never used it. it makes driving a lot easier. you still have to pay attention and supervise the nannies, but it works very well. rain sensing wipers can be very good and another thing that makes driving easier. i've had them on other cars and they helped when they worked. unfortunately, the ones on my cx-5 don't work, so i had to switch it to manual operation for now to use the intermittent speeds. auto headlights another great feature. both the actual auto on/off and the auto highbeams work well overall. again, they make driving easier. i also like the transmission, despite only having 6 forward gears. much more direct feeling than the cvt i had in my forester xt, and smooth enough for me.

 

[SimpleCanuck]

I am generally not fond of SUV/CUV vehicles, but my non-driving wife needed cargo space to haul stuff for her own activities (my old Mazda3 hatch was not roomy enough). The CX-5 stood out with its exterior appearance, quality interior, and nice handling. Mine is the NA 2.5 but performance is more than adequate for me.

 

[181962]

Is there a way of shutting off the lane warning thingy?

Probably. It's probably called "Lane-keep Assist System (LAS) & Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS)" in the manual. Controls may vary from model year to model year. You should dive into the touch screen menus. You may find settings for how much the steering wheel vibrates or nudges you back into your lane and a volume control for a simulated rumble strip audible alert or other audible alert, or a setting(s) to turn these systems off altogether.

Before turning this system(s) off altogether try milder settings first or turn off the audible alert if that's the annoyance to whatever extent such controls are provided.

In my model there's even a button on the dash to turn it off, left and below the steering wheel next to the TCS OFF button but I believe it defaults back to "on" when restarting the vehicle. You probably don't have a TCS OFF button, maybe a stability control "off" button.

There's other driver assist and safety features to look at while in the menus, such as how far from a vehicle in front you want an emergency braking function to activate or how far from a slower vehicle you want radar cruise to slow the vehicle down when using radar cruise, to take two examples.

Again, before turning something off altogether it might be best to test different settings though I would not recommend testing emergency braking but a best guess as to what works for you might be in order.