Mazda CX-5

My father is thinking of trading in his XC90 on something a little smaller, better on gas, and more reliable. He was thinking about the new Forester, but Subaru's reputation on being hard on headgaskets makes him worry. I said he should look into the CX-5

So what does the hive think of this cuteute/cross over? He wants AWD/4WD due to a lack of movement from 7 hip replacements (8 is next year) so even the thought of him getting stuck in snow is a no go.

They are what I recommend to anybody who is looking for a cute ute/crossover type vehicle. It's basically a lifted 3 with available AWD, as far as I know. Manual with FWD only, but it sounds like your dad won't need that if he's coming from an XC90. Mazda's new interiors punch way, way above their price point from a design/fit/finish perspective and they are pretty fun to drive for a cute ute. All-around great choice IMHO.

Son purchased CX 5 front drive 6 spd last year. Very happy w/mpg, roominess, comfort. Winter driving is great w/winter tires

My brothers wife has one with probably 65k now that I've spent quite a bit of time in. It's everything a crossover should be, and also regularly sees 30+MPG with AWD.

They seem to have a tendency to chew up rear brakes and the windshields seem to be particularly fragile, but otherwise no issues that I've seen. Would buy.

We have 72k miles on our '14. Rear brakes wore out first as mentioned. Overall, it's been great. Great interior, but cheap carpet. Vinyl sections of the leather seats are showing some fatigue around the stitching in the rear map pockets, but I have little kickers in the back seat. Lifetime average is 28mpg. If you must have a SUV-type thing, it's pretty fun to drive.

I am possibly looking at a CX-5 w/6 speed manual. How are they on the highway? My Mazda 5 is up around 3500-4000 rpm at 75-80 mph. The extra gear would be nice and i'm okay with 2wd.

pointofdeparture wrote: They are what I recommend to anybody who is looking for a cute ute/crossover type vehicle. It's basically a lifted 3 with available AWD, as far as I know. Manual with FWD only, but it sounds like your dad won't need that if he's coming from an XC90. Mazda's new interiors punch way, way above their price point from a design/fit/finish perspective and they are pretty fun to drive for a cute ute. All-around great choice IMHO.

I think you're mixing up the CX3 and the CX5 in terms of size.

I've driven both the CX3 and CX5 on ice and snow, and they're really capable. The AWD system isn't just slip-and-grip, but is predictive. Compared to a Forester and a CR-V, the Mazda system was in a different world. It enabled you instead of locking the car down with over-sensitive traction aids. Loads of fun.

My wife wants a new Grand Cherokee to replace her old Grand Cherokee. I really, really would rather see her in a CX-5.

Following along, My needs a new ride, and CX5 is on the short list for sure. I need to go drive one. Do they get out of their own way decently?

mad_machine wrote: He wants AWD/4WD due to a lack of movement from 7 hip replacements (8 is next year) so even the thought of him getting stuck in snow is a no go.

I did similar shopping a few years back for my 80yr old MIL.
She knows nothing of cars but was coming out of a Chrysler Minivan and wanted something smaller so Cute Ute seemed to be the answer.

For her, as may be in your case, the main issue was egress; her ability to get in and out of the car easily. I liked the just released Mazda CX5 but the "sporty" and bolstered seat made it hard for her to "egress". It was not kind to her function of sliding herself in across the seat.

The two final choices were the CRV or then redesigned Ford Escape.
She chose the Escape since her deceased husband had bought Fords in the past but never a Honda. I did not fight for the Honda since I wanted her to be comfortable with her choice. She drives less than 8k miles per year. My thought was since buying new she would never see enough miles to consider this a "high milage" car and really no need to worry about what high milage would do to reliability.
Ford did have some options to extend the true Ford Factory Warranty. Since she is so low mile, we found it very cheap to extend the bumper to bumper warrant to 7yr/70k miles. We figure this then put a warranty on the car for the rest of her driving years.

Though we are in a real winter climate, I elected to save the nearly $1,200 and order her Escape w/o AWD for a couple of reasons.
1. She has never had a vehicle w/ AWD
2. Like many her age, if there is a threat of bad weather, she will not travel.
It just seemed to me that AWD would be wasted given her travel style.

So, in summary, the CX5 seat may not be the best seat if your father has limited hip movement.
Will he really venture out is snowy weather given the risk of breaking a hip on the way to the car?

CX5 upright, rigid seat bolstering on front seat cushion

Much less pronounced and much less ridged seat cushion bolstering on the Ford Escape

Gentle bolster of the CRV

Am I going to lose a noticeable amount of cargo space going from a 5 to a CX-5?

The CX5 shares a chassis with the Mazda 6, not the 3. We have a '14 six and I have a friend with a '14 CX5. the interiors are amusingly identical with a vertical spacer added in the CX5 dash and spacers under the seats.

We've both been very happy with the vehicles. At 60k I'm starting to get some performance degradation that I think is probably deposits in the intake/ valves thanks to the DI design. Other than that, love them.

Keith Tanner wrote: I've driven both the CX3 and CX5 on ice and snow, and they're really capable. The AWD system isn't just slip-and-grip, but is predictive. Compared to a Forester and a CR-V, the Mazda system was in a different world. It enabled you instead of locking the car down with over-sensitive traction aids. Loads of fun. My wife wants a new Grand Cherokee to replace her old Grand Cherokee. I really, really would rather see her in a CX-5.

Interesting. I'd love for them to drop the 2.5 turbo in the CX5, which is rumored to happen. I rented an automatic CX5 with the 2.2L diesel in Germany last year, 173 HP and 310 TQ. It was quite nice, so the turbo gas engine with the same torque and significantly more power (250 HP, 310 TQ) would be a blast.

The current Forester XT has gotten away from the sporty lifted wagon ethos with its more mature styling, CVT, and reportedly uninspiring suspension. I'll probably check it out anyways, but pretty pessimistic at this point. The Mazda 6 speed auto is quite good and their chassis setup is fun enough. We'll be replacing our Mazda3 hatch with something in the next few years, either CUV or a wagon. There isn't much in either realm that moves beyond appliance.

Sold my truck our family got one last week. It's nice much bigger then a Mazda3 Hatchback which is are other vehicle. Stroller and all those items associated with a little one fit much better. I am 6'2" 235lbs and fit much better in this vehicle. It handles more like a car then a SUV, very similar to the Mazda 3 of the same generation. My mother in-law and sister have a forester, but we couldn't resist how great of deal we got on a Mazda. It even has a roof rack. I am impressed so far, real test will be the Erie winters, but I am pretty confident it will do well.

The only downside to these is resale. But they are very nice indeed.

I like the looks of the new Hyundai's. Seem similar to the Mazda's" yes?

Just sold the Mazda 3 to son who needed a good previously owned car. Bought a 16.5(marketing package: Bose, sunroof, heated seats) CX-5 Touring w/AWD. I like it, SWMBO loves it. Better ride quality/quieter than 3, (tires have higher sidewalls). Too many electronic nannies(industry wide/most can be changed/turned off). Weather Tech floor liners are in and will be ordering Blizzak's DM-V2/with wheels and be good to go for another MN winter.

There's a new CX-5 coming soon, BTW. They just signed off the steering calibration. One note from R&D: Mazda has realized that their cars are noisier than most others on the market. So get ready for more sound insulation.

The 2016.5 with the right tech package (LED lights) is a pretty nice ride. It's what I want.

I picked up a 13 Manual Sport last night.

Keith Tanner wrote: One note from R&D: Mazda has realized that their cars are noisier than most others on the market. So get ready for more sound insulation.

Thank god. That's my one complaint about our 6. The tire noise on blacktop interstate is noticeably bad. It's really out of character with what is an otherwise fairly luxurious car.

We test drove everything and settled on a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. My wife decided it was her favourite and I really couldn't fault her choice. When we first met she was driving a Hyundai Pony and I swore I'd never own another of their products but they've come a long way. One of my club mates is a mechanic at the dealer we bought from. He told us the Santa Fe was pretty much bulletproof and he didn't see them coming back for repair. That pretty much sealed the deal for me.

Wayslow wrote: We test drove everything and settled on a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. My wife decided it was her favourite and I really couldn't fault her choice. When we first met she was driving a Hyundai Pony and I swore I'd never own another of their products but they've come a long way. One of my club mates is a mechanic at the dealer we bought from. He told us the Santa Fe was pretty much bulletproof and he didn't see them coming back for repair. That pretty much sealed the deal for me.

Something similar to that sealed the deal at where I got my CX-5. They said the CX-5 comes in the least for repairs in that suv category.

Just picked up a cx-5 yesterday.

If they throw more power in it that would be awesome, but I would love to see the 2.5L in the cx-3. Was tonr between the 3 and 5, 5 had just a little better acceleration.

Definitely a bit of road noise, but the interior is MUCH better than the Subaru competition.