As some of you know I'll be going off to OCS in July and starting the next chapter in my life. It's going to be a busy year to be certain, OCS, Divo School, SWO School, and my mini cruise are all going to be happening very quickly over the next 6-8 months followed (hopefully) by a wedding in June or July of '14. The lady's Monte Carlo and my Charger aren't going to be all that practical soon so we made the decision to sell our vehicles and buy something more practical and something more suited for an eventual family. The CX-5 fit this bill perfectly.
I drove about 30 miles during the test drive including a couple WOT bursts from a stop. I drove through town on the roughest roads we have as well as through the hills of a nearby national park. I was very impressed with what I found. First and foremost the 2.5l truly provides what is needed for day to day driving, merging, and passing a car on a two lane. Mazda claims 0-60 of 7.8, the quickest I've found in a mag was 8.1 seconds, my opinion is with the mags. You'd have to be using manual mode and be one heck of a driver and have all the electronics respond perfectly to hit that 7.8 figure. By just putting it in drive and stepping on it I can comfortably say that it is a low 8 vehicle. The 6 speed auto worked great. Quick percise shifts that were nearly unnoticable to the driver, no shudder, no jerk, no lag, nice firm shifts. Opening the throttle resulted in immediate power increase with no throttle or tranny lag.
The suspension is great on this thing. I kept comparing the ride to my Charger and there was a drastic difference. It simply rolled over road imperfections without the slightest bump or thud. Felt nice and firm on the road with minimal body roll. Dare I say that it road more like a sporty car than a crossover. Now I'm not talking about FRS type handling and dynamics, but if it weren't for the ride height one could easily forget they were in a crossover.
Interior fit and finish was really nice. Soft touch materials on the dash and center console. However I was disapointed that the doors didn't share the same soft touch features. Touch screed media display worked great and was very responsive and easy to read and use. So too were the steering wheel mounted controls. Seat position was nice and tight but not restricting. My main gripe is with the steering column, it does have a telescopic and tilt column however it doesn't pull out as far as I'd like and it doesn't lift upwards as much as I'd like either.
Now for my complaints, aside from the steering column. The Grand Touring automatically gets a 19'' wheel, not exactly the cheapest tire to buy for. I'd rather have the 17s. The media center is a little small but this isn't something that I'm really complaining, more of something for you techy guys to know. Most notably and most disconcerning is the instrument cluster. No coolant temp gauge, oil temp, oil pressure, voltage. Only has a speedo and tach. So I thought maybe the vehicle info center would share that info, nope, it doesn't even have a info center! Not even tire pressure reading for the TPMS system. It simply beeps at you when you're below the recommended air pressure.
All in all I thouroughly enjoyed the car and I believe it to be a stand out in the class on many fronts. Priced as I want it, it's around $31k. It's the perfect example of big things coming in small packages as well as getting a lot of bang for your buck. While I'll miss the Charger and I'll miss whipping her around a bit (it is staying in the family so I'll still get to have the occasional session with her) I genuinely cannot wait to take the keys of a new CX-5. Well ladies and gents, If you've got any questions don't be shy!
I drove about 30 miles during the test drive including a couple WOT bursts from a stop. I drove through town on the roughest roads we have as well as through the hills of a nearby national park. I was very impressed with what I found. First and foremost the 2.5l truly provides what is needed for day to day driving, merging, and passing a car on a two lane. Mazda claims 0-60 of 7.8, the quickest I've found in a mag was 8.1 seconds, my opinion is with the mags. You'd have to be using manual mode and be one heck of a driver and have all the electronics respond perfectly to hit that 7.8 figure. By just putting it in drive and stepping on it I can comfortably say that it is a low 8 vehicle. The 6 speed auto worked great. Quick percise shifts that were nearly unnoticable to the driver, no shudder, no jerk, no lag, nice firm shifts. Opening the throttle resulted in immediate power increase with no throttle or tranny lag.
The suspension is great on this thing. I kept comparing the ride to my Charger and there was a drastic difference. It simply rolled over road imperfections without the slightest bump or thud. Felt nice and firm on the road with minimal body roll. Dare I say that it road more like a sporty car than a crossover. Now I'm not talking about FRS type handling and dynamics, but if it weren't for the ride height one could easily forget they were in a crossover.
Interior fit and finish was really nice. Soft touch materials on the dash and center console. However I was disapointed that the doors didn't share the same soft touch features. Touch screed media display worked great and was very responsive and easy to read and use. So too were the steering wheel mounted controls. Seat position was nice and tight but not restricting. My main gripe is with the steering column, it does have a telescopic and tilt column however it doesn't pull out as far as I'd like and it doesn't lift upwards as much as I'd like either.
Now for my complaints, aside from the steering column. The Grand Touring automatically gets a 19'' wheel, not exactly the cheapest tire to buy for. I'd rather have the 17s. The media center is a little small but this isn't something that I'm really complaining, more of something for you techy guys to know. Most notably and most disconcerning is the instrument cluster. No coolant temp gauge, oil temp, oil pressure, voltage. Only has a speedo and tach. So I thought maybe the vehicle info center would share that info, nope, it doesn't even have a info center! Not even tire pressure reading for the TPMS system. It simply beeps at you when you're below the recommended air pressure.
All in all I thouroughly enjoyed the car and I believe it to be a stand out in the class on many fronts. Priced as I want it, it's around $31k. It's the perfect example of big things coming in small packages as well as getting a lot of bang for your buck. While I'll miss the Charger and I'll miss whipping her around a bit (it is staying in the family so I'll still get to have the occasional session with her) I genuinely cannot wait to take the keys of a new CX-5. Well ladies and gents, If you've got any questions don't be shy!
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