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Just picked a 2016.5 Mazda CX-5 Sport this weekend in the same color (Blue Reflex Mica) to replace our 2014 BMW 328d for daily driver duties. We were looking for something that offered more practicality and room, and really liked the CX-5.
Nice...We're enjoying ours. Still no complaints with the car. It's brought home fence posts/boards, 2x12s, lengths of pipe, ikea closet organizers, etc. And it drives better than an SUV has any right to, lol. I'm already debating whether to buy it at the end of the lease.
Pro tip - you can carry stuff home hanging out the back with the lift gate up. The gas lifts are plenty strong to hold it up while driving a few miles home.
Nice...We're enjoying ours. Still no complaints with the car. It's brought home fence posts/boards, 2x12s, lengths of pipe, ikea closet organizers, etc. And it drives better than an SUV has any right to, lol. I'm already debating whether to buy it at the end of the lease.
Pro tip - you can carry stuff home hanging out the back with the lift gate up. The gas lifts are plenty strong to hold it up while driving a few miles home.
Good to know, just ordered the Mazda Cargo Liner from Amazon that covers the entire cargo area including the backseats when they are down. We have two large dogs that travel with us quite a bit, and I was sick of using one of those sling things in the BMW. We've only had it a couple of days but I really like it so far. The seats are very comfortable and supportive, and it handles much better than I expected. Only gripes are with the infotainment system, it seems a little flaky at times, especially when using it to stream from Pandora.
I love it because I don’t feel the weight of domestic burden every time I turn the steering wheel. I don’t have to. Because it turns like a car. Better than many cars, in fact. When the CX-5 was introduced, Mazda engineers wheeled the crossover around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca faster than the smaller, lighter Mazda 3 with the same powertrain.
Yes, a CX-5 lapped Laguna Seca faster than a Mazda 3 with the same powertrain.
If used for runs to Home Depot / Ikea aren't you worried about the potential damage and future costs at turn in time, even though your income can take care of it ?
Why not purchase a slightly used one at a depreciated price for a few dollars more?
If used for runs to Home Depot / Ikea aren't you worried about the potential damage and future costs at turn in time, even though your income can take care of it ?
Why not purchase a slightly used one at a depreciated price for a few dollars more?
Damage is not really a concern of mine, to be honest. I'm not laying stuff on the paint, I'm putting stuff in the cargo area. If anything is going to contact a hard surface, I throw down a towel or something to provide some protection. No issues so far...
As for leasing vs. buying, we went into this not sure if this would be a car we would want to keep long term. It's our first SUV - would we like it? Would we drive it enough to justify owning it? If I do decide I want to keep it, I can buy it at the end of the lease. Or turn it in and buy something else. But for now I'm on a 2 year test drive to make up my mind.
Update to my CX-5 saga. We've had it about a year, no complaints. Our salesguy called my wife last week, to see if we'd be interested in exiting the lease early and getting into a 2017. So we went down to take a look. I go in with a couple of things in mind....we're going to be way over on mileage at the end of the lease, probably close to $1k worth - wife changed jobs, and picked up a longer commute. And though we've decided we want to keep an SUV, my wife wants one with some more content/features (I was perfectly happy with the base trim).
As much as I already liked the CX-5, the 2017 refresh brought some really nice changes. Sound deadening for one - they cut over 3dB at highway speeds - that's nothing to sneeze at, and immediately obvious on the test drive. Same powertrain (slightly massaged engine), same solid handling (best in class). The interior also has a great feel to it. The steering wheel feels like something out of a car that cost $10k more. The seats are more comfortable and better bolstered. Lots of nice changes overall. Some of the articles I read suggested interior materials on part with entry level Audi/Mercedes.
Externally, the car seems a bit shorter than the 2016. The front of the hood and the roofline both seem a little lower. The windshield is a little more raked, and not quite as tall (verified when we moved our sunshade over).
Well, we liked it enough that we ended up driving home in one like this:
Yes, we now own 3, count em, 3 red cars. The soul red paint is just gorgeous (also an MX-5 color).
It's a mid-tier Touring with the Preferred Equipment Package. The car has heated seats, dual climate, moonroof, keyless everything, power liftgate, upgraded stereo, nav, homelink, automatic lights/wipers, blind spot monitoring, and a whole bunch of other things I'm probably not remembering right now. Really solid vehicle in the mid-upper $20s.
Mazda has the best design language right now, especially the SUVs, the CX-5 and 7 look amazing. They don't really have a car that I would call ugly. I think Mazda is aiming to position them selves between Honda and Acura or Toyota and Lexus.
12-05-2016, 08:20 PM
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