I know, I know what has not been written about the CX-5? I will not go on and on about what a great SUV it is (OK maybe a bit). But I will also bring up a few little disappointments and/or surprises.
This review is based on only 800 kms of mostly city driving after 2 months of ownership. Sadly my wife got hurt just after we bought the Mazda. I am busy playing caregiver. This mishap really messed up any plans for a road trip. She will be OK so it is just a delay.
First the good stuff.
The best thing about the CX-5 is it's refinement, The interior is classy and I love the quietness of the ride. It truly does feel like a luxury brand. I have been in my friend's Lexus RX350 numerous times and I find this to be just as nice.
The level of equipment on my GT model is amazing. It has got everything I would want and more. It is a huge leap in technology for me as I have never had a car equipped like this before. Not even close. It has been quite a learning curve for me including living without a CD player. Such things as heads up display, lane keep assist, Cross traffic alert, automated radar cruise control, navigation, voice controls, power lift gate and keyless entry to name a few. The only thing I wish I had is the 360 camera that is on the signature model.
The Bose sound system is not talked about too highly in most reviews. I happened think it is excellent. Best system I have ever had in a car. With the quiet environment of the CX-5 and this system I learning to enjoy listening to music in the car again.
I do not really hate the black trim around wheels near as much as I thought I would. It does looks pretty good with the black on white combo. Also the fact that many of the new waxes and ceramic sprays do not stain the black plastic makes life a lot easier when detailing / waxing.
The extra cost Rhodium White Metallic paint is quite nice. It really has a nice pearl finish. The only concern there is that I read that with this new color Mazda is using less paint. I think I read it is 2 coats vs 3. I hope the paint holds up, but so far so good.
Headlights perform very well. I huge improvement over cars I have owned.
Just like most owners have said, you get use to the lack of a touch screen. While not a pro yet, I am certainly getting used to the rotary control and menu buttons. I think it going to work out just fine.
Now for the disappointments.
The Nanny State
The car is a bit of a nanny state where the car decides things for you. It drives me a bit nuts.
In my driving I very rarely use the re-circulate feature for heating and ventilation. But when you start the CX-5 it automatically selects the re-circulate setting under certain conditions. For example when the outside temp exceeds a certain temperature the car will default to re-circulate. The idea is to help with AC's performance. I would much prefer it just remember my last setting and let me decide if and when to use re-circulate.
The lighting in cluster gauge dims automatically at night. There is an adjustment you can use but it only allows you to select varying degrees of dimness. Not bright enough for my liking. But if you go past the max setting it jumps to over-ride the night time dimming function altogether and jumps dramatically to daylight brightness which is too bright. I suspect the dimming occurs with every drive so it means I have to override it each time. Why can I not just select the brightness level I want and have it stay that way.?
In Canadian versions it seems that at night you cannot turn the headlights off. When I back into my downward sloping driveway at night my car's lights point up and light up my neighbor's house across the road like prison search lights. Out of courtesy I tried to turn the lights off but found I could not.
Other things I am not crazy about.
Not a fan of tinted windows. While they look nice I find they impede my vision out the back at night. I really like to see what is going on around me. Also I find it is hard to gesture to other drivers. For example if they let me into their lane I may give them a thank you wave but I do not think they can see me.
I am not crazy about the USB ports being in armrest. I would prefer at least one in opening in dash ahead of shifter.
I wish there was more under floor storage in back. But I do have a spare tire. I also wish the 2 cubbies on each side where bigger.
I find the some gauge cluster displays a bit on small side.
Disappointed that seat memory function does not control settings on outside mirrors as well.
The manual is huge at about 500 pages, repetitive and confusing. It refers to functionality with different gauge cluster options. It is confusing to figure out which one I am to refer to. It refers to functionalities and features my CX-5 may or may not have. There is one section (I think on cruise control) where is must have referred to 5 different variations of function. I was baffled about which one I was supposed to follow. I really wish the manual was pared down and referred to my model. It could be trimmed down to 200 pages.
In closing
So that is my impressions after 2 months. I know no car is perfect. Despite the smalls issues I have I am very happy with out decision to purchase the CX-5. Features, reliability, availabilty and price played heavily in our decision. Also the fact that it had a spare and a normally aspirated engine.
The CX-5 was delivered with no issues and so far it has been perfect. It seems extremely well thought out and very well built. I would recommend this SUV for sure.
