AccordWarrior : 2016 Mazda CX-5 Touring

[AccordWarrior]

The wife and I purhcased a new family car, and since you can't keep a good enthusiast down, I decided it needed some modifications. I cannot stress how entertaining it is to drive, for a CUV. I've driven the RAV4, the Rogue and the Forester, and they didn't compare.



Engine / Drivetrain

- 2.5L with Skyactiv
- 6AT with Sport Mode / Manumatic shifting


Suspension


- Very, very stock.


Exterior

- Generic brand LED DRL kit. Full bright under normal driving, dimmed with parking lamps, off with fog lamps.
- Generic brand stainless steel rear bumper protector
- Generic UKDM / EDM style stainless steel front and rear garnishes


Interior / Electronics

- OEM Moonroof / BOSE audio package
- WeatherTech floor liners
- OEM Accessory auto-dim mirror with Homelink
- OEM Accessory rear cargo tray
- OEM Accessory rear cargo cover
- OEM Accessory remote start
- OEM Accessory scuff plates (to be installed)


Future Plans

- Phillips Xtra-Vision / OSRAM Night Breaker or H9 conversion when the OEM bulbs blow
- OEM Navigation SD card if Mazda every enables live traffic
- Snow tire kit(?)
- Heated seat kit(?)





I cannot fault this vehicle so far, it meets all of our needs and isn't soul crushing. I'd love for it to have a bit more wheel, but 19's don't have particularly cheap tires, and ultimate this isn't my car. I also wish we could have swung the Technology Package and got the LED headlamps, but for what we need, this is more than enough.

I love the interior, from a materials quality standpoint and layout. The new audio system takes a bit of getting used to, but it sounds pretty decent for an OEM system.

EDIT:

A quick test fit of the new undergarnish. This is the front piece, I have a matching one for the rear.


Thanks for looking!

[oneoffaccord]

why no crv?

[cp[mike]]

my dad bought one of these, he LOVES it, and my mom HATES it. says the seats are extremely stiff (i agree) and the suspension rides really harsh (she drives a volvo). I thought it was pretty nice though, but that may be coming from normally driving my truck-box CRV? My biggest complaint were the super-tall headrests and the bad blind spots looking out the rear, but that seems to be common with swoopy-backed modern CUVs. Seems like a good car though, congrats on the purchase!

[Ralphie]

Nice pickup!

I just did the H9 conversion on my Accord. I had the cheapest 5k 35w kit from DDM and the pattern and throw were horrendous. I had the same kit in my 6th gen, but I think the reflectors throw so much like everywhere that it's hard to tell. On the Accord, the halogen projectors aren't as forgiving.

Anyway, she is clean! I dig the color.

I don't think I have ever driven a Mazda. We have the 09 CRV, but id imagine this thing is much friendlier and a lot more fun!

What's the mpg look like?

We're actually in the beginning stages of looking for a new car for the wife. Originally it was a tie between the new Pathfinder(which I LOVE) and the outgoing Pilot generation(2016 are too pricey and she prefers the boxy look while I obv prefer the rounded sporty look)

NOW she is in love with the GMC Acadia. We need a third row and believe it or not, the Acadia was rated the best over the Pilot/Pathfinder.

[AccordWarrior]

why no crv?

We test drove one and it was our #2 choice, if the deal on the Mazda didn't work out. It just was a bit too appliance for our tastes. My wife had a tC and she liked the smaller "go kart" feel that it had. The CR-V was much more sedate and a little more boring to drive for her than the CX-5. I never drove the CR-V, but I understand what she meant. The CX-5 was much more engaging to drive. The interior feels more like a sport sedan than the minivan feel that is the CR-V. The CR-V did have a few more features that would have been nice, no doubt.

There have also been many complaints online about the new CVT in the CR-V, and I'm not a fan of CVTs in general.

But ultimately, it's my wife's vehicle and she preferred it over the CR-V. Neither vehicle is a bad choice, so that's why we went that route.

my dad bought one of these, he LOVES it, and my mom HATES it. says the seats are extremely stiff (i agree) and the suspension rides really harsh (she drives a volvo). I thought it was pretty nice though, but that may be coming from normally driving my truck-box CRV? My biggest complaint were the super-tall headrests and the bad blind spots looking out the rear, but that seems to be common with swoopy-backed modern CUVs. Seems like a good car though, congrats on the purchase!

The ride is definitely firm, but coming from a lowered CB, an STi, and a lifted truck, the ride is quite good! The thing is how easy it is to throw around in the curves. The auto magazines typically rate the CX-5 #1 or #2 in the tests (with the CR-V being #1 or #2) and go on and on about the handling.

The rear visibility is an issue, no doubt, but it's not nearly as bad as some of them. The Rogue my Mom had prior to her Forester was horrific. The Forester has the best visibility of anything, hands down, but it wasn't what we wanted.

The irony is that the non-US CX-5 has much smaller headrests. I've been reading about a lot of people buying them and swapping them in. I figure for now, if it was truly an issue, I'd just remove and store them in the short term.

Nice pickup!

I just did the H9 conversion on my Accord. I had the cheapest 5k 35w kit from DDM and the pattern and throw were horrendous. I had the same kit in my 6th gen, but I think the reflectors throw so much like everywhere that it's hard to tell. On the Accord, the halogen projectors aren't as forgiving.

Anyway, she is clean! I dig the color.

I don't think I have ever driven a Mazda. We have the 09 CRV, but id imagine this thing is much friendlier and a lot more fun!

What's the mpg look like?

We're actually in the beginning stages of looking for a new car for the wife. Originally it was a tie between the new Pathfinder(which I LOVE) and the outgoing Pilot generation(2016 are too pricey and she prefers the boxy look while I obv prefer the rounded sporty look)

NOW she is in love with the GMC Acadia. We need a third row and believe it or not, the Acadia was rated the best over the Pilot/Pathfinder.

I don't want to go the HID route at all. The projectors in the CX-5 aren't bad for HID, but I don't even want to go down that road of questionable lighting since it isn't my car. The Technology package would have added LED head lamps, which would have been cool no doubt, but from what I've read, just getting a proper set of bulbs wakes up the head lamps. The OEM units are designed for long life over lumen output.

Right now we're seeing 25ish combined, with lots of stop and go during the week. It only has 1,200 miles on it, and the fuel economy supposedly will jump once we get past 5,000 miles.

The bigger SUVs are very interesting. I always liked the more rugged looking vehicles, so the new Pathfinder doesn't do it for me, but I'm sure it's a great vehicle. The Acadia is nice, but I'd worry about long term resale. I hate to admit it, but I do like the look of the new Explorer.

Mazda's doing a brand new CX-9 this summer with a turbo motor. Though, I'd be hard pressed to not give the Honda a fair shake.

[sonikaccord]

6MT with sport mode/manumatic? I'm confused. Is it a traditional manual? Do these come with traditional manuals? These new Mazdas are really starting to grow on me.

[oneoffaccord]

I must agree on the CVT, I'm not a fan of it. Its sucks in the civic buts its great in the accord. Its more of a in between thing I guess.

[AccordWarrior]

6MT with sport mode/manumatic? I'm confused. Is it a traditional manual? Do these come with traditional manuals? These new Mazdas are really starting to grow on me.

Gah, 6AT with Sport mode and manumatic. I'll edit the original post. Sport mode just changes the shift points and lets it hold revs longer. Manumatic is what it is.

It's a great safe car that will meet our future needs well and it's not boring to drive, which the wife loves, and I can throw it into a corner much harder than I'd assume, which I dig.

I also have to give Mazda credit about the interior quality / layout of the 2016+ models. They look good and none of the switches feel fragile, yet.

I must agree on the CVT, I'm not a fan of it. Its sucks in the civic buts its great in the accord. Its more of a in between thing I guess.

I agree in the right car it's quite good. It's perfectly fine in my Mom's Forester, it was heinous in her old Nissan Rogue.

[gloryaccordy]

Nice purchase man. We are probably going to trade wifey's Rabbit for something family friendly next year. I just rented a 3 and was disappointed.... it drove a lot like a Golf I recently rented, but with way less torque/power. I wanna look at used Q5s and MKCs.... I was really impressed with the 3's interior and refinement though so we will definitely give one of these a look.

[AccordWarrior]

Nice purchase man. We are probably going to trade wifey's Rabbit for something family friendly next year. I just rented a 3 and was disappointed.... it drove a lot like a Golf I recently rented, but with way less torque/power. I wanna look at used Q5s and MKCs.... I was really impressed with the 3's interior and refinement though so we will definitely give one of these a look.

Which 3 did you drive, the 2.0 or the 2.5? I know when the CX-5 first came out, it was 2.0 only and a lot of the automotive mags got on it because it was down on power.

The 2.5L does have ample power, but it's by no means a rocketship. It's a car that is faster on paper than it feels, no doubt, and no one would mistake it for a Honda in terms of refinement, but it didn't feel floaty, which was nice.

A Q5 would be nice, but like any German luxury vehicle, I'd be afraid to own one outside of warranty. I checked out the Tiguan as an alternative and I did like it, but you had to really load it up to get the features were were looking for.

I was shocked that most makes (Ford, Kia, Hyundai, Chevy) required almost all the option boxes ticked to get a moonroof. Only the Subaru, Honda and Toyota had it available on their lower end models, the Mazda was a mid-level with a package added. The model we ended up with would be comparable to a CR-V EX, Rav4 XLE or Forester 2.5i Premium. I wish Mazda offered an All-Weather Package like Subaru. My Mom's Forester has a package that was heated seats, mirrors and windshield, which was quite nice. However, I should be able to add the heated mirrors for less than $150 using OEM parts.

Someone has figured out how to add in the JDM paddle shifters, but that's a bit much for me, not from a installation difficult standpoint, but I really don't need that.

[AccordWarrior]

So I severely broke this one last month. I had originally thought it was going to be repaired, but it looks like the body shop wants to total me out, but need to sell my insurance company on that. I'm expecting the former, but hoping for the latter, but we will see what the future brings.

This has not been my year for car accidents. At least like the first one that totaled my Tacoma, this one was also not my fault. I must say putting a car up on two wheels is a whole lot less awesome than you'd tend to think it would be.

[AccordWarrior]

New car shopping time