quote:

Originally posted by M'headSig:
Anyway, if you can find yourself a nice Carbon Edition turbo, I really dig the poly-gray paint and ruby red leather interiors on those.

The Carbon Edition is not available in a Turbo, at least in 2023.

There are only two Turbo trim levels for 2023: Turbo and Turbo Signature.

The base (non-signature) Turbo has all the amenities as the top-level non-turbo trim level (Premium Plus), whereas the Carbon trim is basically a mid-level non-turbo trim level, with primarily cosmetic differences from the mid-level Preferred.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by M'headSig:
Anyway, if you can find yourself a nice Carbon Edition turbo, I really dig the poly-gray paint and ruby red leather interiors on those.

I don't believe the Carbon is available in a Turbo, at least in 2023.

There are only two Turbo trim levels for 2023: Turbo and Turbo Signature. The base (non-signature) Turbo has the same amenities as the top-level non-turbo trim level.

I was thinking if you go slightly used. If you do go used, in 2021 the infotainment software was vastly improved over the 2020.

Used or new, if the car fits you in terms of interior space (as it does me), I think you will enjoy it. The handling and power, and the agility and quietness (for a cuv) makes it a blast to drive.

Ah.

Looks like 2021 was the only year the Carbon Edition was offered in a Turbo.

Update: Found a CPO 2022 CX-5 Turbo Signature at a price I can live with at a dealership a couple states over. It was a lease turn-in, and actually cheaper OTD than the other comparable non-Signature Turbos for ~200 miles around. (All the dealers sure are proud of those lightly used CX-5 Turbos... Practically the same price as new!)

Did all the haggling and financing by email and phone today. Then I'll be heading out tomorrow on a 3.5 hour trip to trade my current car in and get the CX-5, and then a 3.5 hour trip back to get acquainted with it.

Congrats Rogue! I've been following this thread. I've been wondering about a comment in your original post.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK: ...My original likely route going into this was to go with a 202x Subaru Outback XT, but the more I've researched, the more I'm leaning towards a 202x Mazda CX-5 Turbo...

Regarding your research... you mentioned good mechanically but unrefined and rattle prone. Also nice interior and power for the CX-5. Did you find other things that led you to choose the CX-5 over the outback?

An outback is on my short list. CX-5 won't tow what I need it to and the 50 is too new.

Dan

Other than the noticeably nicer and more comfortable interior on the CX-5, I'd say it was primarily the drive feel of the CX-5. It's tighter and more responsive, both in steering and acceleration. More like a sporty car than a SUV, and way better than any other similar SUV I've driven.

All the reviews I watched and read mentioned those two points where the Mazda really shines (interior finish and driving experience), and actually getting inside and driving a CX-5 drove them home.

Towing isn't a concern for me. Nor is stuff like a large fuel tank as previously mentioned. Or having all the absolute latest whiz-bang driver assist tech. Or true off-road performance. With someone for whom things like those are a priority, the Outback would pull ahead.

Congrats Rogue!
My parents just bought an Outback Onyx a couple months ago. I was impressed, in the driveway, with how comfortable the seats are & it's very spacious.
I nearly bought a non-turbo Outback in 2018, I can only imagine the XT is a hoot by comparison.

we had a 2022 for a day and came very close to buying it for the wife. I talked her out of it as I thought it was too small. It is a fantastic car overall. Drives really nice, interior is great. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if it ticked all of the boxes for you.

I love the CX-50 though, I wish those were available when we were looking. If they drop that new straight six turbo into the CX-50 though, I want to get one of those for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

In my 2020 Escape if I have a route entered on the nav system, the HUD shows distance to the next waypoint and the action to be taken at that waypoint (direction to turn, etc.). That information is displayed on the HUD if I use the built-in nav system, but if I use an iPhone navigation app, information is shown on the car's main screen, but not on the HUD.

No HUD on my Explorer, but it does put the AA 'next step' in the cluster screen where it would normally say 'Trip 1'
Took this photo this morning as I crossed 30k, you can see the navigation at the top left of the center screen.
Not sure if it does the same for Apple CarPlay.

I do not get the nav information on the cluster screen when using a phone nav app. I do get it when using the Ford's built-in nav, but not with a phone nav app. Same thing with a 2023 F150 that I'm driving as a service loaner. No nav information on the instrument cluster with a phone nav app, only shows when using the built-in nav system.

Congrats, Rogue. I think you will enjoy it. I gave a ride to a guy who owns an Audi SQ5 in my Mazda Signature last night and he was truly impressed by its ride, and interior amenities -- especially the heated back seats, which his SQ5 doesn't have.

As one would expect, a 3.5+ hour roadtrip on the day of purchase is a great way to get acquainted with a new car. It let me get the hang of most of the bells and whistles, get the seat dialed in exactly where I wanted it, and get a much better feel for that car than my previous short test drives.

Thoughts so far:

-Way more power than you'd expect from a crossover SUV like this. I hadn't gotten too aggressive with it during previous test drives, but tooling down deserted back country highways through Eastern Kansas allowed me the opportunity to get a little wacky, and I am pretty impressed with it. Reminds me quite a bit of the former Subaru WRX (non-STI) that my ex-wife had. In fact, this turbo CX-5 has around the same horsepower and weight as the WRX, but about 20% more torque (310 vs 258). The steering and handling are similarly fantastic, even during more aggressive maneuvering. The OEM Toyo A36 tires are a limiting factor, so I'll definitely be looking into installing some better performing tires in the next couple years.

-The Signature's Napa leather is a definite upgrade over the standard CX-5 leather seats. Noticeably softer and more comfortable, and the fancier leather is not only on the seats, but also everywhere else that you'd normally touch inside the car. Just as nice as the interior of the Lexus that my parents used to have. I had never looked at a Signature trim before buying this one sight-unseen, so I wasn't sure how the dark brown leather would work with the all-black interior (the Turbo has black leather on black interior), but the brown and black combo works surprisingly well.

-Very quiet and smooth ride. Mazda is trying hard to compete with the premium market (Lexus/Acura/Audi/BMW/etc.) without the premium price tag, and between the refined interior, performance, and ride quality, they are definitely succeeding.

-As usual, some of the driver assist safety features are annoying. Luckily, Mazda allows you to turn them off in the settings menu. Whereas on many other cars, there is a button that temporarily disables them until you turn the car off, at which time they automatically go back on. I turned several of them off. Similarly, Mazda's lane-keeping assist system requires you to specifically activate it when you want it, rather than it being automatically on. I actually dislike the similar system on my work Explorer, since I feel like I'm fighting the steering wheel while going down the highway, and that system is automatically on every time you start it.

-The premium Bose sound system is a little less punchy than the premium Harmon-Kardon sound system on my former Subaru. The highs and mids are slightly clearer, but there's less bass, even with the bass settings boosted significantly. Some folks online report better results after replacing their factory Bose subwoofer with a similar JBL Bass Pro Hub subwoofer. (Both subs are installed over the spare tire in the trunk.) I might look into that.

-The rotary dial control for the infotainment system is fantastic. It lies exactly where your right hand naturally falls anyway, and it's super intuitive. You very quickly get the hang of how it works. After using it for ~4 hours yesterday, including fiddling with lots and lots of submenus and settings, I can say that I like it better than a touchscreen. Lots of people complain about this lack of touchscreen in reviews, but in my opinion, Mazda absolutely nailed this. The only place where a touchscreen would be needed is when typing in words, like plugging in an address or searching for specific songs, and for those I'm going to be using my phone, whose touchscreen keypad still works. For everything else, the rotary dial rocks. Plus with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, you can accomplish a lot of it via voice commands anyway, without having to use your hands at all.


For those who are considering purchasing a CX-5, here's what I paid for reference:
CPO 2022 CX-5 Turbo Signature with 11k miles - $37,488 OTD
2016 Subaru Forester Limited with 75k miles - $15,500 trade

There were 11 new and lightly used CX-5 Turbos for sale within 250 miles of me. I was originally looking for either a new 2023 Turbo or a used 2022 or 2023 Turbo with sub-10k miles. The best deal I was able to negotiate on a new 2023 Turbo was $37,900 OTD with $14,500 in trade. The best deal I was able to negotiate on a used 2023 Turbo with 5k miles was $36,200 OTD with 14k trade.

So with this Signature, compared to those other two Turbos I was working on, I basically gave up 11k miles of wear and tear for the fancier Signature trim and $1500 off, compared to the new non-signature Turbo. And gave up 6k more miles for the fancier Signature trim and $200 off compared to the used non-signature Turbo. I'd say the fancier leather alone is worth 6k miles of additional wear and tear compared to the CPO Turbo, not to mention the other bells and whistles like parking sensors and 360 camera that aren't present on the non-signature trims.

(It's already a year into the factory 3/36k full warranty, but being a CPO tacks another 1/12k on to the end, so that aspect was a wash compared to new.)



Here's quick shot from the shower it got yesterday evening, to wash the dozens of suicidal Kansas bugs off the front.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

You got a great deal. Welcome to the CX-5 Turbo Club. Enjoy the car in good health!

Almost forgot another insight from yesterday's trip:

The Head's Up Display (which projects stuff like current speed, speed limit, and upcoming road signs out into the driver's field of view of the road ahead) is really cool... if you don't wear sunglasses.

Due to how the HUD is projected, it doesn't play nice with polarized sunglasses. I always have sunglasses on, anytime I'm driving during the daytime, and all of my sunglasses are polarized. If I shift the HUD to one of its lowest positions, just above the dashboard, I can still kinda sorta see the ghost of the HUD if I squint. But it's bright and crystal clear in any position if I take my sunglasses off.

So I guess that HUD will be handy at night, but not that useful to me during the day.

(Funnily enough, due to how polarized lenses work, if I tilt my head 45* to either side, the HUD is readable. But that's not sustainable for extended driving. )

Looks great!
RE: Tires
We had Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ [replaced now with AS4] and they were fantastic on our Ford Flex, in all conditions we through at it. Never driven in snow other than a light dusting in Flagstaff & the snowmageddon herein Houston a couple years ago.

Will probably be putting those on my Explorer when it's due.

Another bonus for the Signature over the Turbo: It comes with the Mazda navigation card standard. Every other CX-5 trim requires you purchase it separately for like $450.

I didn't think that was of any use, since I only ever use Google Maps. But there are some features of the car that key off the navigation system, like the speed limit indicators on the dash and HUD, and the upcoming street sign indicators.

So without the navigation SD card, those don't work. But you don't have to be using Mazda navigation to benefit from those. I can use Google Maps on my phone via Android Auto, or no navigation at all, and still benefit from the speed limit and street sign functionality from the "free" navigation SD card.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Almost forgot another insight from yesterday's trip:

The Head's Up Display (which projects stuff like current speed, speed limit, and upcoming road signs out into the driver's field of view of the road ahead) is really cool... if you don't wear sunglasses.

Due to how the HUD is projected, it doesn't play nice with polarized sunglasses. I always have sunglasses on, anytime I'm driving during the daytime, and all of my sunglasses are polarized. If I shift the HUD to one of its lowest positions, just above the dashboard, I can still kinda sorta see the ghost of the HUD if I squint. But it's bright and crystal clear in any position if I take my sunglasses off.

I wear prescription lenses and had a pair of non-polarized prescription sunglasses made for driving so I could take advantage of the Mazda's HUD during the day. I believe pilots wear non-polarized sunglasses so they can see HUDs. If you don't wear prescription lenses, why not get a pair of non-polarized sunglasses to keep in the car?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

Due to how the HUD is projected, it doesn't play nice with polarized sunglasses.

I had an interesting lesson about polarized glasses. I contracted with a few companies to fly their airplanes when needed. One of the airplanes had a major upgrade, replacing the factory-equipped primary instruments, which were old type round dial "steam gauges," with electronic display panels.

My first trip in this airplane after the upgrade was to drop the owner and his wife at Stella Maris in The Bahamas, about 350 miles over the Atlantic from Miami. I dropped them off and dead-headed back with an empty (except for me) airplane.

When I was about two hundred miles offshore on the return trip, Miami Center called me, told me that they had a new (changed) route clearance for me, and I should advise when ready to copy. Grabbed my pencil, copied the new clearance, and clumsily dropped my pencil on the deck. As I bent over to retrieve it, I glanced up at the panel and saw that the navigation and communication displays were totally blacked out.

"Damn," I thought, "there's a lot of water between here and America, and I have lost all navigation and communication radio equipment." I slowly sat up, with the retrieved pencil in hand, and as I sat up, the blacked-out screens came back to life.

The next week, I went to an optician and had my prescription sunglasses re-made, with non-polarized lenses.

quote:

Originally posted by KBobAries:
Congrats Rogue! I've been following this thread. I've been wondering about a comment in your original post.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK: ...My original likely route going into this was to go with a 202x Subaru Outback XT, but the more I've researched, the more I'm leaning towards a 202x Mazda CX-5 Turbo...

Regarding your research... you mentioned good mechanically but unrefined and rattle prone. Also nice interior and power for the CX-5. Did you find other things that led you to choose the CX-5 over the outback?

An outback is on my short list. CX-5 won't tow what I need it to and the 50 is too new.

Dan

I ditched a 2022 Outback Limited XT for a CX-30 Turbo. The Tesla Screen that Subaru is putting into all of their new cars is not only terrible, but dangerous. On the minor side, it's not very bright, it gets washed out in mild sunlight, Apple CarPlay connection has a 50/50 chance of working, there's no haptic feedback so you have to take your eyes off the road and onto the sun screen and press exactly at the spot you need, and 90% of the climate controls are buried in menus.

On the more serious side, the screen had a tendency to lock up and crash, killing all of your electronics on the cabin except for your gauges. All your safety systems connected to EyeSight, climate controls, and radio are gone for about 5-10 minutes until it decides to reboot. A class action suit is going ahead as even if the dealer replaces, the replacement are just as defective.

I'd wait on a new Subaru or get one workout the large Tesla screen.

Dang. I hadn't stumbled across that issue as I had diverted over to researching the CX-5 instead pretty early on in my car search, but I dug around a bit just now and read up on the class action suit. That sounds like a real mess.

Subaru definitely seems to be having some serious issues with their electronics lately, and it's not just with the new huge touchscreen either. Looks like they had to put a stop-sale on 2023 Outback and Legacy models for several months from September-November 2022 due to problems with faulty Starlink electronics on newly produced cars as well. Dealerships literally had rows of Subarus sitting on their lots that had been delivered but couldn't be sold. Lots of pissed-off buyers who had ordered a 2023 Subie, waited months for it to be delivered, and could visit the dealership to see their car but couldn't take it home.

That's another one of the benefits of the CX-5... Nothing in it is "new". It's all well-proven systems. Basically all of the changes for the last several years have been cosmetic (like slightly tweaks to the body lines or paint application), with the exception of going with a slightly larger display screen (going from something like 8" to 11" in 2021) and some tweaks to the gearing ratios. Especially with mechanical stuff like the engine, transmission, and suspension, it's mechanically the same car that came out in 2017, which itself was only slightly modified compared to the first generation 2012-2016 CX-5s. So it has 10+ years of testing and tweaking built in to it.

Plus, all of the controls are still analog. No climate controls buried in the touchscreen menus, for example. (And no loss of AC if the touchscreen craps out.) I even saw mentioned recently of some cars that are going to touchscreens on the steering wheel controls as well... No thanks!

Mazda seems to be very conservative with their updates and changes, preferring to perfect proven systems and technology rather than chasing the latest and greatest new thing and dealing with the unforseen headaches and teething issues like Subaru is experiencing. "Dont fix it if it ain't broke!"

Some might label that as "outdated" or "long in the tooth". I choose to view it as "well-proven". It's likely what leads Mazda to have some of the highest reliability and longevity ratings out there.

Plus, the Mazda CX-5 is manufactured in Japan.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKEFsxhnS1E