What's old is new, and what's new is new

John V · 06-19-2017, 12:25 PM

What's new that's new? The replacement for our Mazdaspeed3, which turned out to be a 2017 Mazda CX-5. Certainly not the most exciting vehicle I've ever driven, but my wife was smitten by it enough on the test drive that she asked the salesman to snag the next Grand Touring model that came to our area in her desired color (a deep blue, almost purple in some lights metallic). The Grand Touring model was a must to get heated seats (front and rear) and steering wheel as well as reclining rear seats, nav, leather, and a bunch of driver aids that we are gradually disabling

.

The interior is pretty incredible. The materials and build quality are a huge step up from, say, a GTI, which was our other recent test drive. VW was always my benchmark for interior "niceness" at this price point but there's no comparison here. Panel gaps are very tight, and most of the interior is wrapped in a fairly convincing leatherette. No soft touch painted plastics to chip off in 20,000 miles.

As far as driving it, well, it's a small crossover, so ... blah. It corners very flat, turns in eagerly and has decent grip, but as you'd expect there's little to zero steering feel and it has that slightly tippy feeling you get from these jacked-up wagons. It rides very well. It's super quiet. It brakes very well. Having been in a recent CR-V and RAV-4, the CX-5 feels two classes up from those vehicles. I'm not sure how Mazda pulled it off, honestly.

Maybe it's by what you don't get, which is any meaningful horsepower. The engine pulls well to redline, but it's not quick. And good god, automatic transmissions are still terrible. It's got a manual mode, as everything does these days. Automatics are still awful.

She is ecstatic, but misses driving a stick now and then. Fortunately, we've still got the Boxster (and the Mazdaspeed3). But the CX-5 gets really good fuel economy. Her clients are comfortable in it. The packaging is brilliant. And all that is what really matters. So we're happy.

What's old is new... to me. I bought a 2013 Ram 2500 Laramie. 6.7L Cummins turbo-diesel, 6-speed auto, heated and cooled seats (cooled seats are the best invention since, ever?). Crew cab, 6 1/2' bed. Black over silver two-tone with black leather inside. One owner since new, 75,000-ish miles. Owned by a close friend of mine. I had always planned to buy this from him when he upgraded, I just didn't expect it to happen this year. Well, he found a new truck and asked if I still wanted it for what I thought was a very good price. Hence the for sale ad for my Silverado. We're doing a "courtesy trade" at a dealer near him in PA, so he gets the discounted tax on his new truck, I get the truck below book value and the dealer makes money on his new (financed) truck.

Did I really want to spend the money right now? Erm, no, not really. But Marisa and I talked it over, and we thought it made sense to get a truck that was a known quantity, well-maintained and with no issues. I put about 10k on my truck every year towing to various events around the country and having something quiet, comfortable and better on fuel was important to me. It's massive overkill for the amount that I tow (rarely more than 5,000lbs, with 500lbs in the bed) but that's kind of what I want when towing. Overkill on brakes, stability and power. And with selling my motorcycle and the Silverado the out of pocket cost isn't too bad.

I'm not quite sure what will become of the Mazdaspeed. It still drives great, and we've got winter tires for it, and it costs next to nothing to insure. I'm guessing we'd struggle to get $5k for it given the mileage (though it looks new inside and out) and it's frankly worth more than that to me. Right now. Maybe not in a year.

Anyhow. pics to come. Just thought I'd share while I had a minute.

Jeff_DML · 06-19-2017, 01:17 PM

congrats, cx-5 seems like a nice choice. Was wondering how it compared to the new cr-v with the turbo.

Biggins · 06-19-2017, 02:35 PM

I don't think you can go wrong with either choice!

You mentioned in another thread that Mazda may have fixed the driver/front seat comfort for the new 2017 models. That probably would have made us choose the Mazda, but the front seats in the pre-17 models were pretty uncomfortable compared to the CR-V/RAV4 and we needed something relatively quickly. The overall interior of the Mazda is awesome for sure.

John V · 06-19-2017, 02:45 PM

I find the seats very comfortable, but I'm not super picky about seats so I'm maybe not the best to ask.

One thing I forgot to mention that I really like is it's got a great steering wheel. It's small (like, Miata-sized!) and fat, but not annoyingly squishy gooey fat like a BMW M steering wheel.

ff · 06-19-2017, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John V

The interior is pretty incredible. The materials and build quality are a huge step up from, say, a GTI, which was our other recent test drive.

I rented a Mazda3 last year and had the same thoughts. The quality, fit, and overall feel of the interior are far better than you'd expect in that price bracket.

*clyde* · 06-19-2017, 05:35 PM

Enjoy (both of you)!

equ · 06-19-2017, 05:42 PM

Double congrats!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

rumatt · 06-19-2017, 05:51 PM

Nice.

But if you haven't sold the Mazdaspeed3 yet, aren't you out of garage bays?

John V · 06-19-2017, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rumatt

Nice.

But if you haven't sold the Mazdaspeed3 yet, aren't you out of garage bays?

I'm not even sure the Ram will fit in the garage.

ZBB · 06-19-2017, 08:22 PM

Congrats...

My wife will be getting a new car later this year -- current list to look at is the CX-5, CX-9 and the new Countryman...

06-19-2017, 12:25 PM	#1
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	What's old is new, and what's new is new What's new that's new? The replacement for our Mazdaspeed3, which turned out to be a 2017 Mazda CX-5. Certainly not the most exciting vehicle I've ever driven, but my wife was smitten by it enough on the test drive that she asked the salesman to snag the next Grand Touring model that came to our area in her desired color (a deep blue, almost purple in some lights metallic). The Grand Touring model was a must to get heated seats (front and rear) and steering wheel as well as reclining rear seats, nav, leather, and a bunch of driver aids that we are gradually disabling . The interior is pretty incredible. The materials and build quality are a huge step up from, say, a GTI, which was our other recent test drive. VW was always my benchmark for interior "niceness" at this price point but there's no comparison here. Panel gaps are very tight, and most of the interior is wrapped in a fairly convincing leatherette. No soft touch painted plastics to chip off in 20,000 miles. As far as driving it, well, it's a small crossover, so ... blah. It corners very flat, turns in eagerly and has decent grip, but as you'd expect there's little to zero steering feel and it has that slightly tippy feeling you get from these jacked-up wagons. It rides very well. It's super quiet. It brakes very well. Having been in a recent CR-V and RAV-4, the CX-5 feels two classes up from those vehicles. I'm not sure how Mazda pulled it off, honestly. Maybe it's by what you don't get, which is any meaningful horsepower. The engine pulls well to redline, but it's not quick. And good god, automatic transmissions are still terrible. It's got a manual mode, as everything does these days. Automatics are still awful. She is ecstatic, but misses driving a stick now and then. Fortunately, we've still got the Boxster (and the Mazdaspeed3). But the CX-5 gets really good fuel economy. Her clients are comfortable in it. The packaging is brilliant. And all that is what really matters. So we're happy. What's old is new... to me. I bought a 2013 Ram 2500 Laramie. 6.7L Cummins turbo-diesel, 6-speed auto, heated and cooled seats (cooled seats are the best invention since, ever?). Crew cab, 6 1/2' bed. Black over silver two-tone with black leather inside. One owner since new, 75,000-ish miles. Owned by a close friend of mine. I had always planned to buy this from him when he upgraded, I just didn't expect it to happen this year. Well, he found a new truck and asked if I still wanted it for what I thought was a very good price. Hence the for sale ad for my Silverado. We're doing a "courtesy trade" at a dealer near him in PA, so he gets the discounted tax on his new truck, I get the truck below book value and the dealer makes money on his new (financed) truck. Did I really want to spend the money right now? Erm, no, not really. But Marisa and I talked it over, and we thought it made sense to get a truck that was a known quantity, well-maintained and with no issues. I put about 10k on my truck every year towing to various events around the country and having something quiet, comfortable and better on fuel was important to me. It's massive overkill for the amount that I tow (rarely more than 5,000lbs, with 500lbs in the bed) but that's kind of what I want when towing. Overkill on brakes, stability and power. And with selling my motorcycle and the Silverado the out of pocket cost isn't too bad. I'm not quite sure what will become of the Mazdaspeed. It still drives great, and we've got winter tires for it, and it costs next to nothing to insure. I'm guessing we'd struggle to get $5k for it given the mileage (though it looks new inside and out) and it's frankly worth more than that to me. Right now. Maybe not in a year. Anyhow. pics to come. Just thought I'd share while I had a minute.

06-19-2017, 05:35 PM	#6
clyde Chief title editor Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 26,599	Enjoy (both of you)! __________________ OH NOES!!!!!1 MY CAR HAS T3H UND3R5T33R5555!!!!!!1oneone!!!!11 Team WTF?! What are you gonna do?

06-19-2017, 08:22 PM	#10
ZBB Relic Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: A very fast golf cart Location: The Valley of the Sun Posts: 12,821	Congrats... My wife will be getting a new car later this year -- current list to look at is the CX-5, CX-9 and the new Countryman... __________________ ZBB

06-19-2017, 01:17 PM	#2
Jeff_DML Old Fart Join Date: Oct 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: T4R,GTI Location: San Diego Posts: 8,582	congrats, cx-5 seems like a nice choice. Was wondering how it compared to the new cr-v with the turbo.

06-19-2017, 02:35 PM	#3
Biggins Crotchety Join Date: Aug 2007 Carmudgeonly Ride: 22 Tiguan, 11 328i Posts: 912	I don't think you can go wrong with either choice! You mentioned in another thread that Mazda may have fixed the driver/front seat comfort for the new 2017 models. That probably would have made us choose the Mazda, but the front seats in the pre-17 models were pretty uncomfortable compared to the CR-V/RAV4 and we needed something relatively quickly. The overall interior of the Mazda is awesome for sure.

06-19-2017, 02:45 PM	#4
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	I find the seats very comfortable, but I'm not super picky about seats so I'm maybe not the best to ask. One thing I forgot to mention that I really like is it's got a great steering wheel. It's small (like, Miata-sized!) and fat, but not annoyingly squishy gooey fat like a BMW M steering wheel.

06-19-2017, 05:42 PM	#7
equ Alphanumeric Join Date: Aug 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: 981S, 340i Posts: 9,587	Double congrats! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

06-19-2017, 05:51 PM	#8
rumatt Mugwump Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: E46 330i, Chevy Colorado, Tesla Model 3 Location: NY Posts: 17,475	Nice. But if you haven't sold the Mazdaspeed3 yet, aren't you out of garage bays?