17" vs 19" rims and potholes
 

I've just about decided on leasing a 2016 CX-5 for my wife.

We have a 2009 Mazda6 GT-s with 235/45/R18 wheels that we've had to replace 4 rims on due to potholes. I will need to replace 2 more soon since they're slightly bent.

Roads here get AWFUL in the winter but our Mazda goes through rims faster than any of our other cars have.

My question is, are the 19" rims on the CX-5 sturdy or are there reports of typical potholes wrecking these rims?

I love the trim level on the CX-5 GT but I have mild PTSD from the word low profile.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the 2016 CX-5 with 17" vs 19" rims.

Also does Mazda offer a wheel / tyre protection plan?

CX-5 rims are no more or less durable than any other wheels. With your history I would go with the 17s. Mazda doesn't offer the kind of plan you refer to (at least to my knowledge), but I'll bet your dealer could find a plan to sell you or you could find one to purchase after sale.

There's a reason that Jeep has 20" wheels on the Grand Cherokee unless you get the off-road package in which case you get 18" wheels. The extra sidewall provides cushioning and protects the wheels quite a bit. I've been thinking of replacing the 19" ones on my CX5 with 17's for the same reason.

Welcome to Northwest Indiana! Anytime Chicago has a surplus of unused potholes, they ship them over the state line to us. Then of course, we improve them by making them bigger and deeper.

On a serious note, we as consumers did this to ourselves. We love these aluminum rims and to make them look even sexier, put all their strength to the outside edge, leaving the inside of the rim weak and defenseless to the power of the pothole.

Even though this may open the door for some debate, my solution for the wife's '05 6, was to run 40 psi in the tires. My one daughter has a '04 6 and I put $72 steel wheels on it with hub caps. She also runs 40psi. Both cars keep good rubber on them and have never had a problem with hydroplaning or getting stuck in the snow. Needless to say, rim damage has all but disappeared from my repair list.

The 2010 CX-9 on the other hand, is driven hard by the oldest back and forth to Chicago. Tire light on? Must be ok, it still rolls. It has the 20' rims and no bends yet and I honestly don't know why.

Just another opinion, but the 19'' look to be extremely sturdy since there's very little space between the spokes. If ride quality is a higher priority, go with the 17'' wheelset.

FWIW, we just bought our 2016.5 CX-5 GT.
Dealer sold us on a "protection" plan from SafeGuard that covers: tires, wheels, dings, dents, paint chips, interior tears, rips, spills and lost or broken keys. 5 years coverage for $1000. Expensive, but replacing one key can be $500-700!
My worry factor on curbing the 19" tires or pothole damage has decreased significantly.
Granted, it's 'insurance', and these guys can always be tough to deal with, but...fingers crossed that I'll get my $$ worth.

Good luck with that.

We have lousy roads here, the rims on my CX-5 have held up fine. Even with the 19" wheels, the tires have a high enough profile that the occasional pothole hits haven't caused damage. I had a Mazda6 with the 45 profile tires and did lose some during spring melts. Luckily never a wheel.

Agree with this statement. Even with the 19" wheels the tires have high enough profile. I did not regret getting the 19" wheels on our CX-5 and the roads in our neighborhood aren't that great either.

One of the main problems with the larger wheels is the danger of curb rash when you parallel park.