Very close to ordering a 20201 Grand Touring Reserve (SRCM with Parchment) for my wife. Couple of things that annoy me a little.

- Lane Keep Assist doesn't seem to assist at all? Anyone found a solution?
- Skinny tires (225? Toyo A23?). so considering installing 235 or 245s to get better road contact for braking and handling. Is this common to do? Some of the threads here recommend Continental CrossContacts or Michelin CrossClimate. Need a good all-season up here in an area that gets some snow and rain. FYI, I'm a fairly aggressive driver on the mountain roads around home since my car is a 911, which is why i like the CX-5 compared to slugs like the CRV and RAV4. Except the plug-in hybrid, that looks quick.
- No front parking sensors (will have rears installed by dealer). Anyone find a source for aftermarket for the front? My wife doesn't like the dark interior of the Signature, which has these.
- Nav isn't standard - but found several sources here for the SD card at a much better price than dealer. And I guess Android Auto is fine as long as cell service available. Cell is spotty where i live and drive.
- Rear storage isn't great, but it looks big enough for the luggage for the two of us. I do like that the center rear seat folds down for carrying longer stuff. Has anyone found an accessory "back of rear seats panel" to allow stuff to be stacked to the roof safely?
- Reviews all look great, anyone have real world disappointments?

Thanks, possibly will be a long-time contributor here.

 

Maybe a dog barrier for the luggage issue?

 

You mentioned downsides...it's a small irritant, but when the engine is cold the climate control fan is on aggressively right off the bat. My other cars don't turn the heater fan on until the car warms up a bit. But I love the heated steering wheel and seats and the rain sensing wipers! The the Turbo engine is a gem too.

The various "nannies" it has I don't use, so I can't really comment on the Lane Keep Assist and so on.

 

Seat comfort (or lack thereof) is a common complaint. If you are planning a lot of long road trips I would suggest a longer test drive to make sure they fit you. For me the parking sensors are not a big deal. The rear camera works great and in 21mths and 19k miles we haven't backed into anything yet... I like the "mild" LKA in the Mazda. I am not a fan of all the nannies in todays cars. Mazda keeps it real rather than being over aggressive.

 

I'm with your wife on the dark interior of the Signature. I thought it felt too 'cavernous'.

The lane keep assist is a slight nudge. This might be enough to compensate for a slow drift over the line but any input on the steering wheel easily overcomes it, so much that it feels like nothing happened.

Regarding navigation, yes you can add the cheaper card after the fact. Keep in mind though that Android Auto doesn't solely rely on cell signal. It uses all of the signals (GPS, cell, wifi) and sensors to determine your location, speed, and direction. If you save your local maps in Google Maps it's just as good as the built-in nav. I've had cases where the phone didn't have a strong enough signal to start playing music but Google Maps worked flawlessly.

Common gripes: seat bottom bolstering, paint chips, fuel pump signal noise in the cabin (turbo models), folding mirrors breaking, slow infotainment system (pre-2021, not sure about updated system)

 

I share some of your concerns - see above.

 

Well, d'oh. Why didn't i think of that? Thanks.

 

I'll have to ask the dealer if there's a way to set the fan so that doesn't happen, I guess i may have to just turn it down after starting up the car. The heated seats will be nice, it does get cold here in the winter (teens and low 20's overnight). But I guess "cold" is a matter of perspective of where you live.

 

i will be sure to drive a longer time when we go back to see how they feel. My car has a Recaro Ergomed for the driver's seat so I'm used to comfort and adjustability.

Re LKA, I just may have to accept that as a "feature" None of my other cars has it so it wouldn't be anything we gave up. We've never backed into anything ever, but we've never owned an SUV before so I think I'll look at the total price for rear sensors. Mazda doesn't sell front sensors as an option.

I'm not a fan of "nannies" either but i do see "ageing" in my future and it would be nice to be able to turn that on

 

I don't have a car with LKA now so I guess i wouldn't be giving up anything, but not gaining either. It would be nice to have more aggressive LKA for some situations. Does Mazda ever update software for new features? I would think is is only software, all the sensors and communications to the steering system seem to be in place.

Good point on Google Maps, i keep a local map on my phone now since my cars don't have Nav systems.

I'm planning to have the front end wrapped to minimize chips, that's a big issue esp with the SRCM my wife wants. Front bumpers, full hood and front fenders, maybe rear bumper so it isn't scratched loading stuff in the rear.

I understand the the 2021 infotainment system is much improved, it didn't seem slow when we drove a couple CX-5s.

Seats - I'll have to drive more miles to see how they feel for us.

Engine noise - I'll listen more carefully when i do my longer test drive. Folding mirrors breakage will be a nuisance if it happens a lot.