Granted I only have 1lk miles on my 2021 Carbon Edition Turbo and too soon to do a more thorough review. All in all the handling is superb, the looks gorgeous and the ride very comfortable.
But 2 issues that I find disturbing.

First - fuel consumption. Listed 22/27mpg - combined 24. Soooooo, on my last 2 (1/2 tank fills) with combined driving I averaged 20mpg. Now, this is with a driving about 2/3 on highways averaging a very slow 45 -60mpg. Not what anyone would call "spirited driving." I mean this is close to the mpg on my 2016 6 cyl Porsche Macan. Granted, we all are using the "winter blend" gas, but this is way worse than I expected. When I drive even for 20 miles I can actually see the gas needle move. Very disappointing, to say the least. Perhaps, as the engine breaks in a bit more, mileage will improve?

Next is the "Front Radar Sensor Blocked" warning. This has happened twice - one in a snowstorm and once today while driving in some light snow. Never, ever did I get that warning in any of my cars before. What's the point of a safety feature that fails to work when it would be more or most helpful. Mazda did not do its' customers a favor placing those radar sensors where they did. Very poor design.

 

1. MPG numbers should improve as the car breaks in
2. Be sure to clean the front emblem (where the sensors are) in inclement weather. There is no way for the sensors to work if they are blocked by dirt or snow

 

Thanks
1. Hopefully so.
2. I keep my car as clean as possible-to the almost fanatical level. But seems the placement of the sensors - is the issue - way too easily blocked/clogged by exposure to the elements.

 

MPG is unfortunately a trade-off in the CX-5 between the turbo vs non-turbo versions. I owned a VW Tiguan with a 2.0 turbo engine which had a low MPG number in mixed driving conditions (around 21 mpg). Once I switched to the non-turbo 2018 CX-5 with cylinder-deactivation, the MPG number moved to about 27-28 mpg in mixed driving.

 

I hear you on the turbo reducing mpg, but I was generally driving at a steady speed. I thought the turbo only "kicked in" when making a quick acceleration?

 

The published mpg figures are based on the vehicle being tested at a track under ideal conditions.

Very hard to find ideal conditions in everyday usage.

 

Correct, but this is way lower than the published specs on the turbo. And again, I was driving in pretty much close to ideal conditions for a good part. As stated earlier, I am hoping that as the engine breaks in, mpg will improve. I would hate to think what it would be if I was driving in SPORT Mode or in a spirited manner. On my A4 Alllroad with turbo, I was averaging about 27 mixed, 33 on the highway, so not exactly apples to apples, but......

 

I had a car with radar on it for adaptive cruise, etc. and in snow, especially heavy wet snow, I received similar warnings. The sensor was always occluded.

My other car has the much ballyhooed Eyesight on it and in blinding rain or snow it turns off also because it cannot “see”. Have not been in heavy fog but I think the same thing would happen

Regarding gas mileage, with a turbo, every car I have driven whether rented or owned has pretty bad mileage, low 20’s even teens in the winter, similar to a 3.5 Liter V-6

Our CX5 has less than 1000 miles on it and similar poor results although driving is predominantly suburban <50 mph stop and go

 

Wouldn't a better, more logical and safer place for these sensors be inside the car, say on the front of the rear view mirrors?

 

That's a workable location and some manufacturers use it. In fact, the SCBS sensor on my 2014 is behind the inside mirror.

On the other hand, these still get blocked by rain and snow and the higher location might affect the minimum or maximum distances for which they are effective. Note that I say "may" as I don't know, but surmise that it is possible using basic geometry.