I think I read that they are going to come out with the manual 2.5 in the next model.

 

There's always room for performance improvement in the ECU. Many N/A 2.0L engines, without direct injection, achieve 200+HP such as the S2000, and the current FR-S and BRG 2.0 Boxer (with DI.) The 2.5L Skyactiv with DI has substantial hidden potential either kept hidden for emissions or fuel economy reasons, more than likely the former. This is the case of practically all vehicles. The engine could definitely be tuned for more power on premium fuel with some valve timing adjustment.


I know this isn't a direct comparison (but still an N/A engine) but I've had numerous SVT Focus (still have two) and they benefit greatly from a tune. The problem is, with a car like the SVT, there are programmers out there that directly support the ECU (Diablotek, SCT) and even custom tuners that have you record engine logs with the programmer of 5 mins idle, 5 mins cruise with some WOT, email them the data, and they provide a further tweaked tune file to upload.


Nobody is going to do this for the CX-5 because there is no demand. It's a Dad car.


MX5 and Mazdaspeed vehicles generally have tuner options. If the 2.0 and 2.5 Skyactiv engines are even used in these vehicles, there is a possibility the engine management ECU parameters will overlap and the programmers will be compatible, but I doubt it.