I took my wife to test drive a CX-5 GT this weekend. I like the drive enough but the wife wasn't impressed. It did not help that we were in a loaner 2012 Lexus RX 350 since I had my LS400 serviced. She likes the "feel" of the RX 350 better. For around the $30k price of a CX-5 GT AWD with tech package, I'll be able to get a 2010 RX 350 similarly equipped. Not the gas mileage, though. Perhaps I'll get a used CX-5 in a couple of years.

 

Yes, the 2010 RX350 is very nice, even if a bit ugly, gas mileage is ok. I've driven it and currently own a Lexus IS. A $30K 2010 used RX350 will have a lot of miles on it (40,000+) and will be a non-CPO vehicle.

 

It is a bit ugly. I tried the "manual" shifter in both the RX350 and the CX-5; I can't see the fun in it. I drove my miata last night and THAT was fun.

 

Agreed, the Miata is fun (I owned one), until you have to drive in heavy stop and go traffic or take a trip with a weeks worth of luggage.

 

Having driven both the Miata and the CX-5 I've got to say that outside of short little trips driving around little windy roads the Miata isn't as nice as the CX-5, and given that I've done some windy roads in the CX-5 and it was a blast (I doubt many people get to test drive on anything like the back roads from Temecula to Palm Springs) I'd much rather have a CX-5.

The ride on a Miata is much more jarring. The CX-5 is relatively gentle. Love the Miata to be sure, but at this point I wouldn't trade my CX-5 for it even if I were single and didn't have kids.

But hey, if people feel differently about the car, that's fine. There are loads of other vehicles out there.

 

I had a nice twisty, hilly route all planned out for my test drive, but the guy took me on a lame short little route. It's not like he had much else to do... it was a weekday, and there were NO other customers in the dealership.

 

And about that pricing...

The difference between invoice and MSRP is unusually small.

 

The CX-5 is a better ride, no doubt. I was referring to the feel of the stick shift vs. the automatic "manual" shifter as more fun. I didn't get a chance to drive a CX-5 stick.

 

If you like manual transmissions, the CX-5 is well worth the test drive if you can get the dealer to let you really drive it. That can be problematic of course as some salespeople are very rigid in where they want to go on a drive. But if you can find a bit of road that's not plagued by stoplights and has decent speed limits and some curves that encourage gear changes, it's perfect.

They're also often not too easy to find of course, since only like 5% of the CX-5's are outfitted with them.

I personally think that, for people who enjoy the stick, the manual is a fantastic deal. Yes you don't get some of the optional stuff that is nice from the higher trim levels. But the price on the base trim with manual is fabulous (21 and a half as a rough MSRP is super), and the basic options in the CX-5 are not really lacking.

So anyone out there looking at it: don't necessarily let yourself get seduced by the sexy options on the higher trim levels. The price on a manual would leave you with a bunch of room left over to add in accessories (hitch, rack, cargo bay upgrades, etc. all add to the price at the end anyway) and you get a fabulous drive experience!

Every time we drive by a vehicle we were considering we have a moment of "ahhh, no regrets" where we smile and talk about how much fun our CX-5 is.

 

Useless, pointless and irrelevant.