Hi,
I am currently looking for a new used car and I've found a 2013 CX5 with all the bells & whistles that I've been looking for, but it has a 2.0L engine and I wonder if I should hold out for a 2014 with a 2.5L engine. When I test drove the 2013 it seemed to have an nice peppy feel and I really like the manual mode. That was one reason I went with the Mazda instead of a Honda CRX. Any thoughts or advice?
Thanks

 

I have a 2013 Touring FWD with the two liter and automatic and I never feel at a loss for power. Well, maybe pulling a long grade with a full load of passengers, it might strain a bit, but in normal urban/suburban use the 2.0 has adequate power. That said, if I had the choice of the 2.0 or the 2.5 (and no one could see the 2.5 coming from Mazda when I bought mine in Oct. of 2012!), I would no doubt go for the bigger engine (being an advocate of the belief that more power is always better.) Keep in mind too, that the 2.0 is better suited for front wheel drive. If the car you have your eye on is AWD and you plan on putting that capability to use, then definitely opt for a later model. And lastly, don't expect to get as good an MPG figure with the 2.5, particularly with AWD. The 2.0 is a real gas miser, particularly if you're not asking it to power all four wheels. good luck!

 

Thanks for the quick reply. The car that i have my eye one is AWD. I got used to that with the Subaru I've had for 20 yrs and i wanted to stick to it. Maybe before I make my final decision I should test drive a 2014 with a 2.5L. Thanks again for the advice.

 

Before I bought my 2014 CX5 GT, I tested both the 2.0 and 2.5 (AWD was a requirement for me). There is a noticeable difference and I wasn't quite satisfied with the 2.0 in that configuration. But, your mileage may vary. Also, I was moving from a six cylinder Outback VDC so I probably noticed the difference even more.