Just bought a new to me Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring to replace my pig of a Ford Flex. The Flex was a good vehicle as I travel for work and carry a Flex worth of stuff. As I am retiring this December, the thoughts of driving around a pig of a car that gets 20MPG at best and requires premium! Did I mention it is a twin turbo V6 or Ecoboost in Ford parlance.

Prior to the Flex I was on a run of Subaru Outbacks. Have been a fan since the original Legacy LSi Wagon in 1990 which was my first Subie. Have had 5 Outbacks since. Back then when you drove a Subaru you were in a small club of folks in the know about cars, especially for winter driving and skiing of which is one of my passions. Heck, Subaru even sponsored the US Ski Team! Nowadays Subaru's are everywhere driven by soccer Moms who have never been to a ski area.

I have always liked Mazda's. In between that first Legacy and first Outback, I became a Soccer Dad and bought a Mazda MPV 4WD ....mini van. Oh the shame of it, but the MPV was kind of cool with only one side door that swung out like a regular car. It also had switchable 4WD and locking differential. Fantastic in the snow!

Fast forward to the present, shopping for a 2 year old CPO Subies are selling for new prices with this car shortage. I like the styling of the CX-5 and started to investigate. Slightly smaller than an Outback or even Forester but it won a shoot out by Car & Driver among all the popular compact SUV's. Beat the CRV, Rav-4, Tiguan, Escape and even the Forester! Hmmmm....

Went to a dealer and took a test drive. Sold!! The driving dynamics are better than any Outback I have had, and feels more like what I would expect an Audi or BMW to drive like. The Turbo model would have been nice, but none available and they would be several thousand more. Heading into retirement I wanted to keep the payment reasonable. Settled on a Grand Touring. Has gorgeous leather interior or at least it looks and feels like leather. Most of the convenience features of the Signature model. Love the Apple Car Play! Has adaptive cruise, auto wipers etc, etc. Had the roof rails installed so I can get a Thule top box for skis. Will have some snow tires installed and will drive it to Colorado this winter for some skiing. Have a condo at Keystone for 2 weeks in January!

Thanks for reading!

Rick G







Rick G

 

Beuatiful car, Rick! Enjoy your retirement!

 

Nice car. We had a '19 GT Premium for two years and traded in for a '21 GTR in May. Yes, you do have leather on the seats(at least the parts your butt and back touch). You will enjoy it.

 

Congrats on your new CX-5 and retirement!!

 

I too had a series of Outbacks, I liked them a lot, though my 2010 developed oil leak and wheel bearing issues prematurely. After driving a 2016 CX-5 I was sold. I now have a 2021 Signature and love it. My 2016 had 100,000 miles and the dealer was looking for trades, got a good price and picked up the 2021 before pandemic problems messed up new car prices.

 

hi, does your car auto brake or slow down and stop when your doing say less than 30km hour? I am not talking about cruise control, but local street driving and auto braking. I was lead to believe it will auto brake at low speeds. Have not read manual yet. So far, i have not seen mine slow down never mind stop in stop and go traffic. Mine is 2021.5 cx5 Signature turbo.
thsnks