Greetings once again to all members of the forum.
The plan is to buy a new car and the Mazda CX5 is one of the options.
We cover up to 15,000 km a year.
Which engine would you recommend? We were thinking about the 2.0 Skyactive G. What are the experiences with that engine?
What are automatic transmissions like and would you rather recommend a manual transmission?
We read bad experiences with red. I wonder if that problem was only in the first series and is it solved now?
Do other colors have a problem?
I know there are a lot of questions, thanks to everyone who helped us!

 

The 2.0 Skyactive G is great with Aut. IMO.
My previous CX3 in Soul red Crystal had many chips after 20.000 km, my new CX5 in Jet Black have none after 25.000 km.

 

The transmission on newer CX-5s is a major improvement over older units. 2017 and up has them.

The 2.5 is a bit better engine, if what you are looking at has that choice.

Mazda has a good reliability reputation generally.


My 2¢

 

If you have chips in your paint, it's from following too close to the car in front of you.

 

That is certainly not always true. Cars/trucks in the lanes next to you can kick up debris as they pass you by.

 

The Soul Red paint is a well known issue with Mazda vehicles, there are even class action suits about it. An absolutely beautiful color, many owners have the chipping problem. So, how close is too close to the vehicle in front of you? 100 feet? 500 feet? 1000 feet? Why do most CX-5 owners (with non-SR paint) not have a chipping issue?

 

Should have been resolved. Current soul-red was used first in 2017 AFAIK. Our model is 2018 and we did not experience any issues with our soul red. Though we do have the Zurich Paint Protection which was applied before delivery.

 

Shoulda coulda woulda. Owners of 2020 vehicles still report the issue. Not everyone, just some - same as in previous years. Why? Who knows (except for Mazda). Maybe different driving conditions ( gravel, no gravel), differences in paint application. Yep, shoulda been dealt with by now.

 

Hello.
We plan to buy a used car, but up to a maximum of 3 years of age.
Did they solve the problems with the red color and when?
Or is it still a safer option to go for a different color?
Skyacitve G 2.0 + automatic transmission is an OK combination?

 

There is no official statement from Mazda that they "solved" the red paint issue. It will be most likely hit or miss, but our red 2018 CX-5 does not have any paint or mechanical issues. Can't talk about the 2.0 liter engine since it was not offered here in the US.