Owner
Barry Potenger
Kilometres travelled
10,000 - 25,000 km
Did you buy this car new or used?
New
How much did you pay? (including all on-road costs)
$48,500
What were your needs when you bought this car? Has it fulfilled those needs?
Wanted brand new car to take into retirement. Wanted a midsized SUV which was easy to get in and out of and versatile to carry larger items. Researched history, reliability and economy data. Have had 3 years of trouble-free driving, no warranty returns.
What were your initial thoughts about the car? Tell us why it appealed to you.
Previously had 3 Honda Accords but no longer available new in NZ. Test drove Honda CR-V but not keen on the 1.5 turbo engine pushing along a large SUV. Test drove other manufacturers such as Hyundai. Liked the CX5 or 2.5, chose the 2.5L after driving both. The AWD, HUD and the option of paddle shift when in manual mode appealed. Choice of colours was good, except the red was unavailable at time of purchase, chose dark blue as second option. A bit of feedback to the team at J W Andrews in Auckland. Excellent to deal with and some of the best salespeople I've dealt with.
What have you discovered since owning the car?
Very comfortable and quiet, both on urban and rural driving. The 2.5L engine is very responsive and pushes the CX5 along very well. Getting good fuel economy, low 8's L/100 km around town if driven reasonable sedately, I don't do very sedately.
Vehicle is very stable on the road even with a high centre of gravity. General finish and paint quality very good. While the rear luggage area doesn't compare with some of the CX5 rivals, the 3 way split rear seats system works well, bass guitar and amplifiers etc fit in easily. Like all the steering wheel options such as cruise control, radio etc. The manual paddle shift is great on hills or slow moving traffic to minimise gear changing.
What do you like/dislike about the car?
Like the high seating position which provides good visibility. The A pillar and wing mirror are potential blind spots, need to be vigilant especially at intersections. HUD display is great.
What is not great, is the location of heater, aircon and vent controls which are low down near where the console and dash meet. All buttons and display are very small which means the driver has to take his/her eyes from the road ahead down to the controls to make changes. In bright day time when wearing sunglasses, the buttons are unreadable until your eyes adjust. Not so bad at night when the buttons are lit when lights are on.
Looking in Mazda showrooms at new vehicles, these control locations are in the same location. Wonder how many accidents have been caused by this. I think this is VERY dangerous and think Mazda should review this.
Also own a Mazda ND MX5 and the large knobs and switches are much better. Also, not so keen on the istop. I'm 1.8m tall and require a small stepladder to wash the roof. The bonnet slopes away and need to judge where the front of the car is when parking close to obstacles. Like the retractable wing mirrors when parking.
Any other comments on the car?
We have a number of friends who have updated to new cars in retirement, Toyota, Subaru, Kia, Hyundai, Ford. Have ridden in all them and driven some of them, and confidently feel that the CX5 measures up very well.
Reliability
5
Features/technology
5
Performance/economy
4
Value for money
5
Overall rating
5
Lastly, would you buy this vehicle again?
Yes
Why would/wouldn't you buy it again?
Very pleased with vehicle, nice to drive and versatile. Still looks good after many years in production. Has been very reliable. Good amount of technology without going overboard.
