It's amazing what a beautiful paint job will do for a car. Red isn't my preferred color but the Soul Red Crystal Metallic on the CX-5 I drove for a week is stunning. There are other color choices of course but is the one for me.
Like many automakers Mazda's lineup leans heavy to the SUV/Crossover (for simplicity I'll just call the SUVs) side. There are five, two small sedans, and two Miata versions. I'm not really a SUV kind of guy but there are pluses. Such as entry and exit, and ease of loading stuff.
Mazda's model designations confuse me. Of the five SUVs, the CX-30 is the smallest at 173.0" long. The CX-5 is next at 180.1", then the CX-50 at 185.8, and the CX-70 and CX-90 at 200.8". Maybe the names mean something? A secret code?
Back to the subject at hand, the CX-5 2.5 Turbo Signature. "Signature" is the top trim level. Every CX-5 has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Base models get by with 187 hp, while the Turbo ups the ante to 265 hp with premium fuel (227 with regular), and a maximum of 320 lb-ft of torque. Every CX-5 has AWD and a six-speed automatic transmission.
Fuel economy is rated at 22-mpg in the city, and 27-mpg on the highway.
The interior was comfortable without being splashy. I don't need leather but the seats are trimmed with Caturra Brown Nappa Leather. The fronts are heated and cooled - something I appreciated.
I am getting a little tired of car companies claiming a vehicle is a "5-passenger" car. Who would you stick in that center seat?
I have to give kudos to Mazda for having a real gear shift lever. When I reach down I didn't need to look for a dial or button, it's right there. Thank you. And as you can see the climate control system is pretty straight forward. Easy peasy.
And thankfully the info screen is not humungous, it's big enough to see what you need without being a distraction.
Although Mazda doesn't use the "Zoom, Zoom" line anymore they haven't abandoned a simple gauge display.
The beauty of any SUV is the cargo capacity. At minimum there is 29.1 cubic feet of storage, with a maximum of 59.3 cubic feet. The load height is 30.6". Towing capacity is 2,000 lbs. if you need it.
Very few SUVs are serious performance cars. The CX-5 2.5 Turbo Signature is a nice, small(ish) SUV with enough power and balance to make it fun to drive. Road tests say it will get from zero to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds.
Sometimes I wish we could sit down and order just what we want, say a more basic CX-5 but with the turbo engine but you can't. So pick your trim, add on the options that suit you.
The only option on the test CX-5 is the paint, a $595 extra. The price of a CX-5 2.5 Turbo Signature is $40,600. The least expensive CX-5, the 2.5 S starts at $28,570. For me, I'd go with the extra power.
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