Wondering about feedback from people who switched from the (new generation 2017+) CX-5 to the new CX-30. Pros and Cons?

 

I will be able to tell you about 3 months. Our CX-5 lease will be up and we're strongly considering a CX-30.

 

The two things which jumped out at me regarding the CX-5 versus the CX-30 comparison was the fairly dramatic reduction in rear leg room and gas tank size in the CX-30. My quick look at the CX-30 identified a reduction in gas tank size from 15.3 to 12.7 gallons and a loss of about 3" of legroom in the rear seating area. Then there is the cargo area, it is definitely bigger in the CX-30 compared to the CX-3 (which has almost none), but my unscientific look saw a sizeable reduction in the rear hatch area compared to the CX-5.

 

I have the CX-5 Signature and my wife just picked up a CX-30. I'd agree with the points above in that there is less rear room but it's still pretty good as you can sit behind the driver and not feel cramped. The rear cargo space is of course less that the CX-5 as the car is slightly lower and narrower as well as shorter than the CX-5 but again way more room that a Mazda 3 which she had before.
It drive similar to a CX-5 but has slightly less get up and go unless you put your foot down than my CX-5 with the turbo assist - be interesting to see the 2.5 turbo in one of the CX-30s
Other than that I find some weird inconsistencies in the control systems between the two models give one is only slightly newer than the other but you'd never notice that unless you have both cars of course. I also find that not having power seat control on the passenger side is a little cheap but a minor quibble.
I do really appreciate the heated steering wheel on my CX-5 on cold mornings and that's not even an add-on option on the CX-30 which again I find a strange inconsistency between the model but not a deal breaker I guess for most - I've been spoilt!
Both cars look really sharp and drive great - both have a high quality feel to the materials, fit and finish. We get lots of positive comments.

 

@Robin Powton, how much more often are you filling up the tank in the CX-30 compared to the CX-5? That may not be much of a difference if you drive the CX-5 hard and frequently get the turbo spooled up, but I would imagine on the highway the CX-5 has a much greater range between gas stations.

 

According to Edmunds, for the 2020 CX-5 and 2020 CX-30 (both with the 2.5L engine non-turbo and FWD), the city/highway ranges in miles are given as:

CX-30: 337.5/445.5
CX-5 : 370/458.8

 

Well, FuelEconomy.gov paints a different picture, given the tank sizes of the CX-30 and the CX-5 are 12.7 gallons and 15.3 gallons respectively, that would indicate the highway range of 330 miles versus 398 miles respectively; basically another hour of range.

 

True. It will really boil down to the needs of the customer. Given our current commute, the CX-30 would be very adequate. If it were available in 2018, I think we would have gotten the CX-30 instead of our current CX-5. I also hear that the seats are more comfortable in the CX-30. The narrow seats are my major complaint in our CX-5.

 

Understood. The fuel tank size in our Mazda3 is one of the biggest complaints I have about the car (right behind the non-intuitive single screen interface for a number of functions). With a 13.2 gallon tank, I do not believe we've ever gotten more than about 380 miles on a single tank during a road trip, by comparison, my TL has hit 536 miles on a tank (with about 2.5 gallons still in the tank). Given we like to take road trips, the Mazda3 gets left behind more often than not.

 

I totally understand. On the other hand, the Mazda3 is indeed a lot of fun to drive. I owned a 2005 model, and even that one was fun. Can only imagine how good your 2016 model is.