CX-5 Might be discontinued ??
#5
#6
#7
IMHO, the cx50 with it's live rear axle and the fact it isn't built in Japan makes it a lesser quality choice. It may be slightly bigger, and look different, but overall it's not going to be as good . I can't see a live axle handling like an independent axle ,it will cost less to manufacture and will not ride the same. The CX50 looks like a compromise for cost, styling, and interior space . Sadly I also think the quality of manufacture in the USA plant is not as good as the Japan plant.
#8
But would the average person even know this? I mean Chevy sells junk by the ton but people still buy them, Ford Escape as well and numerous other makes and models. My wife would never go this far but would buy on price \ looks and crash ratings alone.
#9
Not knocking fellow Americans but the CX-5 is made in Japan where the culture of auto manufacturing is totally different. The workers there are invested in their company and take great pride in their job and work while here, an auto-worker job is just another job.
#10
No reason to expect that erasure of the CX-5 would drop sales if buyers simply see essentially the same vehicle in the CX-50.
Currently, at least in the U.S., Mazda is marketing eight different trim+feature levels of the CX-5 along with ten different levels of the CX-50. IMO, this isn't sustainable. They've so finely-sliced the market into these little buckets, yet I doubt there are as many buyers in each bucket to justify and support the financial impact of having so many variations. I would fully expect in a couple of years to see several of these sub-models get nixed, the line simplified, and eventually potentially the CX-5 nixed in favor of the newer CX-50. Or, perhaps the company will (as modern culture might term it) "see the light" and flatly declare it's going to move to hybrid/alternatives away from petrol, which could change everything.
Hard to know, for certain.