I agree with da Chief and Lobsta - For me knowing the Japanese culture which defines thier work ethic is something to see ....and having been to Hofu and Hiroshima since my wifes from Japan ( yes my bias is massive ) - The pride taken in the build quality of the cars made there is of immense pride -The CX-5 is in many stages made by ultra high precision machines then each part is hand checked and hand finished at most stages - makes me a " J " car buyer of all my previous mazdas - Not knocking the cx-50 or other production facilities for anything specific - but seeing the cars being built - makes the reason the cx5 is a great car with high accuracy build quality and years of debugging is paramount - on the other hand , actually test driving anything you are considering owning is where i agree with Lob - I recall the days when in car sales , the "demo" was when the car was sold - A good salesperson would have the driver take mental ownership of that car IF they responded well to the features and fit / like headroom , power , handling , space needed for things they would mention - like having 3 dogs- and the cost of maintsinence - and if it was not a good fit ... getting right into another model for back to back comparison was ususlly very relevant - I hear of people ordering cars online based on pure specs and reviews with NO demo - nuts -
Drive em both indeed - But I personally have always been skeptical of 1st & 2nd - year cars
- but again - the CX-50 is fundsmentally similar - to the 5 - the rear suspension detail , I was not aware of and is in my opinion the difference between a vehicle aimed at superior handling vs one thats built with towing in mind - If you have prime fire stick - theres several lengthy (u-tube) videos of the CX-5 being built in Japan and follows the process from raw steel to finished product- I found them to be informative - but mazda does not reveal all the build stages for what I believe are profuction and build secrets not shown to the public -just as at the plants - many areas are off limits with guards stsnding by in case anyone gets motivated to try and sneak into a no access area - these videos are likely the same as (u-tube ) online /-

 

I've always avoided the first year of a new vehicle with any brand. Manufacturers learn a lot from those first year customers and year 2 tends to be a much better vehicle. The same attitude also on any model that goes through a generational update.

I watched a video of a Japanese automobile engineer who did a comparison of a Japanese built Toyota Rav4 vs a North American built model. Both were very good quality in the opinion of the engineer, but in a side by side visual comparison of fit and finish of the exterior and interior, he showed the Japanese built model showed a better quality of work. My new CX-5 is probably the best fit and finished auto that I've ever bought new.

 

You nailed it. The CX-5 is Japan built, and when compared to something like the American made CX-50 it's quite the difference.

 

I tested drive both and I like much more the driving sensation of cx5, so I just went for it. Felt lighter, more agile. I didn't liked the stearing wheel of cx50, I pushed a little bit in corners and felt too heavy too. I guess wagon cars is not for me.