Today we picked up our new 2022 Mazda CX-5 S AWD (base mode, no packages). My son will begin driver's ed soon and we wanted him to have a safe and reliable vehicle to use while he's learning to drive. The other top contender for us to purchase was a Toyota Corolla Cross, but the CVT, lack of power, and boring design were major turn offs. Once we test drove the CX-5, I knew that would be the best choice. And after seeing the crash test results, that sealed the deal.

I've been fortunate to own many nice vehicles in my life including my current 2022 Acura MDX SH-AWD and 2022 BMW X3 M40i xDrive. I'm shocked to say that this base model CX-5 compares very favorably against those vehicles which are approximately twice the cost. Below are my initial Good/Bad/Ugly thoughts (100 miles driven today) about the CX-5.

Good

• Exterior style
• Interior design
• Peppy engine and 6-speed transmission--doesn't feel underpowered at all
• Great steering
• LED headlight performance including auto-brights
• Decent gas mileage so far (~29mpg)
• Infotainment controller/graphics/screen (very much like BMW iDrive, which is my favorite)
• All of the safety features (active cruise control, blind spot monitor, backup camera)
• Ability to use active cruise control OR normal cruise control
• Rain sensing wipers! (our MDX doesn't even have that)
• Perfect size for us (I'm 5' 6" on a good day)
• Relatively quiet cabin
• My Mazda remote features included for 3 years
• Apple CarPlay (wired)
• Switch gear feels high quality
• Auto brake hold
• Metallic black paint for no extra charge
• One touch up/down windows for all 4 windows

Bad (meh)

• Cloth seats are a tad firm
• Suspension is a tad firm (even compared to my X3)
• Stereo is weak (to be expected given only 4 speakers)
• Remote design is a bit weird (small buttons on the side of the fob)
• I wish auto brake hold retained its setting after a restart AND that you didn't have to press down hard on the brake to activate--just automatically hold at every stop
• Lack of a central "ambient" light by the sunglasses holder--I figured all vehicles had that these days to shine onto the console area
• No tire pressure readout

Ugly

• Middle seat was a bit difficult to latch back in place
• Cup holder placement is bizarre

I can't recommend the Mazda CX-5 highly enough--it is a fantastic vehicle which I hope will provide us with many years of safe and reliable service.

 

I'd never heard of the CX-5 before I bought my '16 with the Tour package. I agree on the firm seats and suspension. It only popped up on my search engine when the dealer dropped the price below $20,000. I specifically wanted a red one. When I saw the listing, that's when I got to researching it. Consumer Reports said it was a good car but had weak electronics. Mine have a mind of their own. Mechanically, it's been a good solid car. The AWD actually handles wash board roads pretty well. My driving is rough on vehicles but the Mazda is holding up well.

While it will be a good car for your son to learn in, once he gets his license, get him a cheaper car to drive. First cars tend to get beat up a lot, insurance will be cheaper on an old beater and you put him on the cheap car. You'll still be paying a LOT more for insurance, but it'll be less. The GF's niece has a daughter getting her license soon. They asked me to find a car. I found a Ford Taurus for $1000. It needs some work but they are almost as good as the CX-5, more metal in case of a crash, fairly forgiving and plenty of room. There are a blue million in the bone yards so they are cheap to fix.

 

We considered buying a used vehicle, but most of the ones we were interested in (such as used CX-5's) were around the same price as buying new. The used car market is a complete mess with no end in sight.

As for a junker, we ruled that out for several reasons including a lack of safety technologies (blind spot, auto braking, backup camera, etc.), not to mention the massively improved crash test results with newer vehicles. We can deal with the higher insurance costs (we paid cash for the CX-5, so we don't have a payment to worry about), but we couldn't live with ourselves if someone in our vehicle was injured due to driving around an older, less safe vehicle.

 

You aren't mistaken on used car prices. I've been offered more for my 2016 CX-5 than I paid for it 2 1/2 years ago. It's the first monthly car payment I've had in 20+ years. I'm the Uncle who buys the kids their first car. I also do the drivers training for them.I learned to drive a tractor at 8, only because that's when I could reach the pedals. I've also raced, dove a truck when younger, have police pursuit training and am a general gear head.

I think part of the problem with traffic today is cars are TOO easy to drive. I'm not a fan of nanny systems either because hey make drivers lazy. I have a backup camera but rarely use it as I rotate my head all the time. I had a loaner with the radar cruise control and lane assist. It also had auto dimming headlights. I was blinding oncoming drivers, the car didn't flow through traffic very well and when I tried to steer around a dead skunk, the car fought me. One nanny system I do like and really think ought to be on every car is the blind spot monitoring. I was changing lanes once and it went off. A car was driving with no lights at night and the monitor alerted me.

As for an older vehicle being unsafe, it depends. A Ford Taurus for instance is very robust and reliable. Then again, my idea of drivers training involved firearms. I have 40 acres with a gravel road through part of it. I was doing a stop drill with my youngest niece. The drill is, when I say "Stop, stop, stop", you stop as fast as possible without skidding. About three times and she got the hang of it. The fourth time, as she was stopping, I had reloaded my pistol with blanks and fired several shots out the window. If the look she gave me was daggers, I'd have had a shirt full of holes. Fast forward several months. She was taking her brother somewhere and hit a crater masquerading as a pothole full of water. She destroyed the tire and wheel. She didn't freak out, she just wrestled the car to the side of the road and got stopped. Then she broke out crying. Well, she was 16 years old. She didn't cry until the problem was dealt with though. I had to cut the rim apart to get it off.

I don't recommend firing a pistol, but make sure you teach your son how to respond to problems. I also am a firm believer in dash cams. Is he is at fault, you can show him what he did wrong. If he ISN'T at fault, you can prove that too. Also teach him to trip the manual record if he sees but is't involved in an accident. There was a woman locally who ran off the road and when my neighbor stopped to help, the driver told police she ran her off the road. Dash cam showed her weaving then going off the road. The one in my Mazda is on anytime my ignition is on.

 

Ha, you bad list are what I like about mine. Except for the speakers, that is why I have the BOSE system.

 

I can definitely understand others liking some of those items, especially the firmer seats and suspension. I’m glad there are so few items on the ugly list though.

 

2010 3 gets kicked out of the garage , and yes the CX-5 got it , without Bose ....which the trusty 3 does have ! tough choice - suppose we could rotate -

 

Nice pair of vehicles!

 

I lost my 2019 MDX Sport Hybrid and I am now in a 2021 CX-5 GT Reserve.
I agree with the MEH list, especially the hard seats, very firm suspension, small buttons on the remote and lack of good tire pressure readings. I got the Bose, which is good enough for me. The electronic E-Brake drives me nuts, as I thinks it is designed to work contrary to logic. I think that button should engage when pushed in and release when pulled, but it works opposite to that. I think the entertainment user interface is awful on the CX-5 and it wasn't great in the MDX either. The MDX was much more refined, but that came at a cost of course.
CX-5 has great power and l am liking the HUD a lot. I'm very glad I can use regular gas now, even though I do not drive a lot.
I'm sure you're son will enjoy the car. It is a very nice first car.

 

The sound system isn't that important to me and my poorly working ears. As long as I have music of some sort to break up the drone from the highway, I'm good. My misspent youth is catching up with me.