I had the A/C on at the start as it was near 100 at the lower altitude but as we got higher it got cooler and I eventually shut it off. No issues at all.

We did way more driving that day than I had planned. We headed up Hwy 89 to go to squaw valley and there was a line of cars that stretched a couple of miles going the other way to get to the lake so we decided when we left squaw to go up and around and back down 267. Then we saw the signs for Reno and figured what the heck and kept driving. Then Reno was a mess with construction and traffic so we went on to the outlet stores in Sparks and just decided to try a completely different route back to the lake. That's what is nice with this car, I just feel like driving in it. Especially on the back highways.

Some people might have thought the engine was working too hard but coming from 2 other small 4cyl engine cars it didn't seem bad. I think both the Tacoma and P5 had less sound deadening between the engine and the cabin so they sounded like they were working harder. We rented a 4 cyl Malibu years ago and on steep hills if I pushed it that engine sounded like it was giving its last bit of life to get you over the hill. So although the CX5 did downshift a lot and rev pretty high it wasn't complaining.

 

Thanks for the report HandA. I need to do the highway 50 and/or 80 routes to Tahoe soon enough.

 

By using the transmission in manual mode, you can put the engine in 5th or 4th gear and the revs will be a bit higher, resulting in more power cause the engine is in the sweet spot ,just around 3000 rpm. The VVT cam starts working...Climbing hills is a lot easier.

 

I recently test drove a 17 here in Denver. The salesman allowed me to go up to Lookout Mountain on the freeway, an elevation around 7000 feet from the about 5400 where we started, and a rather steep incline. Coming from an Acura TL, I was expecting to be horrified and unable to pass on the trip up, but was pleasantly surprised at its ability to maintain 70/75 and stay in the left lane without clogging it.

Granted, this was with two people and no load otherwise, but it "passed the test" for what I'll typically be hauling.

 

I am just returning from an Ohio to Colorado to Montana trip. Going out in 100 degree heat and 30 mph headwinds in Kansas my mileage went down to 24mpg on one tankful. Once in the Colorado mountains I found letting the cruise maintain the speed, my 2016.5 was able to do it. The 4,000 rpm was busy sounding, but it held speed. My fill ups during mountain driving were 32 mpg. I figure the fuel injection leans the mixture at altitude. Power was down at altitude, so passing needed a lot of room. I'm on the way home and with cooler weather and no headwind I'm getting around 31 mpg at 70 to 80 mph, depending on the speed limit. Also on a 4,000 mile trip I haven't used any oil at all. I'm pleased.