Of course I have only limited experience with it at this point so I wish I had more info to report. As for the area in which I live, Florida.

I test drove several vehicles that were similar but ended up with the cx-5. The cx-5's MPG was untouchable, esp in city driving. No other vehicle had the same level of refinement at that cost. The list of available accessories is more accessible as far as pricing and the ability to get them for most of the cx-5's lineup. Try looking up other vehicles roof rack options, you get dead-ends or ridiculous pricing. i.e.

Equinox: Cannot buy factory base rack rail unless you buy LT model or higher.
CR-V: Factory base rack rail cost is near $700 usd.
Sportage: Can't even buy the base rack rail for the base model.

You guys that need roof racks know how important and simpler it is to have the roof rails on your ute.

As for my limited driving experience with it (approx 40mi) I can tell you that I'm most impressed with it's suspension; It's taut but forgiving and smooth. The steering is crisp as well. It's an overall tight little (but not too little) package.

One thing that surprised me about the cx-5 was the power. The power seems to match and at times out-do the competition, yet it is rated with quite a bit less HP.

Here are the list of the vehicles I compared it too before buying, I will also list them in order of favor:

CR-V (2012)
Equinox (2012)
Forester (2012)
Sportage (2012)

Nissan's rogue was way too feminine looking (plus I didn't want a CVT), so it was out. Same goes for the RAV-4 (that and I hate Toyota stealerships).

 

Hi All,

Thought you might like a link from a few of the Australian videos Mazda has released:

Intro Review:
The All-New CX-5 Road Test - YouTube

Advertisements (including teaser)
CX-5 TV Commercial Teaser - YouTube
The All-New CX-5 TV Commercial - YouTube

Infographic:
All-New Mazda CX-5 Infographic - YouTube

 

As I said in an earlier post I was pretty much decided on a Mazda 3... until I tried to put the kids in the back and quickly figured out it would be way too tight. I had also considered the new Ford Focus, but it had the same issue with the small back seats.

So we moved on to bigger cars. Drove the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Kia Optima, Mazda 6, Hyundai Elantra Touring, and Mazda 5.

Now it is pretty much down to the ET and the CX-5. We need to decide if the CX-5 is worth the premium in price over the ET. My wife and I both prefer the CX-5, but with Hyundai offering 0% financing the difference in price is that much more amplified.

 

I got a call from my dealer today that despite his promises the car is not available right now and I would have to wait ~2 months or pick another color/version/equipment. Did I mention I'm not the biggest fan of dealers?

After a lot of pushing back and forth we settled on AWD in my chosen color and trim at discounted price making it only slightly more expensive than FWD I have ordered.

@DomD: I almost bought Sonata myself, it gets 35mpg and is way cheaper than CX-5 but in the end it's just money. I would save probably ~$60/month on Sonata which is not even one dinner in town these days. The difference between any Hyundai I drove this weekend (and I've driven Sonata, Elantra and Tucson) and CX-5 is well worth staying one night a month at home.

 

Hyundai has gained an excellent reputation for massive improvements over the past few years. For the last 2 years running, they've taken out the AutoBild quality award (only just beating Mazda, Toyota and Honda) in Germany.
(For the record, all 4 brands beat out the local competition).

But although the Hyundai ix35 (as it's called in non US markets), is well received - the bad mark on it's report card is that it lacks the driving dynamics - an area that is Mazda's strong point.

The following review seems to really remark on that:
2013 Mazda CX-5: A moving target - Sympatico.ca Autos

 

Driving dynamics (and for me that includes the sweet 6-speed manual) are a big reason that despite the price difference with the ET(i30) the CX-5 is still at the top of my list. The Tucson(ix35) was crossed off my list after a test drive beause of the sub par driving dynamics and difficulty in getting a manual transmission.

 

Just searching the web and stumbled on this forum and figured I'd share my experience with the CX-5.

I was 2010 Mazda3 HB owner for a bit less than 20 months and really loved the car. It was a a great improvement over my '02 Focus, and I really like hatches for the flexibility so I never really wanted to get a sedan. Not a fan of SUV's, I don't need that much and gas is expensive.

However much I enjoyed my 3, it only got 19mpg in the city(I'm in ATL and traffic is terrible). I never really got to enjoy the torque it had since cops are everywhere. Also I wanted a tad more room.

Then I test drove the CX-5 last week and fell in love. It handles very nicely for its size, and I do enjoy all the new bells and whistles. I ordered one immediately but the dealership said it would take a month to get in. No worries, I drive back to work and before I can sit at my desk I get a call from the dealer saying "You're lucky! We got some CX-5's in and are going to trade a black for a liquid silver and your car will be here this afternoon!"

I've had it since weds and don't really have any complaints. More torque would rock, but I can deal. I've done some testing to see what a realistic MPG will be for me and I tend to get 23mpg in the city. I'm not surprised because my 3 was supposed to get 20 in the city but got high 18's and low 19's. On city+highway trips I've averaged around 27mpg. When doing just highway I've averaged low 30's. Unfortunately my day-to-day keeps me in the city so I'll be at the low end of the spectrum. But hey at least its an improvement.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am also going from a Mazda 3 to a CX-5. Haven't got it yet, so I'll have to come back and report. But test drives had me sold.

I'm sure your fuel economy will improve over time. Furthermore, I've seen tests where if you use the higher octane fuel, you get better economy as well (the greater cost is outweighed by an even greater range).

Here in Australia, the government tests all vehicles and stamps them with the tested fuel economy:
2012-03-04_09-48-29_0107 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

So they achieved the following
Combined 6.4L/100km - 36.75mpg
Urban 8.0L/100km - 29.40mpg
Extra-Urban 5.5L/100km - 42.76mpg

Sure you'll get to that too

 

It turns out I won't be getting my CX-5 as soon as I hoped for. The dealer's attitude was completely unacceptable and I asked to get my deposit back.

 

Go elsewhere. I'm waiting 5 weeks for my order. A decent dealer will keep you informed.

I was thinking after the posts above that there might be a longer delay with US vehicles for a couple of reasons.
1. A lot more people - therefore more orders to deal with
2. The CX-5 in the US seems to be a few models with a lot of varied options.

A lot of the options are put on in factory, so it would make for a large amount of models to send to the US - but depending upon options, you're either waiting a little or a long time.

Down in Australia - simple: 3 specs, with only top one getting Blind spot monitoring as an option.

To make life easy - things like bluetooth, reverse camera and i-stop are standard across the range.