This year, I’ve been fortunate enough to drive the Mazda CX-9 and the Mazda 6. The CX-9 was quite luxurious, but a bit big for me. The Mazda 6, was a comfortable riding sedan. But can I tell you a secret? My heart is with SUVs.
The sticker price of $34k, fully loaded is a lot more reasonable than the Mazda CX-9 that is about ten grand more. There used to be a third sized SUV, the CX-7, but Mazda did away with that and made the CX-5 a bit more spacious. It was a smart move, as this SUV is a good choice for smaller families that are starting out and perhaps don’t have the budget for a higher priced SUV.
The Mazda CX-5 is a fantastic family car but still feels sexy.
Of course, Mazda is all about safety and the features and they are all present:
- Auto breaking system
- Blind Spot Check
- Land Departure Warning
- Fantastic backup camera
- Speed projected out in front of you
The systems use on-board sensors such as radar, cameras or lasers to detect an imminent crash, warn the driver, and prepares the vehicle by adjusting the brake pads closer to the brake discs, and if the driver does not take sufficient action, apply the brakes. – From the Mazda website.
Blind spot feature in Mazda 2017 Mazda CX5
While I appreciate the features above, the Blind Spot feature could use some tweaking, at least for me. It’s not just the yellow flash that alerts you when someone is in your blind spot. If you are passing someone if the Mazda CX-5 deems you “too close” to the car in the other lane it will beep at you. If you’ve ever driven in Atlanta traffic then you know you have to be pretty quick about passing others. I consider myself a pretty safe driver, and despite three car length rule I go by when passing, the beep went off EVERY time I passed someone. Perhaps this is a feature than can be calibrated.
Interior of the Mazda CX-5 is roomy and sleek.
I love the gray leather interior. Plus the seats folded down in a matter of seconds, making loading a cinch. Plus, in this year’s Mazda CX-5 the heated seats are not just for front seat passengers. The back seats are heated and cooled as well!
While you never want the automatic breaking system to go into effect, we did have that happen once. While I felt I was in control of the vehicle, it is nice to know that there is such a safety feature.
My favorite part was taking this car up to North Georgia. I drove up to the mountains for the day and visited a winery and the 1.5 hour drive really flew by in the Mazda CX-5. Plus, even though parking was difficult to find, I eased into a spot with the use of the backup camera.
I think red is my color, what do you think?
