Used 2015 Mazda CX-5 Consumer Reviews
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A great car ruined by transmission mapping
John Zuanich, 08/30/2015
2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
31 of 38 people found this review helpful
This is a decent car that could be a great car with better transmission mapping and an additional transmission gear or two. I own the larger 2.5L engine with the 6-speed automatic transmission. I live on a hill, but most of my driving is down on fairy flat terrain. The transmission mapping is definitely part of the Skyactive technology, designed to shift to the highest possible gear as soon as is practical. More often than not this isn't a problem--until you begin driving up a hill, where it has a constant tendency to lug. The transmission is reluctant to down shift without feeding it a significant amounts of throttle. Then it downshifts and races up the hill, making it difficult to drive up a hill smoothly. More often than not, I'm forced to shift manually whenever I'm driving up the hill, inorder to be in total control of shift points. Most of the other cars I've owned with automatic transmissions seen to sense when you begin driving up a hill and seem to downshift much more inuitively (more quickly and with less throttle application) and smoothly. The transmission is adaptive, meaning it adapts to your driving style over time. I drive very moderalty most of the time, so I don't mind the hunt for the highest gear, as that strategy generally improves fuel economy. But drive it loaded up a hill and any hint of a "performance" vehicle flies right out the door. Additionally, gear spacing between 32 and 40 miles per hour is way to broad. This car would definitely benefit from one or two additional gears in this important speed range. I've owned many cars with automatic transmissions, and this is by far the worst transmission mapping I've noticed. The key is "noticed." When transmission mapping is done well, you don't notice it because the transmission always seems to be in the correct great. In the CX-5, even with the larger engine, the poor mapping is always noticed driving up a hill. It's really a shame, because all other aspects of this vehicle are really good. Steering and brake feel are outstanding, and this car really is fun to drive--over flat terrain. Enter a hill, and entire package falls apart due to the transmission.
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Happy with my crossover choice!
tad2040, 09/29/2014
2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
Before I bought the CX5 I did hours of research into crossover vehicles and I'm very happy to have chosen this one. I've been driving it for about 3 months now and couldn't be happier with it. The sleek exterior of the car is what initially caught my eye. The car is very easy and fun to drive. Even though it's a crossover it handles like a sedan. The gas mileage has been great on my wallet and it picks up speed nicely. I'm about 2500 miles into the car and haven't noticed any problems at all. I previously drove a Honda and I have full faith in Mazda that it will be just as reliable. I'm extremely happy with my choice!
2015 Mazda CX-5 for sale near you
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- Grand Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $11,528In-stock online
- Grand Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $15,998In-stock online
- Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $12,998In-stock online
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Don't Usually Care for SUV's
Steve Lessard, 03/09/2017
2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
If you enjoy driving, SUV's are typically bricks on the road. There are a few I liked in the past, but they were way beyond my budget. My ratings are based on comparisons to other SUV's, not cars. The ride and handling are much better than I had hoped for in this price range. A 0-60 time of 8 seconds is what I consider the threshold for adequate performance and that's what this vehicle does. The motor has a nice sound when you wind it out. I'm very happy with the 29 mpg average I've been getting in mixed driving. I don't do a lot of city stop-and-go driving, but I do have a heavy right foot and frequently mash the pedal to the floor getting around slow pokes hanging out in the left lane. Adaptive headlights are awesome. i could really use these on my motorcycles. The interior is nicely laid out and very comfortable. Seats in my GT are far better than lower trim levels. I don't think I could live with Sport or Touring model seats with my bad lower back. The interior feels and looks like quality materiels. That's the good. Here's the bad: The navigation doesn't allow you to manually input directions when driving and the voice command aspect is terrible. It's extremely frustrating. The Bose stereo, like all Bose stereos, is lame. "No highs, no lows: it must be Bose", about covers it. Bluetooth is also lame. Sometimes it recognized my phone, most times it didn't. But even when it did the sound quality is so poor i gave up on it within a month of ownership. Using the iPod connection is a pain. It's very slow to respond to commands and it will freeze up for a while if you try to input several commands quickly. Other than the Nav none of that stuff is important to me. The 2016 and newer models are supposed to be much improved in those areas over the earlier models. I leased it because it was the first SUV in my price range that I enjoyed driving. It's been two years and 37K miles and the only issues were a rattle in the tailgate that went away after a month or so and a rear wiper motor that died and was replaced under warranty. I would definitely get another one.
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Good car with transmission problem
Timothy, 12/13/2015
2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
14 of 17 people found this review helpful
Cars transmission had problems after 300 miles. There would be a delay in its initiation when I went from park to drive, reverse to drive or stopped to drive. It caused the car not to move for about 2 seconds then the car would jerk forward. After it got going it seemed fine. Took about 10 days to fix. I couldn't get a loaner car for 4 days. Car seems to slightly jerk ever so slightly since then when stopped in drive mode, but barely noticeable. Car handles great, has sufficient power for flat pavement. Nice quality/trim inside. Nice speaker/sound system.
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sub-par audio? No. That's nonsense.
MJM, 08/17/2016
2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring 4dr SUV (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
Surprised one of the cons listed for this vehicle in main review is sub-par audio. That's nonsense. I own the Grand Touring with Bose Audio system. It sounded really good right out of the dealer's lot. So don't believe that review, it's crap. Listen to it yourself and be the judge. After purchasing, I upgraded the head, added more subs and another sub amp. But all the original Bose stuff (including amp) is still in there. And it sounds nothing short of AMAZING. I take my sound systems seriously, I'm no amateur. So make your own decision, don't believe the review.
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