I have been a loyal Mazda fan since 2001. I’ve owned a Protege, 4 Mazda 3’s and now a 2018 CX 5.. I am LOVING IT! Mazda is an underdog, better than Honda, and I had 2 Honda’s in the 90’s and they really sucked.
Great information, thanks for sharing. Yesterday I just test drove a Mazda cx-5 gs trim, very impressive. Quiet, smooth, beautiful interior and exterior. I wish we had the diesel engine in Canada. I really like this car, alot.
For those of us that revere the beard: could we get one final Talking Cars with Mutchler in it? I know other personalities have left CR since the show started but Tom was the original moderator and it would be nice to have something of a farewell episode.
Great point by Jon about winter tires in climates like the mid-Atlantic states where I live. There isn't a time when we go fully into winter and then fully into spring. We have 60 degree days at times in December and then snow days, so it's not convenient to switch to winters. In fact, we might have a winter with almost no snow.
He hasn't said. He might not be able to say at this point legally or he may be unsure of his next move. He has to give up his twitter account as well unfortunately/understandably, but says he will keep tweeting after he is gone.
i thought about waiting for the CX-5 diesel, but ended up getting the Rav4 Hybrid, and since i tend to keep my vehicles for 5-8 years, the resell value alone makes the Rav4 a better choice, i think.
Around the 9:40 mark a statement was made that CR was "cautiously optimistic" about the potential reliability of the new Jeep Compass. Although I heard the irony in the way the remark was made I am afraid others may have not caught it. After decades of subjecting consumers to woefully substandard products there is no reason anyone should be anything but utterly pessimistic about FCA's ability/willingness/capability/desire to produce reliable cars.
My thoughts on AWD. If it is a front wheel drive based vehicle and AWD is an option, I personally would get it. If it is a RWD based vehicle I wouldn't get it and get snow Tires. Just because I like the sporty handling of RWD and drifting, If it's a truck or RWD based SUV, get 4WD.
!!!please please please I can not find any compression between safety systems. for example honda sensing vs subaru eye sight vs toyota safety sense which one is the best? for example I heard the subaru radar cruise control works from 0 mph but toyota strats from 40 mph, so subaru can be used in stop and go traffic. thank you!
So you say that all wheel drive doesn't help you when it comes to cornering. Is that still true in AWD vehicles that includes some form of asymmetric torque vectoring system (Acura's SH-AWD system for example) and is that something that CR has specifically tested for?
You can now only get it with the 2.5L, in case you drove the old '14 one with the 2.0L. Important to note, the 750 rpm difference for peak torque is noticeable between the front wheel drive and AWD versions: Torque (FWD) 185 lb-ft @ 3250 rpm Torque (AWD) 185 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
I drove the 2.5 and it was gutless. Bought a Sportage SX and have no regrets. Fast as hell, cooled front seats and Apple Carplay. Advanced torque vectoring differential awd system. Mazda has nothing on it
Blake Swan if your everyday driver and not a fantasy speed demon engine power shouldn’t really matter being around traffic loose pets and old residents..with greater speed and power comes responsibility. Hell pretty much I scare all vehicles with sound of my engine. But be careful speed can be curse too depending on your arrogance
I'm having trouble picking between the CX5 and mazda3. The CX5 looks and is more refined but the mazda3 handles better but has less space but the mazda3 is more of an enthusiast car.
2 versions of the 2017 Jeep Compass? Reminds me of the 2014 Nissan Rogue & Rogue Select. Also, regarding your Mazda3 & Impreza hatchback comparison, forgot to mention/segue AWD!
19:10 It sounds like it's a belt without belt loops having AWD without winter tires. And hey, I got a comment in Talking Cars! Now how long ago was that...?
'All Wheel Drive' doesn't help with cornering or braking? When you're going downhill in a low gear and let the engine slow you it is slowing all 4 wheels vs 2. When you go round a corner and provide power to the wheels with best traction - how does AWD not help in these scenarios? Have you really driven AWD in snow and compared them to 2WD vehicles?
I would see more involving quality test of electric motors cars ? Example Camry hybrid vers the accord hybrid on long term as far maintance and cost over battery life.
Hi team, I appreciate the variety of hosts and my 2012 prht Miata I got a few months ago is doing very well. As I'm looking into a new vehicle for my wife, I'm noticing that many of the newer direct injection engines have an issue with clogged valves and is a huge maintenance issue. I see a lot of videos for the new VW and Ford Ecoboost power plants showing the need for valve cleanings online and wonder do all of these new turbo direct inject engines now have this issue? what do you guys think about these motors, are they immature products released to meet govt regulations, not ready for low maintenance consumers use? I'm curious what your researchers found, thanks for your thoughts.
On the assumption that you get along with your wife, stay away from Ford and VW completely. Direct injection is a 'work in progress' so if you don't feel like being a guinea pig for the car companies experimenting with it then avoid it. I would say the same about turbo engines if you are a person who keeps their cars for a long time.
It's astonishing how little CR cares about the comments here (some of us are subscribers too). People have been asking about Tom for a while now and there is no response. Any other blogger or show would have addressed and answered the question ten shows ago.
He is leaving CR. They probably were not saying anything until he announced it. You can follow him on twitter CRCarsTom; although that will change after he leaves the company.
Question for next episode: Looking to replace my 2012 GTI with something with more space for friends and outdoor/sports gear. Given that I live in northern New England where it snows quite a bit, AWD is nice to have but not absolutely required, and I would prefer to not get an SUV (I like my cars fun to drive). I'm considering a Golf Sportwagen 4Motion or Golf Alltrack with a manual transmission, but have also heard from some that a Mazda CX-5 might be worth a try. Thoughts/suggestions?
You definitely should test drive a 2017 Mazda CX-5 with i-ACTIV AWD® (I am a Mazda employee)! I also had a base MkVI 2011 GTI 4-door 6MT that I leased years ago. I still miss driving that car as a daily driver sometimes.
This is part of my problem, I love my Mk6! It just got the clean bill of health at 93k miles, and it's got enough space for people and things when there's only two. When you get much beyond two though it becomes real tight or not really doable. I may just tell my friends to ride the roof rack next season
Talking Cars Question: What do you think of the new 2015 VW diesels retro-fixed? Good value? Not? I worry about poor performance and plummeting resale values once the tires the hit the road. Full Disclosure: I am a TDI owner waiting to receive settlement and looking for a replacement car. Thank you.
I don't think they will be able to test one for a bit since they were just able to start selling them fairly recently. Reports from Europe are not good though; with people there complaining about reduced performance. Not sure if you have one of the older 3.0L TDI's that are being bought back or a 2.0L. I replaced my 2011 Golf TDI with a heavily discounted 3.0L 2014 Audi A6 TDI and am fairly happy with, but am unsure of how that will pan out. What is your budget like, what vehicle are you getting rid of, and what do you need/want your vehicle to do?
Yeah that low end power is hard to replace. I drove a normal MK7 Golf and while the handling and suspension are nice, it just lacks the grunt we are used to. That is why I went back to the well and bought a 3.0L A6 TDI while they were still available and devalued. As for replacement vehicles: if you can afford one Audi is the most logical replacement and they are reliable. Unfortunately they are also expensive. You can get a used A4 or A6 for 30-40 grand. With the A4 you want a 2017 model though; so those are harder to find. The A6 is more comfortable and may not be as sporty as you like even with the optional sport package. 2016+ A6s get the new Tegra 3 powered MMI system, but other than that it is basically the same from 2014+. I would skip the A3 unless you find a good deal on an S3. If reliability is less of a concern then the BMW 3 series becomes a nice choice as well as a GTI. Perhaps a Civic Si when those come out if you don't mind a manual? The WRX is not a bad car either in that category but the fit and finish will be a step down from what you are used to, but it has the power you like. However, that is best when paired with the manual transmission; as while Subaru's CVT is good for a CVT... it is still a CVT. If you want a more cost conscious picks that are reliable, still want the sporty handling, and are willing to give up on the torque: Mazda has some nice choices in the 3 and 6. The 6 to me is the better value of the two, and you can get a used 2016 model fully loaded for 20-25 grand depending on mileage. And Mazda's automatic transmission is pretty neat in terms of how it works, so if you don't want to have to row your own that is not a bad selection. Ford is also an option but I worry about how well they will hold up on the ST models. Unfortunately on everything but the Mazda you are going to to take a fuel economy hit though. Not sure if any of that is helpful, but that is where I would start.
When you say the FCA 9-speed transmission has been "troublesome", do you mean that it is actually unreliable (i.e., breaks or fails) or that it shifts in an un-smooth way?
This isn't actually so much an FCA problem as it is a problem with that specific transmission. That gearbox is the ZF 9HP, and it is used by FCA in almost all of their cars with a transverse (vehicles that have front wheel drive options) engine layout. It is the same gearbox that Honda offers in some versions of the Pilot, MDX, CR-V, and TLX and it hasn't been any better for them either. A friend of mine rented a Renegade Trailhawk recently and he hated the thing because of how bad that engine/transmission combo was, and as a Jeep fan he really wanted to like it. It just hunts for gears too much, rarely if ever uses its full range of gear ratios, is slow to downshift, and in general doesn't seem to be a very good design. What is fairly surprising is that the longitudinal (equipped in cars with rear wheel drive options generally) 8 speed unit (ZF 8HP) by the same company is used by FCA as well BMW, Audi, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Land Rover, and a few other luxury brands, and it is generally well regarded and very robust. In fact it is the same unit that is in my A6, and while it is no dual clutch... for a more traditionally designed gearbox it is certainly the best I have driven. Maybe they just need more time to perfect the programming? Not sure, but it is so bad that Volvo is rumored to have purposefully avoided using it in their vehicles because it has caused so many problems for other manufacturers.
I don't think you implicitly have to stay away, but you should know what you are buying if you do go that route. They do offer a high amount of content relative to their price, and they are willing to put money on the hood to move metal. At some point if the price is low enough... it does become a good value. As long as you make a purchase understanding what you are giving up to get that lower price-point: it isn't necessarily a bad deal. If you look at Consumer Reports' recent article on which brands are the best you will see that Chrysler has some of highest owner satisfaction scores of any brand for example. There is a reason for that. Now their reliability isn't very good but really if you are just planning on keeping a car for 2-3 years while it is under warranty... reliability might not be a huge factor for you. There is a reason that the soon to be departed Mr. Mutchler somewhat famously owns a Durango after all.
my step dad has an old murano and has been looking at the cx 5 for a while now. still haven't put in a better engine so he still hasn't baught one. he understands it handles better but he spends most of his time driving straight on the highway. he wants the acceleration not the handling.
If Mazda Co wanna sell cars in the future, the synergy and trust between customer and manufacturer must be mutual, and the customer must become important not just prior to buy the car, but also after purchasing otherwise nobody will choose Mazda car ...
Just admit it and end all the BS: All-wheel drive with winter tires trumps two wheel drive with winter tires. In many cases all-wheel drive with all season tires beats two wheel drive with winter tires. This whole topic is just plain ridiculous.
on your next #TalkingCars, can you please give us more information about EV and Hybrid's batteries? i was wondering if EV and hybrids are actually more environmental friendly than their gasoline counterparts. while EV and hybrid don't emit, or emits less pollution while driving, manufacturing them surely produce quite a bit of pollution (mining raw materials for the batteries etc)? another point, i guess it depends on how your local electricity is generated, and how the batteries are being recycled afterwards, that also effects how "green" these cars are? also, have you guys noticed a significant increase in electricity bill when you are testing EVs, like the model s, Leaf etc? thanks.
Dr Evo Union of Concerned Scientists have studied this, even in states with coal generated electricity EVs are lower carbon impact, in part because electric motors are so much more efficient then ICEs.
I asked a question about that. It would make sense that it would, but perhaps the reduced grip or increased resistance from the snow hinders the effectiveness of those systems. Regardless, only a very few cars have assymetrical vectoring like that (SH-AWD, and Quattro systems with a sport differential were the only two I could come up with) and so he providing a more general overview.
hydrogen is 15 to 20 years away, and it always will be, anyone who doesn't believe it, do some research on the efficiency and where hydrogen comes from.
Luke Hoisington I'm torn on that issue. I've been working the steering wheel buttons, but still gravitate to a rotary control. I dunno, maybe a horizontally-oriented rotary encoder on the steering wheel, instead of the buttons; does anyone do that?
While I get what you are saying, if I want to use the volume knob or my passenger wants to adjust the volume while I am driving: how hard is it to make it so the bloody things actually works properly? Admittedly that is not as bad as when they bury environmental and seat controls in the stupid infotainment system.
While I get what you are saying, if I want to use the volume knob or my passenger wants to adjust the volume while I am driving: how hard is it to design a bloody control that actually works properly if I do decide I want to use it for some reason? Admittedly that is not as bad as when they bury environmental and seat controls in the stupid infotainment system.
lol Fair enough, but I am running into a shop and leave my girlfriend sitting in the car for a few minutes... I don't mind her messing with the stereo while I am gone to keep herself entertained. Regardless, I like having traditional controls that you can use by feel and not having everything relegated to stupid soft buttons or systems that require you to navigate through menus to adjust settings. That is just bad design and companies being cheap in my opinion.
lol I get what you are saying but the picture they showed is actually of the old Compass I think judging by the headlights. Also they did describe the differences as well. That said, they probably could have done with showing the two side by side just so people know more what to look for when trying to differentiate the two.