Not a CVT. Torque converter and multi disc clutch. I love mine. I live at around 1000 feet altitude and the standard engine has plenty of punch. The interior is much nicer than the Jeep Compass and better than the Subaru Forester. It really feels more like an Accura or Lexus interior. The HUD is adjustable to suit different people and seating positions. I think it felt punchier than the Subaru and Compass, although I didn't have a new Jeep 2 liter turbo to compare it to. But more snappy compared to the standard Jeep engine. Very happy with my Premium Plus. And the 10 speaker Bose w/ subwoofer sounds fantastic.
Thanks for the correction, I did a brief text overlay of that transmission correction. I’m to use to Subaru’s lol. 🤪 I agree on the interior, Mazda does a great job in that department. Im sure closer to sea level and that 2.5 feels great! Glad you’re enjoying that sweet Bose system! Thanks for watching and providing your experiences! 🙂
@writehandman2833, does the cruise control stay on after an ignition cycle if it was previously on? What about the heated/cool seats and steering wheel? Seriously considering one of these down the road as a daily to my big turbo Mk5 GTI and my ND Miata for family duty. I loved my 2015 base Mazda3 hatch.
Good catch on the rear seats! And as far as gas goes, you’re right… but at least a 1/4 is usually fine, just don’t floor it around a corner lol. 😂 🤷♂️
I just bought a Certified Pre-Owned CX-5 Premium Plus (with less than 3,000 miles on the odometer) and it's a fantastic car. We also own a Rav4 which feels just a little faster, but in every other department, I prefer the CX-5. I just hope it lasts as long as my Tundra (18 years and still going strong)
The seats are also ventilated, and Mazda's technique is to pull your body's heat & moisture away from the body, rather than blowing air toward it. A negative aspect of this design is that it can be noisy to vacuum the air away from you. Also, there's a Qi wireless charger in the rubberized cubby in front of the shifter, though it's on the angled edge facing away from the driver, mostly hidden from view. BTW, the Premium Plus doesn't come with navigation by default, which cripples part of the heads-up display's functionality... the road sign sensing/display is disabled. I paid a dealer for an OEM nav SD card, and after inserting it and turning on the car, the road sign functionality is enabled (it's otherwise a waste for me, since I use Google Maps through Android Auto for my nav).
Great catch, thanks for commenting! I did do a brief text over to correct that, but should have left it up a second longer. I’ve been driving to many Subaru’s lately, lol. 🙂
I really liked the Wilderness and wanted to buy one, but I simply couldn’t get past the 1990 Gloomy Grey interior colors. If the Forester Limited would have had the option of Ivory leather interior, like my wife’s Outback, then I would have bought one. But at the end of the day I bought a Touring instead. It’s Bronze with Saddle Brown leather interior. We get 5-6 feet of snow every winter and the Bronze shows very little dirt. My 84 year old dad lives in our attached apartment so he loves the heated and reclining rear seats. Furthermore we don’t have to fold the rear seat to get his wheelchair in the back of the Forester. We would have had to fold the rear seats on the Mazda, the Rav, the Venza. Our 120# chocolate lab can easily fit in the rear of both our Outback and Forester without folding the rear seats. I think you made a wise decision in buying your Wilderness. A few things about Subaru’s; Subaru says to change the oil every 6K miles. Every 5K miles is better. Also change the front and rear differential, transfer case and a transmission flush Every 30K miles and you’ll never have a problem. On all our vehicles I change the oil every 4K miles and change the front and rear differential, transfer case and transmission flush every 30K miles. Yes I’m a maintenance nut, but I suppose that’s why we get 300K+ miles out of our vehicles. I also back flush and add new antifreeze to the radiator every 3 years. I Always add a K&N air intake to all my vehicles and when we can afford it, I add a free flow (tuned) exhaust header’s and a Magniflow, Borla, FlowMaster, HKS , etc exhaust system. This allows the engine to “breathe” easier and you’ll notice More hp, torque and mpg by upgrading the intake and exhaust. On our pickup alone I went from 19mpg on the freeway with the cruise set on 75mph to consistently getting 23mpg. Enjoy your day and Congratulations on your Wilderness !!! Best wishes
I put a deposit down last week. Picking vehicle up this weekend. Now I’m reading about the Toyo tires and getting bummed out. Are will it be fine? It’s a lease. Cx5 23 premium.
Yeah, it looks like this one I drove about 6 months ago had the Toyo tires. I don’t recall noticing any concerns when having it for a short time. What concerns do owners on the forums report? 🤔
Hydroplaning…noisy…etc I’m stuck with them. Wished I’d known this before I signed. Dealer won’t upgrade I’m sure I mean if I pay yes of course Hopefully it won’t be horrible
The size is really the only negative if you can get over that or it works for you than everything else is pretty much golden. Also fyi the 12v in front and the rear usbs work at all times even when the car is off, a nice touch.
I'm seriously considering the CX-5 or the Subaru Crosstreik. I know they are in different classes but price wise they are similar. I love them both, but I can get the Mazda in Preferred trim with the Bose and I have to go up to the Limited in the Crosstrek to get the Harmon Kardon. I'm still undecided until I drive them both but leaning toward the Mazda. I don't understand all of the criticism of the Mazda interior -- I think it's awesome compared to anything in its' price class.
Both are great, you really can’t go wrong either way! Personally, if I was in your shoes and wasn’t going to specifically go through deep snow, off roading, or camping more than a regular car, I would choose the CX-5 if they’re the same price!
I looked at the Mazda CX50 before buying my Forester Touring, but it felt much smaller than the Forester and I couldn’t get the beautiful tan interior unless I went with the turbo. I didn’t want the turbo. The Mazda didn’t check all my boxes. I see the owner of the one you’re reviewing will be depressed after surrounding themselves with drab interior colors 😂 The exterior is a pretty color. Keep up the great reviews, Bud
@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 Turbo’s are fun to drive, but not to own. They may have improved turbo’s over the years, but they just won’t last as long as a naturally aspirated engine. We thought about buying a 19 Outback with the 3.6, 6cyl but since my wife uses her Outback as a commuter car, we opted for the 2.5L naturally aspirated.
I was thinking of the CX-50-- but I can't see $7,000 MORE for the black cladding and the slight difference in look... I'll get one of these adn later add my own cladding and offroad stuff!!!~ :) (or some James Bond stuff :) I DO really like the look of hte CX-50 BETTER though...
The Cx-50 does look really cool, but its proportions are kinda strange with its low roof line. The CX-5 is seriously such a good CUV! Either way mod it, have fun, and make it your own! 😎
@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 Sorry I didnt mean to sound like an asshole, I could just tell the difference be tween turbo and non turbo. and my elevation is 203
Oh no, I didn’t take it that way, lol. I literally just thought it was cool and possibly due to drastically better air quality, idk. Sometimes things feel faster in person though than in video, at least in my opinion. 🤷♂️🙂
My bad, it’s called a request switch, similar to the lock/unlock button on the front door handles. It’s not actually a PIN code to access the vehicle without the keys present, like Subaru offers. I prematurely assumed it was a comparable system. Sorry for any confusion! 😬
I have a CX-5, but previous gen. Drives ok, but it's not the turbo version so it's slow, like the one shown here. Squeaks and rattles now, AC is slow, heated seats take forever, electronic niggles (AC always turns on now, even though I shut it off before turning off the car), and the infotainment is simply AWFUL. Will trade it in for something else...
Not a CVT. Torque converter and multi disc clutch. I love mine. I live at around 1000 feet altitude and the standard engine has plenty of punch. The interior is much nicer than the Jeep Compass and better than the Subaru Forester. It really feels more like an Accura or Lexus interior. The HUD is adjustable to suit different people and seating positions. I think it felt punchier than the Subaru and Compass, although I didn't have a new Jeep 2 liter turbo to compare it to. But more snappy compared to the standard Jeep engine. Very happy with my Premium Plus. And the 10 speaker Bose w/ subwoofer sounds fantastic.
Thanks for the correction, I did a brief text overlay of that transmission correction. I’m to use to Subaru’s lol. 🤪
I agree on the interior, Mazda does a great job in that department. Im sure closer to sea level and that 2.5 feels great! Glad you’re enjoying that sweet Bose system! Thanks for watching and providing your experiences! 🙂
Useful information. I was on the fence between Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester. Thanks brother.
@writehandman2833, does the cruise control stay on after an ignition cycle if it was previously on? What about the heated/cool seats and steering wheel?
Seriously considering one of these down the road as a daily to my big turbo Mk5 GTI and my ND Miata for family duty. I loved my 2015 base Mazda3 hatch.
Thanks for the review! Looking at getting this and am set on eternal blue. Just looks amazing
That’s exciting! They look great, and ride very smooth! Thanks for watching. 🙂
One thing that is rarely mentioned is that the rear seats recline and help with leg room. Gas tank has less than 1/4 of fuel left. 😂
Good catch on the rear seats! And as far as gas goes, you’re right… but at least a 1/4 is usually fine, just don’t floor it around a corner lol. 😂 🤷♂️
I bought one. It is great.
I just bought a Certified Pre-Owned CX-5 Premium Plus (with less than 3,000 miles on the odometer) and it's a fantastic car. We also own a Rav4 which feels just a little faster, but in every other department, I prefer the CX-5. I just hope it lasts as long as my Tundra (18 years and still going strong)
That’s awesome, I’m sure it will hold up well! Great choice in other vehicles as well, those first gen tundras are seriously sweet! 🙂
@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 thank you!
I loved the video, super informative! I just bought this model yesterday. I did not realize all the features! Super excited to check them all out.
That’s so exciting! It’s a lot of good stuff to learn and enjoy! Glad you found it informative, I appreciate your time watching! 🙂
What's the OTD?
The seats are also ventilated, and Mazda's technique is to pull your body's heat & moisture away from the body, rather than blowing air toward it. A negative aspect of this design is that it can be noisy to vacuum the air away from you. Also, there's a Qi wireless charger in the rubberized cubby in front of the shifter, though it's on the angled edge facing away from the driver, mostly hidden from view. BTW, the Premium Plus doesn't come with navigation by default, which cripples part of the heads-up display's functionality... the road sign sensing/display is disabled. I paid a dealer for an OEM nav SD card, and after inserting it and turning on the car, the road sign functionality is enabled (it's otherwise a waste for me, since I use Google Maps through Android Auto for my nav).
Great insight! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
You were so thorough! New subscriber
Hey, thanks so much! I got a “5 Things I love about the CX-5” video coming soon! 🙂
@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 show us also how the sound is with the Bose speakers pls 🙏🏾
Good suggestion! I’ll have to download some music that’s not copy written but then I could start to include that going forward! 🙂
On our private road, one must go slow year round, especially in winter and you must be in 4WD or AWD to get to where you’re going
Not a CVT @ 14:25
Great catch, thanks for commenting! I did do a brief text over to correct that, but should have left it up a second longer. I’ve been driving to many Subaru’s lately, lol. 🙂
my brother has one. I was considering it , but after driving the subaru forester, it just felt a lot smaller. i ended up with a forester wilderness
They’re definitely really nice, but I totally get that. I’ve got a number of reviews of some of the ones I’ve driven and I love them! Good choice! 🙂
I really liked the Wilderness and wanted to buy one, but I simply couldn’t get past the 1990 Gloomy Grey interior colors.
If the Forester Limited would have had the option of Ivory leather interior, like my wife’s Outback, then I would have bought one.
But at the end of the day I bought a Touring instead.
It’s Bronze with Saddle Brown leather interior.
We get 5-6 feet of snow every winter and the Bronze shows very little dirt.
My 84 year old dad lives in our attached apartment so he loves the heated and reclining rear seats.
Furthermore we don’t have to fold the rear seat to get his wheelchair in the back of the Forester.
We would have had to fold the rear seats on the Mazda, the Rav, the Venza.
Our 120# chocolate lab can easily fit in the rear of both our Outback and Forester without folding the rear seats.
I think you made a wise decision in buying your Wilderness.
A few things about Subaru’s;
Subaru says to change the oil every 6K miles. Every 5K miles is better. Also change the front and rear differential, transfer case and a transmission flush Every 30K miles and you’ll never have a problem.
On all our vehicles I change the oil every 4K miles and change the front and rear differential, transfer case and transmission flush every 30K miles. Yes I’m a maintenance nut, but I suppose that’s why we get 300K+ miles out of our vehicles.
I also back flush and add new antifreeze to the radiator every 3 years.
I Always add a K&N air intake to all my vehicles and when we can afford it, I add a free flow (tuned) exhaust header’s and a Magniflow, Borla, FlowMaster, HKS , etc exhaust system. This allows the engine to “breathe” easier and you’ll notice More hp, torque and mpg by upgrading the intake and exhaust.
On our pickup alone I went from 19mpg on the freeway with the cruise set on 75mph to consistently getting 23mpg.
Enjoy your day and Congratulations on your Wilderness !!!
Best wishes
I put a deposit down last week. Picking vehicle up this weekend. Now I’m reading about the Toyo tires and getting bummed out. Are will it be fine? It’s a lease. Cx5 23 premium.
I would imagine they’ll be just fine. Enjoy your sweet new ride! 🙂
The Mazda forums are scaring me! Say how horrible they are.
Did your test vehicle have the toyos? Doubt I can get dealer to upgrade
Yeah, it looks like this one I drove about 6 months ago had the Toyo tires. I don’t recall noticing any concerns when having it for a short time. What concerns do owners on the forums report? 🤔
Hydroplaning…noisy…etc
I’m stuck with them. Wished I’d known this before I signed.
Dealer won’t upgrade I’m sure
I mean if I pay yes of course
Hopefully it won’t be horrible
I don’t think anyone has commenting on any of my Mazda videos about that experience. Hopefully it’s not your experience either, best of luck!
The size is really the only negative if you can get over that or it works for you than everything else is pretty much golden. Also fyi the 12v in front and the rear usbs work at all times even when the car is off, a nice touch.
Absolutely agree! Thanks for adding that point, it can be a pro or a con, but something every owner should know! 🙂
I'm seriously considering the CX-5 or the Subaru Crosstreik. I know they are in different classes but price wise they are similar. I love them both, but I can get the Mazda in Preferred trim with the Bose and I have to go up to the Limited in the Crosstrek to get the Harmon Kardon. I'm still undecided until I drive them both but leaning toward the Mazda. I don't understand all of the criticism of the Mazda interior -- I think it's awesome compared to anything in its' price class.
Both are great, you really can’t go wrong either way! Personally, if I was in your shoes and wasn’t going to specifically go through deep snow, off roading, or camping more than a regular car, I would choose the CX-5 if they’re the same price!
I looked at the Mazda CX50 before buying my Forester Touring, but it felt much smaller than the Forester and I couldn’t get the beautiful tan interior unless I went with the turbo. I didn’t want the turbo. The Mazda didn’t check all my boxes.
I see the owner of the one you’re reviewing will be depressed after surrounding themselves with drab interior colors 😂
The exterior is a pretty color.
Keep up the great reviews, Bud
The interior is a bit smaller, especially the rear seats. I am looking forward to driving a turbo CX-50 in the near future!
@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 Turbo’s are fun to drive, but not to own.
They may have improved turbo’s over the years, but they just won’t last as long as a naturally aspirated engine.
We thought about buying a 19 Outback with the 3.6, 6cyl but since my wife uses her Outback as a commuter car, we opted for the 2.5L naturally aspirated.
I was thinking of the CX-50-- but I can't see $7,000 MORE for the black cladding and the slight difference in look... I'll get one of these adn later add my own cladding and offroad stuff!!!~ :) (or some James Bond stuff :) I DO really like the look of hte CX-50 BETTER though...
The Cx-50 does look really cool, but its proportions are kinda strange with its low roof line. The CX-5 is seriously such a good CUV! Either way mod it, have fun, and make it your own! 😎
My Signature Turbo picks up way quicker than that, weird how I cant even feel myself going that fast.
That’s interesting, and cool. Just curious, what’s the elevation where you live? 🙂
@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 Sorry I didnt mean to sound like an asshole, I could just tell the difference be tween turbo and non turbo. and my elevation is 203
Oh no, I didn’t take it that way, lol. I literally just thought it was cool and possibly due to drastically better air quality, idk. Sometimes things feel faster in person though than in video, at least in my opinion. 🤷♂️🙂
Is there a wi-fi phone charging station?
That’s a good question and one that I’m unsure of, sorry about that. But thanks for watching!
Where are you? America or Canada?
America, what about you? 👀
7:30 what do you mean?
My bad, it’s called a request switch, similar to the lock/unlock button on the front door handles. It’s not actually a PIN code to access the vehicle without the keys present, like Subaru offers. I prematurely assumed it was a comparable system. Sorry for any confusion! 😬
@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 no worries thanks for the clarification. I thought I missed something cool on my car.
I have a CX-5, but previous gen. Drives ok, but it's not the turbo version so it's slow, like the one shown here. Squeaks and rattles now, AC is slow, heated seats take forever, electronic niggles (AC always turns on now, even though I shut it off before turning off the car), and the infotainment is simply AWFUL. Will trade it in for something else...
What year is yours? Think you’ll try the current gen Mazda or a different brand? Thanks for watching! 🙂
What year ?