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Test Drive: 2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring

2016 Mazda CX-9
Consumer Guide’s test 2016 Mazda CX-5 arrived in Grand Touring trim and loaded with options. Including the destination charge, our tester came to $34,140.

2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring AWD   

Class: Compact Crossover

Miles Driven: 248

Fuel Used: 9.1 gallons

Driving mix: 65% city, 35% highway

Real-world fuel economy: 27.3 mpg

EPA-estimated fuel economy: 24/30/26 (city, highway, combined)

Base price: $29,470 (not including $880 destination charge)

CG Report Card
Room and ComfortB+
Power and PerformanceB-
Fit and FinishA-
Fuel EconomyA-
ValueA-
Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide's impressions of the entire model lineup.

Options on test car: Cargo mat ($60), Soul Red Metallic paint ($300), rear bumper guard ($100), retractable cargo cover ($200), satellite radio ($125), i-Activsense Package ($1500), Tech Package ($1505)

Price as tested: $34,140

 

Quick Hits

The great: Premium cabin, sporty handling, impressive fuel economy

The good: Sufficient power, loads of available safety equipment

The not so good: Limited rear-seat space

Check out the entire Mazda lineup

 

John Biel

Mazda has set out to make some running improvements to the CX-5 compact crossover for 2016, and this comes on the heels of a quiet 2015 model year in which it pretty much left well enough alone. Not that what it had for ’15 was bad—Consumer Guide® had the CX-5 as a co-“Best Buy” in the class.

Grand Touring models come standard with 19-inch alloy wheels.

What’s new for ’16? Minor exterior touch-ups on the grille and LED taillights, some nicer interior materials, an electric emergency-brake button that does away with space-robbing handle, and Mazda Connect, which uses one of those control-knob thingies on the console that modern automakers equate with technological advancement. “Everything is easy to find and use with the Commander control knob or a few taps on the large touch screen,” Mazda says of its dial-in control system. One man’s opinion: Why have 2 ways to access information when a single good one would be more direct?

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A low, flat load floor allows for easy loading and unloading of large cargo items.

Displays for various systems show up on the central 7-inch touchscreen, and there’s a menu bar of function icons along the bottom of the screen, but they can be slow to respond to a tapped-in call to action. (This tester never did find an actual On/Off button for the radio. The next best thing was turning the volume to 0, but the radio still was on.) The rotating dial on the console also scrolls through the display choices arcing across the screen, but to keep up where you are in the menu of categories requires some attention better left to actual driving. Thankfully, the separate climate controls are much easier to use.

Of course, nobody buys a vehicle solely to play the radio. Here’s what else the CX-5 brings to the party:

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As a top-of-the-heap Grand Touring with all-wheel drive, the ’16 CX-5 starts at $29,470. That buys 19-inch alloy wheels; leather sport seats (heated in front), and a leather-wrapped steering wheel on a tilt/telescoping column; an 8-way power driver’s seat; dual-zone automatic climate control; a 9-speaker Bose audio system; Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity; and a rearview camera. However, the example that we drove was considerably more—$34,140 delivered—mostly due to 2 substantial tech packages that brought things like radar cruise control, lane-departure warning, navigation, and “smart” brake support.

Rear passenger legroom is highly dependent on occupant height, and the ability of the appropriate front-seat resident to scooch forward.

If you don’t have to go all-in, the CX-5 can be an affordable, comfortable, pleasant-driving, and useful vehicle—and probably all the more so once you figure out the Commander’s idiosyncrasies. 

Test Drive: 2016 Honda HR-V EX-L

 

 

 

 

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