Solid Strength
Mazda’s 2019 CX-5 is a smooth operator and the ‘perfect commuter car’
With morning lows in Calgary close to -30 C, the week Dave Joseph spent behind the wheel of the 2019 Mazda CX-5 turned out to be one of the coldest during this prairie city’s winter.
Needless to say, he was happy to find the CX-5 Signature equipped with a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel and heated Nappa-leather covered seats, winter tires and Mazda’s i-Activ all-wheel drive system.
“I didn’t do much extra highway driving due to the cold temperatures and greasy road conditions but, that being said, this was a perfect commuter car with a nice, solid feel to it,” Joseph says.
After its debut in 2012, Mazda’s CX-5 has become the automaker’s bestselling model. The five-seat compact crossover was redesigned for 2017, and new for 2019 is the Signature trim that adds leather and wood accents to the interior. To further enhance the Signature model, Mazda has dropped in its 2.5-litre turbocharged in-line four-cylinder power plant.
The GX, GS and GT CX-5s are powered by a naturally aspirated 2.5-L engine, but the turbo can be had in the GT as an extra-cost option. Backing up the engine in all models is a six-speed automatic transmission with manual-shift mode and switchable drive selection that includes a “sport” setting.
Front-wheel drive is the standard layout in the GX and GS, while all-wheel drive is standard in the GT and Signature. However, allwheel drive can be added to either the GX or GS for an extra $2,000.
Joseph’s Signature model was finished in Sonic Silver Metallic paint, and the Nappa leather interior was a deep brown that Mazda refers to as Cocoa.
Joseph said he tends to buy used vehicles, and currently maintains a 2003 Acura MDX as his daily driver while his wife commutes in a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. When the Joseph family, including two kids, head out on highway jaunts, they typically take the newer Santa Fe.
While not able to drive too enthusiastically in the CX-5 on the slippery roads, Joseph did try to experiment with the sport mode switch to see how it altered the vehicle’s behaviour. He says he felt there was some lag between what his foot was requesting and what the engine was providing. Was this the “turbo lag” he has often heard about? Most likely.
“The Mazda seems to have lots of power, and the automatic transmission was very smooth in overall operation,” Joseph says.
The CX-5 handled well, and Joseph says the steering was nicely weighted and he always felt well connected to the road.
Handing back the keys after his winter test, Joseph says he thinks the CX-5 would best suit a single person or a couple who do a lot of commuting and who also spend some time on the highway.
He concludes, “I’d certainly recommend someone look at a CX-5 if they’re shopping the compact crossover class.”
DRIVER’S JOURNAL
Day 1: I pick up the car and drive across the city. It’s very nice in stop-and-go traffic. The heads-up display for speed is a cool feature, and I like how the display light is not a distracting colour. First impression of the interior is that the leather interior and surface materials are well made and look solid. Day 2: I leave the car outside overnight and the temperature drops to -25 C. I really appreciate the heated steering wheel and how quickly it warms up. I’m a little concerned when a yellow warning light appears on the dash while I’m driving indicating something is wrong with the LED headlights, but this disappears once I shut the car off and restart it again. The car has now been moved into the garage.
Day 3: It is -29 C this morning and we don’t get into the car until the afternoon when the four of us go take our son to his hockey game. This is a small crossover. The one hockey bag and stick fill up the back. With the radio off, we all notice how quiet the car is in traffic.
Day 4: I tend to drive with a light foot on the gas pedal and I do notice that I need to step on the gas quite a bit to get it to go.
Day 5: Cold again. The drive to work is uneventful, but I do notice the blind spot monitoring system beeps at me a lot when I change lanes. I wonder if you can set the distance?
Day 6: I have been able to intuitively figure out the on-board screen and controls without having to look at the manual.
Day 7: I take my son to another hockey practice and he is the one to point out that the headlights turn when going around corners. Kind of a cool feature, but after all this cold weather and two warning lights regarding some of these features, I wonder about how long the electronics would hold up in our climate.