Is a Mazda CX5 the (sad?) solution to my next car? - Page 1 - Car Buying

ayedubya

Original Poster

253 posts

72 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

Hello all... i am a minority PH-er, not because I an actual ethnic minority, but more a minority because my salary is not 1%er level and I am not a company director.

Current car: Ford Focus Titanium X, 1.6 Diesel. 2012.... it has been an ok buy, some high bills I think partly due to being taken advantage of by a local mechanic- due to some of these bills I wanted to just run it into the ground. The LEZ zone which I live very close to means I cannot drive into town in an evening and get a meal/pick up a friend from the train station/pop into a shop etc.- most frustrating. So I think I will need a replacement.

My needs: Automatic, heated seats. LEZ / Euro 6- all of these a must. We do max 10k per year. I might be changing jobs soon which could cause me to do more miles, a once a month meeting to the head office about 90 miles away. We like to 'wild camp' in Scotland, so space for a couple's gear would be handy, the Focus doesn't have a huge amount. I am thinking an estate could also be a shout. We are not rich so lower maintenance/tax/insurance costs would be a bonus.

Budget: 15k

From my limited car knowledge, I am thinking a Mazda CX5 is the ideal solution. But also think a Kia Optima estate or even a Mazda estate. Maybe I am foolishly concluding far east cars mean for cheaper servicing/good reliability. But I know nada about cars if honest.

Any pearls of wisdom would be greatly received.

Thank you in advance.

ilikejam

1,222 posts

143 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

I recently bought a Volvo V40 after sitting in a V60 and thinking how nice it was. Big car stuff like cruise, heated seats, heated windscreen, etc and super comfy. £0 tax and ULEZ.

V40 might be a bit small if you've got masses of camping gear, in which case maybe consider a V60: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306278...

Red9zero

11,054 posts

84 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

We have a 2019 CX5 and it is a pretty good car. It is the 2.0 petrol Sport Nav+, which is definitely more a trim level than any aspiration of sportiness. Our last car was a Volvo V40 D3, so the lack of torque is very noticeable, although if you pedal it hard enough it does move along well enough, it just doesn't feel in character with the car though. Fuel consumption is ok at 36mpg, which doesn't seem to vary no matter how or where it is driven. It is comfortable enough and I do appreciate the higher seating position now I am knocking on a bit. The only issue we have had was the mirrors not folding in, but there is an unofficial recall for them and we got them both replaced foc, even though the car was a few months out of warranty. Spec is pretty good, although ours just missed out on carplay, although it is an easy upgrade for a couple of hundred quid. The rear doesn't seem huge to me, but I have seen a few people (mainly in the US) camping, or even living in some cases, in the back of them. This is the first Mazda, or even Japanese car, we have had and I have to say, I am impressed by it. Quality is not quite up with the Volvo and a few odd things are missing (eg. ambient lighting, heated front screen), but it then has stuff like head up display etc that make up for it. All in all, I quite like it.

ayedubya

Original Poster

253 posts

72 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

Thanks V60 I had not thought of. Glad to hear too the CX5 has served you well.

sunnyb13

1,202 posts

65 months

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[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

vw tiguan

ChocolateFrog

34,954 posts

200 months

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[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

You're not a long way off a new Jogger.

It isn't going to set the world on fire and it'd be the 1l rather than the hybrid but it would be brand new with a warranty.

Edit. Just seen the automatic requirement which would dictate the hybrid.

Still a possibility if the budget can be stretched.

BoRED S2upid

21,031 posts

267 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

ilikejam said:

I recently bought a Volvo V40 after sitting in a V60 and thinking how nice it was. Big car stuff like cruise, heated seats, heated windscreen, etc and super comfy. £0 tax and ULEZ.

V40 might be a bit small if you've got masses of camping gear, in which case maybe consider a V60: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306278...

I can agree with this our family hack is a V60 with almost 100,000 trouble free miles only general servicing required it still goes well £30 a year tax it’s a nice place to be and will be replaced with another.

Shabaza

289 posts

124 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

Skoda Superb/Octavia/Yeti
You dont even necessarily need the estate, the boots are absolutely huge.
Parts are used across whole VAG range so usually cheaply sourced and plenty available.
Mind you, Ive had minimal problems with my Skoda

Otherwise a Honda CRV/Toyota RAV4 if your japanese car inclined. Theyre pretty bombproof.
The Kia equivalent hasn't got the same boot space as a CRV

smithler2023

9 posts

39 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

I did a test drive in a 2.0 petrol Mazda CX-5 recently and whilst I really liked the look of the car and the quality seemed fine, the engine felt so sluggish to me. I am sure the same engine is great in an MX-5. We did not want a diesel but have heard it is better suited to the CX-5. We ended up buying a 2.0 petrol Skoda Superb which is more spacious inside and faster.

Red9zero

11,054 posts

84 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

smithler2023 said:

I did a test drive in a 2.0 petrol Mazda CX-5 recently and whilst I really liked the look of the car and the quality seemed fine, the engine felt so sluggish to me. I am sure the same engine is great in an MX-5. We did not want a diesel but have heard it is better suited to the CX-5. We ended up buying a 2.0 petrol Skoda Superb which is more spacious inside and faster.

The 2.0 CX5 does go, but you do need to rev it, which is out of character for the car imo. The diesel CX5`s seem to be rather unreliable if the Facebook owners groups are to be believed, although I suspect a lot of that is due to low mileage.

ZX10R NIN

30,395 posts

152 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

ayedubya said:

Hello all... i am a minority PH-er, not because I an actual ethnic minority, but more a minority because my salary is not 1%er level and I am not a company director.

Current car: Ford Focus Titanium X, 1.6 Diesel. 2012.... it has been an ok buy, some high bills I think partly due to being taken advantage of by a local mechanic- due to some of these bills I wanted to just run it into the ground. The LEZ zone which I live very close to means I cannot drive into town in an evening and get a meal/pick up a friend from the train station/pop into a shop etc.- most frustrating. So I think I will need a replacement.

My needs: Automatic, heated seats. LEZ / Euro 6- all of these a must. We do max 10k per year. I might be changing jobs soon which could cause me to do more miles, a once a month meeting to the head office about 90 miles away. We like to 'wild camp' in Scotland, so space for a couple's gear would be handy, the Focus doesn't have a huge amount. I am thinking an estate could also be a shout. We are not rich so lower maintenance/tax/insurance costs would be a bonus.

Budget: 15k

From my limited car knowledge, I am thinking a Mazda CX5 is the ideal solution. But also think a Kia Optima estate or even a Mazda estate. Maybe I am foolishly concluding far east cars mean for cheaper servicing/good reliability. But I know nada about cars if honest.

Any pearls of wisdom would be greatly received.

Thank you in advance.

Kadjar Signature:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307039...

I'd say the 1.6T Kia Sportage would get the nod over the Mazda for me:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307119...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307189...

For a smidge more you can get a very nicely spec'd Tucson:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306218...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306158...

I'd say maybe you should wait before you buy because if you're going to be doing more miles then a diesel may suit your needs better.

If a diesel will suit then the Insignia Estate is a very hard car to look past:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306138...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306289...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Tuesday 18th July 21:07

georgeyboy12345

4,556 posts

62 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

Flumpo

4,024 posts

100 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

Toyota auris estate, cheap to run and you will even get a yearly warranty up to 10yr/100k if service with Toyota.

Might not be fun but will probably never let you down.

Not sure if they come with heated seats, the money you save in repairs maybe get some thicker knickers.

dema

380 posts

202 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

I’ve been driving a V60 D4 for almost 5 years with no issues. Plenty of space, comfortable, all the tech you need on base model (I’ve only added apple car play), I only wish I’d gone for the reversing camera.
Not the most entertaining car to drive but does the job very well. Only thing that niggles me is that the fan is very loud on anything above low.

Prior to the Volvo I’ve had a Mazda 6 2.2d Sport Nav+ for 4 years.
Good car, in the estate version should have a mouth space for everything. Not had any issues. Go for the higher trim level which gives you all the tech you need.

Good luck with the search

Nickp82

3,894 posts

120 months

[report]

[news]

Wednesday 19th July 2023

We’ve had a 2016 2.2d CX-5 for three years and 22k miles now, it’s been absolutely spot-on.
It’s quite a nice car in that it drives well, the twin turbos make the engine feel quite strong and smooth and it has a good standard spec (Sport model)

I have driven the petrol and can only echo that it does feel a bit slow unless worked but it is undoubtedly the safer engine choice - I’ve had 2013/14 Mazda 6 diesels which have had issues with turbos / head gasket / coking.

Mr MXT

7,778 posts

310 months

[report]

[news]

Wednesday 19th July 2023

I had a 2016 2.2D CX5 for ~80k miles and a 2019 2.2D CX5 for ~40k miles, both the top trim level whatever that was (sport nav?) . The interior on the later car felt a little nicer with little things like heated steering wheel, HUD and a much better infotainment.

The 2016 car needed the engine stripping and walnut blasting at 50k miles - something to with carbon build up. It was a company car so I wasn't really that interested in the specifics but I think is a common issue. I also had issues with the infotainment on the 2016 which would regularly need resetting and they never got to the bottom of it.

The later car was faultless.

ayedubya

Original Poster

253 posts

72 months

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[news]

Wednesday 19th July 2023

georgeyboy12345 said: