2014 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring First Test
No Buts About It
People frequently ask how I like my long-term 2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring, a four-wheeled sidekick I've aptly named Blue (#MyBoyBlue).
I tell them it's stylish, roomy, priced right, and highly entertaining. They sometimes smile and complement its attractive "Kodo" lines or optional Yakima snowboard carriers. A few open its doors and say things like "Hmm" or "Oh, really?" as they examine Blue's capacious all-black innards.
As the pump clicks off (this verbal exchange usually happens at a gas station), I recite my sole not-so-gleaming statement.
"And it gets 29 mpg combined without much effort," I begin. There's a longish pause here. "But it's just not all that speedy when you really want it to be."
I've repeated this last line -- dramatic awkward moment and all -- umpteen times.
I'll need to axe such phrases going forward, because for 2014, Mazda offers a CX-5 powered by a rev-loving 184-horsepower Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter I-4 that'll definitely woo America's stoplight-launching CUV crowd. It packs 29 more horses and 35 more lb-ft (total of 185 lb-ft) than last year's 2.0-liter engine, and, according to the EPA, is hardly any thirstier for fuel. Official ratings for the front-wheel-drive version remain highly respectable at 25/32 city/highway, while those with all-wheel drive get 24/30. Both, says Mazda, have an estimated 430-mile single tank range.
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