OT: Help me decide on a car/suv

[jadmt]

Originally Posted by Epicus07

Mazda is offering 0% financing on new vehicles…

I just bought a CPO 2023 CX-5 Signature a week before they announced this financing. my car payments would have been cheaper with a brand new car than my 8,000 mile used car with 7% APR. it was still $7k less so maybe some day rates will come down or I’ll pay off early and be less grumpy about it.

Sorry for the digression. Coming from a Subaru I love my Mazda. The quality of the interior and handling are wonderful. I hear great things about reliability too. Excellent value option.

Highly recommend you test drive one (although the CX-90 is a beast in size)

we have a 23 cx5 turbo and it is a fun car. bought it new 8 months ago and have about 14000 miles on it. If I were buying tomorrow I would not buy a Mazda cx5 altho I would consider a cx50. this replaced our CRV that was totaled out. reason I would not buy a mazda again is they lose value very quickly compared to Honda or Toyota.

[Epicus07]

Originally Posted by jadmt

we have a 23 cx5 turbo and it is a fun car. bought it new 8 months ago and have about 14000 miles on it. If I were buying tomorrow I would not buy a Mazda cx5 altho I would consider a cx50. this replaced our CRV that was totaled out. reason I would not buy a mazda again is they lose value very quickly compared to Honda or Toyota.

Why would you choose the CX-50 over it ?

[tbike4]

Originally Posted by Epicus07

Mazda is offering 0% financing on new vehicles…
Sorry for the digression. Coming from a Subaru I love my Mazda. The quality of the interior and handling are wonderful. I hear great things about reliability too. Excellent value option.

Highly recommend you test drive one (although the CX-90 is a beast in size)

I have a CX-5 and agree the interior is far above anything else in its class. It looks and feels like a premium luxury vehicle. I would like to have more cubic feet of storage but I do not want a behemoth size vehicle.

It's just me and my bikes so I make it work. No room for passengers, they might get the interior dirty.

[jadmt]

Originally Posted by Epicus07

Why would you choose the CX-50 over it ?

when we bought our cx5 turbo we test drove a cx50 turbo and really liked the way it felt but it did not have vented seats which we really wanted. Since that time my neighbor bought a cx50 turbo with all the bells and whistles so I have spent a fair amount of time in it and it is just a bit nicer riding car. The cx5 is made in Japan and the Cx50 in the US and I can see no difference in build quality between them. I also think the cx50 looks a bit more modern. the CX5 is a bit dated to me. don't get me wrong I don't hate it by any means.

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by saab2000

"…Also, while it can't be ordered without a regular sunroof it appears, the Land Cruiser sunroof looks normal and can be ignored and not some silly ginormous piece of glass that will heat the cabin to unreasonable temps and blind the driver. Glass roofs are not for me, though my current car has one. I got the sunshade for it. Some of the Toyota press shots make it looks like it's available without any roof glass, which is a win for me…"

Please, please, please GOD let this be true!

One would think vehicle manufacturers would actually have engineers, designers, and marketers who are genuine automotive enthusiasts? At least a few professionals who could counsel the others to remind them that sunroofs weigh more, add complexity, occasionally leak, increase usage of A/C, burn more fuel, and reduce torsional rigidity.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

Please, please, please GOD let this be true!

One would think vehicle manufacturers would actually have engineers, designers, and marketers who are genuine automotive enthusiasts? At least a few professionals who could counsel the others to remind them that sunroofs weigh more, add complexity, occasionally leak, increase usage of A/C, burn more fuel, and reduce torsional rigidity.

The engineers designing vehicles for enthusiasts call it the "sunroof delete" option, and it's available on certain sporty models. Personally I'd prefer a sunroof in a Cayman, but the Porsche engineers won't do it.

(I guess they'd refer me to a Boxster, er I mean 718) You want a hole in the roof...we'll give you a hole in the roof. No roof for you!

[saab2000]

Let's see what happens.

[AngryScientist]

At least the license plate spot makes it appear that is a US model.

When we bought our Honda minivan ages ago, I specifically wanted the base model because I didnt want power sliding doors, a power assist liftgate, a vacuum cleaner, a sunroof or any of the other gizmos associated with the fancier models. I keep my cars forever and do all of the work on them myself, so I like to keep complexity low. Also, it's a damned minivan, my kids can use their little muscles to open and close doors for themselves.

Anyway, it was really difficult to find an actual base model on a lot. Dealers stock up on the higher $$$ fancy models and want to push those, not the lower cost ones.

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

"…The engineers designing vehicles for enthusiasts call it the 'sunroof delete' option, and it's available on certain sporty models…"

I wish that was universally the case.
As an example…both Audi and Volvo have *deleted* the "sunroof delete" option and one MUST get one on their cars.

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by Epicus07

Mazda is offering 0% financing on new vehicles…

I just bought a CPO 2023 CX-5 Signature a week before they announced this financing. my car payments would have been cheaper with a brand new car than my 8,000 mile used car with 7% APR. it was still $7k less so maybe some day rates will come down or I’ll pay off early and be less grumpy about it.

Sorry for the digression. Coming from a Subaru I love my Mazda. The quality of the interior and handling are wonderful. I hear great things about reliability too. Excellent value option.

Highly recommend you test drive one (although the CX-90 is a beast in size)

I have a 2019 CX-5 and it has been great. Its a turbo so pretty quick and fun to drive... for a crossover. The AC was not working well but I found a service bulletin on it and got the part replaced for free. The infotainment system is pretty flaky though. Otherwise, I would certainly buy a Mazda again. From what I have read, Mazda seems to have taken the place Honda had in the 80s for reliable and sporty handling cars. I even bought an MX-5 soon after in order to maximize those traits.

Tim

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

I wish that was universally the case.
As an example…both Audi and Volvo have *deleted* the "sunroof delete" option and one MUST get one on their cars.

*Sporty* models: Audi TT, R8. Volvo P1800

I *think* you could get all of these without a sunroof. Of course they have all been discontinued, the two Audi models in 2024, the Volvo in '73.

[2metalhips]

My wife just bought a Hybrid AWD Toyota Venza. Averaging 40 MPG, one trip was 52 MPG. 30-50% of the time the gas engine is not even running. Amazing technology.

Edit..No sunroof!

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

"…I *think* you could get all of these without a sunroof…"

Nope. Every single new Audi or Volvo being manufactured sadly has a mandatory sunroof.
If everyone was as "green" as they like to tell their friends at cocktail parties, we would see far fewer sunroofs.

I would need to check with the other manufacturers.
Ford enables purchase of a "loaded" 400-hp Explorer ST with a nice solid metal top, for example.

[saab2000]

The ultra green BMW M3 has a sunroof as an option, not a requirement.