2014 Mazda CX-5 Touring - A Cyclist's Perspective

2014 Mazda CX-5 Touring
(Any images can be increased in size by clicking)

First a bit of a disclaimer: In no way do I claim to be a professional product reviewer and non of the products listed below were given to me for review and no special price breaks were given to me for the following comments. Everything within this blog post is my personal perspective and non of the services or purchases were negotiated based on making positive comments. I did not mention to any of the sales or service staff for any of the products listed that there would be blog review. Every product shown below were negotiated for a fair price just like everyone else has to do.

The intent of this blog post is not so much a review, but to help others that are cycling enthusiast that are also considering a vehicle upgrade. I wanted to add a few things to highlight the CX-5 from the perspective of cycling and show some pictures that I found difficult to find like hitch installation, cargo space and the back up camera view with bikes on the rack.

2014 Mazda Cx-5 Touring:

Purchased from: Jim Ellis Mazda Marietta

 Pros:

• Very good gas mileage for this type of vehicle (see Fuelly for comparison)
• Great handling in both city, interstate and rural traffic (feels sporty in handling)
• Nice amenities in the upper two trims and options packages for each trim
• Good pricing and flexibility between the three trim models
• For just two in our household there is plenty of cargo area with the rear seats up or down
• Decent stereo, Bluetooth, phone connection for calls or music
• Comfortable seats (however I have not been on an extended trip yet)
• All-wheel drive or front wheel drive is available on all three trims.
• Push button start
• Side mirror sensors to help with cars in the blind spots
• Jim Ellis staff were very helpful, friendly, responsive and willing to talk price
• Jim Ellis sales agents, Steve Moore and Adam Tolliver were very helpful to us and I would recommend them.
• Interior seems quiet in comparison to my previous vehicle and quieter than my wife's car so I am happy. I don't feel like I need to crank up the stereo to on the interstate to hear it or need to talk louder. There is some wind noise at the side mirrors at higher speeds, but not excessive.

Cons:

• Push button start and while I noted as a pro above for the cyclists that carry minimal gear the key fob is larger than a key and can be damaged by wet or grit. A replacement is expensive. This key fob will need to be placed in something waterproof and placed in a secure location on the bike while away from the car. This was not an issue with normal key ignition where I could have spare keys made for cheap and left a key in a magnetic holder below the car in case I got locked out. That spare key did come in handy on one occasion.
• Not enough cargo height to use a fork mount and haul the bike in the cargo area. A bike can certainly be laid down in the cargo area at the loss of cargo space.

There are plenty of websites available for better car and owner reviews. The more research that one does will help in finding the vehicle that meets daily needs and also helps in negotiating a good price. Best wishes on the search. As for me now with a few hundred miles on mixed use driving I am pretty sure I got the right vehicle that fits my active lifestyle and as for my purchase experience at Jim Ellis Mazda Marietta it was very good as well.

Leading up to this purchase I also test drove the 2014 Subaru Forester and Impreza. We were impressed by both of those, but the CX-5 remained in our top spot.

More pictures below

Curt Class 3 Hitch:

Purchased and Installation from: Pat Rogers Hitches a Curt Class 3 (Model C13127)

Pros:

• 2" hitch allows for greater number of accessories available.
• Sturdy connection
• Hitch drops below the bottom of the bumper so no cutting notches in the car bumper
• Price for hitch and installation was good
• Great guys at Pat Rogers Hitches and will get the right part(s) installed
• Took less than an hour for Pat Rogers installation and the bolts were torqued down well
• Self-installation is not that hard with an extra set of helping hands, but the exhaust will need to be dropped to get the hitch lined up with the bolt holes. Videos are available on YouTube for installation.

Cons:

None that I can currently note about the hitch

Pat Rogers Hitches has recently moved and was a little hard to find tucked away in an older industrial area of Marietta. Not a bad location now that I know where they are located. Call for location before driving.

More pictures below

Kuat NV Bike Rack:

Pronounced Koo-at this hitch mounted bike rack is a beast (in a good sense).

Purchased from: The Sport Factory in Roswell, Georgia using a first time customer coupon.

Pros:

• Very high level materials, design and high quality protective paint
• Easy and fast to mount or remove bikes
• 3 locking tilt positions (bike mount, up for non-use and down to access the cargo area)
• Integrated cable lock that can weave through two frames and is hidden within the rack
• Very appealing looks (personal opinion of course)
• Knob adjustment to remove movement within the hitch.
• Comes in two hitch mount sizes, 2" and 1 1/4
• Has a built in bike stand for onsite bike repair or maintenance

Cons:

• Because it is design to last a lifetime and it is sturdy it is also pretty heavy so it may not be a rack that will quite as easy or quick to remove and replace as lighter racks.
• The integrated cable lock is just a tad short and can be difficult to secure all of the bike components. You may have to think about how you are going to route the cable through wheels and frames to get the most security. Other cable locks may be required to secure everything.

More pictures below

XPEL Ultimate / Atlanta Protective Films:

Purchased and applied by Atlanta Film Protection located in Canton, Georgia by owner Derek Johnson. If you visit the website you might get the feeling that Derek only caters to really expensive sports cars, but he does apply the protective film for many daily drivers that desire to keep their cars looking good over the years. Since I plan to hang on to the CX-5 for quite a while I wanted to keep the front protected from small rock chips. Something I did not do on my last car and it looked pretty rough at the time of trade in.

My overall experience with Derek was great. He was very helpful and courteous during the whole process and the time of application was about 4 hours. At the time of picking up the car Derek went through explaining his process of prepping the vehicle with cleaning, claying, applying the film and sealing.

I was really impressed how well Derek prepped the car and applied the film. It was struggle to see the film on the car unless I picked an angle to find the slightest shadow. The film was a little easier to see in with certain angles in sunlight, but still very hard to see. What is cool about the Xpel Ultimate film is its self-healing qualities. If there is a scratch on the film it will smooth out when it warms up over a certain temperature. It can be washed, waxed and sealed like regular exterior car care.

I had the film applied to part of the hood, bumper, grill, mirrors and door cups.

If you are interested in protecting your vehicle here is Derek's contact information.
Atlanta Protective Films
Atlanta Protective Films - Gallery of Cars

CX-5 pictures below with the Xpel Film

Any of the pictures below can be increased in size by clicking

Mazda CX-5 Touring:

I will be adding seat covers because I cannot seem to keep bike grease off of me
and I know these seats will eventually get a dose as well, but I do like the interior

Pretty good cargo area

More cup holders

Infotainment is just what one needs while driving to the cycling venue
Plus hands free calls for those friends calling to say their gonna be late

90 degrees (F) outside driving home after an 80 mile cycling route
and this AC unit was chillin just fine

Back up camera view with bikes attached.
Not too bad, but I can manage just fine without a camera anyway.

Bottle holder in all the doors

Roof Rails for more fun sporting or hauling attachments

Key Fob for push button start
Something I did not think about is carrying this when away from the car.
I finally got it squeezed into the ultra small bike bag to keep it from sweat, rain and grit.
It is like $300 to replace and is sensitive to damage from water or sand.
Got to be careful with this little item



Plenty of room for the rest of the bike gear

Curt Class 3 Hitch:

Kuat NV Bike Rack for 2 Bikes: 

It took me about an hour to assemble, but it is not hard.
It would probably be easier on a good working table or another set of hands.

In a little less than an hour it is attached and ready for the first adventure

In the Up Position with Bike Stand Attached

Bike Stand attached to Aero Seat Post



Built in Bike Stand

Tilt and Lock in 3 Positions

Integrated Cable Lock

Hatch clearance with rack in the up position

Tilted with Bikes Mounted

Tight but the hatch clears the stand in the up position

Kagu Aries 3D Floor Mats

Wet Okole Neoprene Seat Waterproof Covers

Xpel Ultimate being applied to the front bumper

Xpel Ultimate being applied to the mirrors

  

In certain light and angles you can see the film, but generally it is very hard to see

You can barely see the film line on the door cup

CX-5 front end protected by Xpel Ultimate and applied by Atlanta Protective Films