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Anyone have a Mazda CX-5 AWD?

murphysf

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Hi

Anyone have a Mazda CX-5 AWD?

How does it do in the snow?

I am considering one for a bay area / tahoe weekend warrior car.
 

coskigirl

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Today is my CX-5’s 1st birthday and I hit 15k miles yesterday. It’s been great in the snow, especially with snow tires. I have a thread on here somewhere about my decision process but if I were making the decision again today knowing what I know now I’d make the same decision.
 

Noodler

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Hands down, the 2019 CX-5 in top trim levels (with turbo) are probably the best bang-for-the-buck ski haulers that challenge the true luxury vehicles. However, it's an AWD system, not 4WD. There is no full locking differential and the Mazda system can only put 50% of the power to the rear wheels. It cannot put 100% power to the remaining "non-slipping" wheels. So it has its limitations. I'm sure it's much better with real snow tires, but if you're doing mixed driving coming out of the bay area, that may not be the best play. I'm still driving mine with the M+S Toyo all-seasons and have not run into any major issues, but it certainly doesn't instill as much confidence as my last vehicle with true 4WD and the ability to lock the differential.

BTW - There are some great youtube videos of extreme drive train testing over obstacles; comparing the CX-5 to other vehicles. The CX-5 actually fairs very well (better than most of the competition). There's even a video of a tug-of-war between a CX-5 and a Subaru on dirt where the CX-5 wins.
 

AmyPJ

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Hands down, the 2019 CX-5 in top trim levels (with turbo) are probably the best bang-for-the-buck ski haulers that challenge the true luxury vehicles. However, it's an AWD system, not 4WD. There is no full locking differential and the Mazda system can only put 50% of the power to the rear wheels. It cannot put 100% power to the remaining "non-slipping" wheels. So it has its limitations. I'm sure it's much better with real snow tires, but if you're doing mixed driving coming out of the bay area, that may not be the best play. I'm still driving mine with the M+S Toyo all-seasons and have not run into any major issues, but it certainly doesn't instill as much confidence as my last vehicle with true 4WD and the ability to lock the differential.

BTW - There are some great youtube videos of extreme drive train testing over obstacles; comparing the CX-5 to other vehicles. The CX-5 actually fairs very well (better than most of the competition). There's even a video of a tug-of-war between a CX-5 and a Subaru on dirt where the CX-5 wins.
I'd agree with this 100%. I love mine, love it better with snows, but being AWD it still has its limitations, which have been tested just a bit this winter with the amount of snow we've had. It might do better with different snows on it that the Michelin XIce I have on it. But it still just does fine overall.

That being said, it's a sporty, fun little machine that I've really enjoyed owning. No real rattles or squeaks, and I've had mine for almost 4 years now. No mechanical issues whatsoever. The center console controls are the shiz.
 

coskigirl

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Totally agree on the center console controls. I had no idea how much I would like them. Wait, no, love them. I have Hakkapellita tires on mine which have been much better than the M+S that came on it. I had a couple of very icy drives early this season that scared me but knowing me it would have scared me in any vehicle.
 

Noodler

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In what scenario? Fully loaded climbing? Climbing with off-camber curves?

You're gonna force me to go find the youtube videos I mentioned... ;)

It's any scenario where you would need more than 50% of the power going to the rear wheels. So, yeah, off-camber situations where there's enough load that demands more power to the rear.
 

coskigirl

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Yep, off camber situations is exactly where my scary situations happened. Not that I knew that more than 50% of the power to the rear would help but I think it makes sense.
 

Noodler

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Here are some relevant videos:



BTW - The best I've seen on this test is the BMW X-Drive system.

 
Last edited:

cantunamunch

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It's any scenario where you would need more than 50% of the power going to the rear wheels. So, yeah, off-camber situations where there's enough load that demands more power to the rear.

By asking about one thing I was really testing for a lack of its opposite - in this case I was really trying to find out if she ever had downhill understeer, like on a 40-50mph road with lots of twists on it and the car keeps wanting to go straight.

Tires would help that.
 

ZionPow

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My wife has a 2018 CX-5 and I have a 2019 Subaru Outback. I prefer the Outback for mountain snow driving probably because it has a longer wheelbase and feels more stable on snow. The CX-5 is an excellent car also. The console display and carplay feature in the Subaru is amazing. You can't go wrong with either.
 

AmyPJ

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By asking about one thing I was really testing for a lack of its opposite - in this case I was really trying to find out if she ever had downhill understeer, like on a 40-50mph road with lots of twists on it and the car keeps wanting to go straight.

Tires would help that.
Yes, I had this way more than any issues climbing. Except, on a 35 mph road where I was going between 25 and 30 (due to conditions.) There is an off-camber corner that I drive daily, and it really threw me off guard that suddenly I'd lost traction and was sliding sideways. With snow tires, no less. I did recover just fine as I didn't panic but still, I did lose some confidence in the car and the tires at that point.

Still, I'd buy another one because it's fun for the mountain road driving in good conditions, which I do just as much as winter driving.
 

WxGuy

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Hands down, the 2019 CX-5 in top trim levels (with turbo) are probably the best bang-for-the-buck ski haulers that challenge the true luxury vehicles. However, it's an AWD system, not 4WD. There is no full locking differential and the Mazda system can only put 50% of the power to the rear wheels. It cannot put 100% power to the remaining "non-slipping" wheels. So it has its limitations.

I have encountered several statements similar to the one above. What is the underlying physics going on here? Does this hold just for CX-5 or AWD drives in general?

Inquiring minds want to know...
 

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