Over this past holiday season, which was literally last month, I had the opportunity of test driving the Mazda CX-5 2016.5. All thanks to the people at Drive Shop.
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For a week, I felt so renewed driving around in this candy apple - wait, excuse me - Soul Red Metallic beauty. It's just something about riding around in a brand new car, no? The SUV comes equipped with so many features. One of my favorites is the Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) System. I was so tempted to take a photo of this while it was happening but it wouldn't have been ideal considering the whole driving on the road thing. So here's an image of what it looks like:
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| photo c/o of Mazda Canada |
As you can see, when the monitor senses a car driving within your blind spot, it sends out a warning signal (image + sound) on the side view mirror.
Other stand out features includes:
- Leather trimmed sport seats
- Keyless entry system
- 40/20/40 split folding rear seatback with fold down center armrest
- Heated side mirrors
- Rain-sensing windshield wipers
- Dual zone automatic climate control
- 7-inch full color-touch screen display
- Sirius XM satellite with 4-month trial subscription (While this is a wonderful feature, gonna admit that I basically sang along to music from Spotify on my phone. The Mazda has a bluetooth hands-free phone and audio capability)
- Pandora internet radio integration
- HD radio
- Rear cross traffic alert (activates when the Mazda is in reverse and detects when cars are in the pathway)
- Rearview camera
This is one spacious car. From the seating to the trunk space. In fact, one day I had to go to my local thrift store to drop off huge duty trash bags filled to the brim with items. Well, those bags fit nicely into the trunk, one next to the other and so on, with even some space left over. I was impressed. Inside the car, never once did I feel cramped or stuffy or uncomfortable. The CX-5 comfortably seats 5 people with plenty of legroom space. Sometimes little things matter like when you want to switch the station or increase the volume of the music playing or answer your phone when someone calls (remember, bluetooth capability!) and knowing all can be done with little to no problem because of the steering wheel-mounted audio, phone, and cruise controls feature.
Basically, it was always an easy, smooth drive.
Starting at the reasonable price of $21800, the Mazda CX-5 2016.5 comes in three styles: Sport, Touring, and Grand Touring (the car in this post). The CX-5 series is meant to evoke poise, aggression, and power.
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| stock photos c/o of Mazda USA |
This was my first time riding a Mazda car and I was happy to have driven one of the best in their arsenal. Do you drive a Mazda? Thinking of an upgrade? Let me know your thoughts on Mazda and this review of the CX-5 2016.5.
Before I go, here's a quick clip of me inside the car singing and grooving along to music while in a car wash.
Just because.
