Best car I've ever owned
So the title is subjective, after all, what cars one has owned is different for every person. For me, the list is: Ford: Focus, Escape, Explorer, SportTrac, Chevy: Lumina, Blazer, Mazda: CX-5
Anyway, there is only 1 thing that I would change on this car if I could (and it's not the absence of a turbo, which prior to driving, the internet told me was the cardinal sin of the new models). I would make the cup holders just a tiny bit farther apart (think an inch, maybe even half an inch) - this is because two large (32 oz) drinks just barely fit, so half the time extracting the "lower" drink pops off the top of the "upper" drink. My wife and I like to take drives, so this could be a minor annoyance if we stop off at a Sonic or something for a couple of diet cherry limeades.
This car has everything important to me (Touring model): Amazing AWD, great Android Auto support, a really nice adaptive cruise and lane-keeping system in EyeSight, and lots of other niceties like heated seats and steering wheel (must haves for the wife).
I am much taller than my wife (6'1" vs 5'3") and the fact that seat remembers the driver and adjusts the seat and mirrors based on the driver profile is amazing for us - no more automatically adjusting based on who drove last.
The seats are super-comfy, we have taken several trips down to Oregon (8+ hours) and will sometimes just drive over to the Eastern side of the state just to get out - can easily do a 5-6 hour round trip and still be ready to go.
The biggest complaint I've heard online is lack of a turbo, but honestly, I don't need it; I have never been in a situation that I needed more power that wasn't there - if I put the pedal to the floor the thing goes as fast as I would want it to for the body style and street driving. Another complaint I've heard in general is about the use of CVTs - I haven't experienced any problems, the ride is always smooth; caveat: my car is still under 10K miles - I totally acknowledge this could vary over the life of the engine/transmission. This is also the first car I've had that can automatically handle steep downhills correctly when cruising and not need to apply the brakes; I'm sure there are some downhills this would not apply to, but I haven't found them yet.
I would include the remote start key fob with the touring package. I have the app, and it is convenient for starting the car when I'm home. If I'm out in the mountains (like staying at a cabin) without cell service and want to warm up the car, it would be nice to have the key fob option without being an add-on.
When driving on ice, snow, and through mud, this is easily the most surefooted vehicle I've driven - I've only been able to get the car to slip by purposefully trying by accelerating hard and whipping the steering from side to side (just to see how it handles) - under normal circumstances, you can tell that a wheel may be slipping, but the car handling doesn't change because of it; I have yet to find a road condition that I didn't feel 100% confident in the vehicles ability to tackle (have not gone up JEEP trails / bouldering, but we're talking anything on a street here or mild off-roading).
It is just as at-home with driving in the city, squeezing into smaller parking spaces, and making tight turns. After trying out several SUVs this vehicle seemed to nail the intersection of city efficiency and comfort with adventuring capabilities.
Recommended
Verified Owner
