u/zamassy07

Hi all! I’ve posted a few times before on both the Mazda and CX50 subreddits and thought I’d share another update on my new CX50, hopefully I can provide some insight to new owners or those looking to join the CX50 fam! I've had my CX50 for 5.5 months and am just shy of 10k miles (currently at 9990 miles Lol). My first impressions / thoughts are included in my 1k mile post (which you can find on my profile) so some of these topics below are more so random things I’ve taken note of / nitpicks, not necessarily good or bad. Some might not even care about my points below. I don’t think any of them are that bad because I struggle to find cons with this vehicle. the CX50 might not be perfect for everyone, but it’s damn near close to perfect for me. 

Physical buttons - I’m still enjoying all the buttons, Mazda did a great job not putting everything into a screen (unlike the new CX5). Particularly, I love that the screen dimmer switch is a button along with the trip A / B button. Such a simple but great touch. Also, when you dim the gauges, the blind spot light on the side view mirrors also dims. I think that’s a great touch. I appreciate Mazda's attention to detail with small things like this.

Physical gauges and gauge cluster plastic - I know the CX70, CX90, and new CX5 have a digital gauge cluster and its probably only a matter of time before the CX50 and the rest of the lineup gets a digital cluster. I actually like the part physical, part digital gauges. The physical tachometer, temp gauge, and fuel gauge are nice and classy. However, Mazda must have said “let’s use the cheapest piece of plastic to cover the gauges” because mine is already all scratched up and I only use a microfiber cloth to ever so gently clean it.   

Seatbelt chime and other alert sounds - I like the seatbelt chime. I think it sounds really nice. I like that Mazda actually put thought into making it sound good. The rest of the alert sounds are nice as well.

The control knob is still great - I still ADORE the control knob for the infotainment. It’s so much more intuitive than a touchscreen. It’s second nature for me at this point and much safer than a touchscreen. I literally love not having a touchscreen. It’s a shame that Mazda is already moving away from this system with the new CX5. Why not keep the knob and give us the option to use the knob OR touch the screen? I could go on and on but oh well.

Nasty pano roof rattle - I always have my pano roof open. Whether it’s vented open or fully open, it’s always open in some way no matter the temperature lol. But recently, I’ve noticed a real nasty rattle especially when going over bumps and potholes and that sort of thing, only when my pano roof is fully opened. It almost sounds like a shutter? It’s a horrible sound and I’m worried the front pane of glass that opens is going to like fall into the interior or something. I know it won't, but the sound is really unnerving.

The tech - The tech is great. I know some complain that Mazda’s tech is behind the times but that’s a big thing that drew me to the CX50. The screen is just the right size, the gauge cluster screen and head up display work great together, the physical buttons for the HVAC controls are amazing - thank you Mazda for not putting them in the screen. Reviews have said the infotainment is slow and laggy? I have no clue what they’re talking about. Whether it’s old school or not, I think the tech is really good. The driver assistance features work well too. The Cruising and Traffic Support is amazing on longer highway trips.

The wireless charger - I have one comment regarding the stupid wireless charger: it’s absolutely useless. Good for cooking my phone though. A crisp well done iPhone, how tasty.

Lock / unlock chirp - I really like how the lock sound is just a chirp and there’s an unlock chirp as well. Subtle, not loud, and I like it. I came home late at night the other night and it was nice to lock my CX50 without having the horn sound like my previous car. On that note, if you press the lock button twice on the key fob it does sound the horn. I like how Mazda gives you the option regarding these two things.

Seat comfort - This is the only part of my CX50 that I struggle with my thoughts on. When I first took ownership, I thought the seats were great and I found them to be more comfortable than my previous car, a 2023 Jeep Compass. However, over the course of my ownership, I find myself extending the lumbar support more often than I did on my Jeep as my lower back begins to ache and feel fatigued quicker. Seat comfort is very subjective, and I do still like the seats more than my Jeep, but I am curious how my thoughts develop over the next, say 20k to 30k miles. 

Reverse camera - My previous car had a reverse camera but it wasn’t as wide angled as the reverse camera on the CX50. The wide angle makes it handy for backing out of a busy parking lot, you can really see the cross traffic and it makes reversing out of a parking spot pretty easy. The cross traffic alert is nice too. Not sure why the reverse camera doesn’t have moving lines but that doesn’t really bother me. 

Front radar sensor - I noticed the CX50 has an actual front radar sensor whereas other Mazdas have the radar sensor built into the Mazda emblem. I wonder if there’s a reason for this discrepancy.

Headlight operation - Mazda lets you leave the headlights in the on position, meaning even when “on” they turn off when the car turns off. I prefer to drive with my headlights turned on, no matter the weather or if it’s daytime, as I believe it’s just another safety measure making sure other drivers see you. Yes, the CX50s DRLs are the headlights but having the headlights on also turns on the rear taillights, which I prefer, as I said. I also like how the CX50 looks with the front amber lights turned on (the turn signals), they turn on with the headlights.  

Heartbeat turn signals - The heartbeat signals are such a neat touch. I really like them. I love the actual sound of the turn signal too. Such a perfect and satisfying click.

6-speed auto is great - It’s so refreshing that Mazda hasn’t put a CVT in their vehicles like a lot of other mainstream manufacturers do. I don’t even mind that it’s a 6-speed and not an 8 or 9-speed auto. It works, it’s reliable, and it’s smooth. Maybe a little jerky at lower speeds but overall no complaints thus far.

i-stop is smooth - One of the first things I’ve noticed is how smooth the i-Stop auto stop / start is. My previous Jeep’s auto stop / start could be a little jerky at times, so it was good to get into a car with a well calibrated stop / start feature.

Auto hold is so useful - This is a new feature for me as my Jeep never had auto hold. It comes in handy and is really nice to have at a long traffic light or in traffic.

The Turbo is honestly quick - I still can’t believe how quick the Turbo powertrain is in the CX50. It’s so fun to mash the throttle at a green light. Or when the car in front of me is merging on a 65mph highway at 40mph and I have to get up to speed, so I put my foot down lol. Either way, the power and torque is so addicting. It’s quick and I love it haha. I also noticed the transmission shifts quicker if you floor it without pressing the kickdown switch at the very end of the pedal.

Warms up horribly in cold weather - The 2.5T puts out such a little amount of heat it’s not even funny. It takes a good 15-20 minutes of regular driving for the engine to even get up to temp in the winter in my experience. On some super cold mornings (10-15 Fahrenheit), by the time I got to the grocery store about 10 minutes away on 35-40mph backroads, the engine still wasn’t up to temp. Just something to note, especially me in frigid northeast US winters.

Fuel economy - I track my gas mileage on an app called Road Trip and so far I have averaged 25.4mpg with premium fuel. I'd say this is a mix of about 60% city and 40% highway but that's a pretty rough estimate. Here are some stats:

• I've taken two longer road trips, about 3-4 hours each way. First was from Westchester County, New York up to Boston, Massachusetts and back. I averaged 29.6mpg over 395 miles. This was on one tank of fuel.
• I also took a trip to down to Montauk, New York for a weekend, from the same starting point, and averaged 29.5mpg over 381 miles. This was also on one tank of fuel.

I just want to finish off my post by saying I’m still in love with my CX50.  It’s an amazing all rounder for my use case, and it makes me happy to drive time and time again. The CX50 is amazing to drive and feels like a quasi-luxury product. Mazda nailed it.

Hi all! I’ve posted a few times before on both the Mazda and CX50 subreddits and thought I’d share another update on my new CX50, hopefully I can provide some insight to new owners or those looking to join the CX50 fam! I've had my CX50 for 5.5 months and am just shy of 10k miles (currently at 9990 miles Lol). My first impressions / thoughts are included in my 1k mile post (which you can find on my profile) so some of these topics below are more so random things I’ve taken note of / nitpicks, not necessarily good or bad. Some might not even care about my points below. I don’t think any of them are that bad because I struggle to find cons with this vehicle. the CX50 might not be perfect for everyone, but it’s damn near close to perfect for me. 

Physical buttons - I’m still enjoying all the buttons, Mazda did a great job not putting everything into a screen (unlike the new CX5). Particularly, I love that the screen dimmer switch is a button along with the trip A / B button. Such a simple but great touch. Also, when you dim the gauges, the blind spot light on the side view mirrors also dims. I think that’s a great touch. I appreciate Mazda's attention to detail with small things like this.

Physical gauges and gauge cluster plastic - I know the CX70, CX90, and new CX5 have a digital gauge cluster and its probably only a matter of time before the CX50 and the rest of the lineup gets a digital cluster. I actually like the part physical, part digital gauges. The physical tachometer, temp gauge, and fuel gauge are nice and classy. However, Mazda must have said “let’s use the cheapest piece of plastic to cover the gauges” because mine is already all scratched up and I only use a microfiber cloth to ever so gently clean it.   

Seatbelt chime and other alert sounds - I like the seatbelt chime. I think it sounds really nice. I like that Mazda actually put thought into making it sound good. The rest of the alert sounds are nice as well.

The control knob is still great - I still ADORE the control knob for the infotainment. It’s so much more intuitive than a touchscreen. It’s second nature for me at this point and much safer than a touchscreen. I literally love not having a touchscreen. It’s a shame that Mazda is already moving away from this system with the new CX5. Why not keep the knob and give us the option to use the knob OR touch the screen? I could go on and on but oh well.

Nasty pano roof rattle - I always have my pano roof open. Whether it’s vented open or fully open, it’s always open in some way no matter the temperature lol. But recently, I’ve noticed a real nasty rattle especially when going over bumps and potholes and that sort of thing, only when my pano roof is fully opened. It almost sounds like a shutter? It’s a horrible sound and I’m worried the front pane of glass that opens is going to like fall into the interior or something. I know it won't, but the sound is really unnerving.

The tech - The tech is great. I know some complain that Mazda’s tech is behind the times but that’s a big thing that drew me to the CX50. The screen is just the right size, the gauge cluster screen and head up display work great together, the physical buttons for the HVAC controls are amazing - thank you Mazda for not putting them in the screen. Reviews have said the infotainment is slow and laggy? I have no clue what they’re talking about. Whether it’s old school or not, I think the tech is really good. The driver assistance features work well too. The Cruising and Traffic Support is amazing on longer highway trips.

The wireless charger - I have one comment regarding the stupid wireless charger: it’s absolutely useless. Good for cooking my phone though. A crisp well done iPhone, how tasty.

Lock / unlock chirp - I really like how the lock sound is just a chirp and there’s an unlock chirp as well. Subtle, not loud, and I like it. I came home late at night the other night and it was nice to lock my CX50 without having the horn sound like my previous car. On that note, if you press the lock button twice on the key fob it does sound the horn. I like how Mazda gives you the option regarding these two things.

Seat comfort - This is the only part of my CX50 that I struggle with my thoughts on. When I first took ownership, I thought the seats were great and I found them to be more comfortable than my previous car, a 2023 Jeep Compass. However, over the course of my ownership, I find myself extending the lumbar support more often than I did on my Jeep as my lower back begins to ache and feel fatigued quicker. Seat comfort is very subjective, and I do still like the seats more than my Jeep, but I am curious how my thoughts develop over the next, say 20k to 30k miles. 

Reverse camera - My previous car had a reverse camera but it wasn’t as wide angled as the reverse camera on the CX50. The wide angle makes it handy for backing out of a busy parking lot, you can really see the cross traffic and it makes reversing out of a parking spot pretty easy. The cross traffic alert is nice too. Not sure why the reverse camera doesn’t have moving lines but that doesn’t really bother me. 

Front radar sensor - I noticed the CX50 has an actual front radar sensor whereas other Mazdas have the radar sensor built into the Mazda emblem. I wonder if there’s a reason for this discrepancy.

Headlight operation - Mazda lets you leave the headlights in the on position, meaning even when “on” they turn off when the car turns off. I prefer to drive with my headlights turned on, no matter the weather or if it’s daytime, as I believe it’s just another safety measure making sure other drivers see you. Yes, the CX50s DRLs are the headlights but having the headlights on also turns on the rear taillights, which I prefer, as I said. I also like how the CX50 looks with the front amber lights turned on (the turn signals), they turn on with the headlights.  

Heartbeat turn signals - The heartbeat signals are such a neat touch. I really like them. I love the actual sound of the turn signal too. Such a perfect and satisfying click.

6-speed auto is great - It’s so refreshing that Mazda hasn’t put a CVT in their vehicles like a lot of other mainstream manufacturers do. I don’t even mind that it’s a 6-speed and not an 8 or 9-speed auto. It works, it’s reliable, and it’s smooth. Maybe a little jerky at lower speeds but overall no complaints thus far.

i-stop is smooth - One of the first things I’ve noticed is how smooth the i-Stop auto stop / start is. My previous Jeep’s auto stop / start could be a little jerky at times, so it was good to get into a car with a well calibrated stop / start feature.

Auto hold is so useful - This is a new feature for me as my Jeep never had auto hold. It comes in handy and is really nice to have at a long traffic light or in traffic.

The Turbo is honestly quick - I still can’t believe how quick the Turbo powertrain is in the CX50. It’s so fun to mash the throttle at a green light. Or when the car in front of me is merging on a 65mph highway at 40mph and I have to get up to speed, so I put my foot down lol. Either way, the power and torque is so addicting. It’s quick and I love it haha. I also noticed the transmission shifts quicker if you floor it without pressing the kickdown switch at the very end of the pedal.

Warms up horribly in cold weather - The 2.5T puts out such a little amount of heat it’s not even funny. It takes a good 15-20 minutes of regular driving for the engine to even get up to temp in the winter in my experience. On some super cold mornings (10-15 Fahrenheit), by the time I got to the grocery store about 10 minutes away on 35-40mph backroads, the engine still wasn’t up to temp. Just something to note, especially me in frigid northeast US winters.

Fuel economy - I track my gas mileage on an app called Road Trip and so far I have averaged 25.4mpg with premium fuel. I'd say this is a mix of about 60% city and 40% highway but that's a pretty rough estimate. Here are some stats:

• I've taken two longer road trips, about 3-4 hours each way. First was from Westchester County, New York up to Boston, Massachusetts and back. I averaged 29.6mpg over 395 miles. This was on one tank of fuel.
• I also took a trip to down to Montauk, New York for a weekend, from the same starting point, and averaged 29.5mpg over 381 miles. This was also on one tank of fuel.

I just want to finish off my post by saying I’m still in love with my CX50.  It’s an amazing all rounder for my use case, and it makes me happy to drive time and time again. The CX50 is amazing to drive and feels like a quasi-luxury product. Mazda nailed it.