Been a while, all! Was searching for some stuff and this forum popped up, figured I'd say hi.
First of all...where did I leave off? Back in 2014 when I got a Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2010, loaded, HEMI, QD2.
Well, you all were right...it was a POS.
Anyway, I traded it in a year later after I moved. Went through some bad times getting under-paid by a large margin, think $30K a year pay cut from what I was used to, and decided to play it financially very conservative and got into a 2015 CX5 Touring.
Part of the reason was that I had moved, and was looking to buy a house. I didn't know where, or how far from work, so I got something with great fuel economy, AWD, and ground clearance, so that my vehicle would not limit my home buying choice (I wanted rural).
Well, I found a better job (think 200% pay increase from the underpaying one...), and found a house and some land and bought that. The CX5 turned out to be a PERFECT fit. My neighbor actually had someone in a 370Z visit him once, and I saw it, ironically, but in bad weather, it would be insane. No go. When you see the pictures of my drive-way, you'll "get it". WRX/EVO are about the only sports cars that would survive.
Anyway, the CX5 handled amazing for a small SUV, but it was a total pud in the "go" department. Still ,it averaged 25mpg or so on my daily commute, rain, snow, ice, shine, it got me where I was headed, so I kept it to the 106K mile mark, where it had a fuel system failure. Instead of dumping more money into it, I just traded it in on a CX5 Grand Touring Reserve (GT-R...ha..ha...). Basically it numbed the cabin noise intrusion down to a co0l 65dB at 70, and slapped a turbo 2.5L under the hood that kicks out about 200whp/280wtq (rated 250bhp/310tq...at 2000rpm!). The handling actually feels VERY similar to my 370Z except with far better rebound control, and far lower "limits". With wider tires, (this thing has 225's), it would be pretty impressive, but that would limit it on snow/ice where psi/tread matters a lot. And that matters to me. Basically, this thing is a near ringer for a stock WRX in the acceleration department, with much less turbo lag (read: NONE), except the higher CG puts the handling off of that benchmark. All-in-all, pretty fun for what it is, and uber functional. The added luxury of the HUD, headed and cooled seats, radar adaptive cruise control, color weather radar, etc. plus the relatively quiet cabin really make this thing nice for road trips. Mazda really wrapped a $45k vehicle into $35K somehow.
Still enjoying my class III firearm hobby, pumping iron, and began BJJ.
My 2015 CX5 about to get up my drive-way...
The peaceful back yard.
Achievement unlocked: bought a house
Down at the creek...
My dog is super chill...
100m shooting range
The only picture I have of him not looking super guilty.
Here is how he normally looks:
The new CX5...
The HUD is kinda cool. Also throws turns, distances, etc, for NAV up there:
It's not fast, but it isn't a total pud, and I'm getting 26-27mpg on my daily commute in it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icGyUR3SzZ4
Playing with my latest brute force hammer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_dEAiNCrkk