While my CX-5 is an auto, I can only imagine how much fun the manual variant must be. That diesel engine! Fuel efficient, even in comparison to a diesel sedan or hatch of half its grunt, and a surprising amount of power off the mark too. Okay, now that I've had my belly-ache, time for the positives. The auto transmission is occasionally clunky and the leather trim on the steering wheel wasn't made to last (unless the previous owner was a particularly strong white-knuckler) and of course, as you've hopefully heard by now, the engine recall for the diesel model was certainly an inconvenience for those who had to go through it. The i-stop automatic engine shutoff system seems to be more of a frustrating novelty than a benefit and I'd highly question the amount of fuel savings it offers the daily commuter. Read more seats are quite firm on the posterior for any drives longer than 1.5hrs and the angled headrest is dreadfully annoying, poking into the back of the front occupants' heads. The Bluetooth is hopelessly laggy and you can expect a 1-2 second delay between the phone and car speakers - I've resigned myself to using a good old fashioned aux cable. The interior metal rails and fixings have light surface corrosion and the plastic trims do not age quite as gracefully either. Firstly, as nice a build quality as the 2012 CX-5 MAXX Sport diesel may be compared to other Japanese and Korean cars, do not expect German quality. For context, my previous car was a 2012 VW Golf GTD (diesel) which is a pretty tough act to follow.

Mazda cx 5 2014 review