2015 Mazda Cx-5 Touring on 2040-cars

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2014 Mazda6: June 2013

The 2014 Mazda6 is our most recent addition to the Autoblog long-term fleet, and we spent the month of June getting to know our Soul Red tester, generally enjoying the honeymoon phase of this twelve-month relationship. During June, the Mazda6 spent the majority of its time with director of photography Drew Phillips, who in addition to putting together this pretty gallery of our rakish long-term car, had a lot to say about it as a daily driver.
You see, not too long before Mazda delivered our long-term 6, Drew bought a 2014 CX-5 crossover to support his growing family. The CX-5 was the first vehicle to use Mazda's full suite of Skyactiv technologies, and we've generally enjoyed the good-to-drive CUV. A lot of that CX-5 goodness lies beneath the more shapely lines of this sleek Mazda6 sedan, so it's only fitting that Drew had a lot of comparisons between Mazda's two housemates during his month behind the wheel.

2018 Mazda CX-5 gets cylinder deactivation, more standard features

Mazda recently announced its new Mazda6 would feature two engines, one of which would be a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine with cylinder deactivation. Now the company has revealed the 2018 Mazda CX-5 will also get cylinder deactivation on its sole 2.5-liter four-cylinder. For those curious, the system shuts off the cylinders on the ends of the engine to save fuel. Mazda also says that the engine has been updated in a number of other small areas to reduce friction and further improve efficiency. The company hasn't provided fuel economy numbers for the new engine, though. The updates for the CX-5 go beyond the powertrain, as all trim levels get more standard features. The base-level CX-5 Sport now comes with a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic warning. The mid-level CX-5 Touring now has the i-Activsense safety feature suite standard, which includes automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assist. This suite of features is also available as an option for the first time on the Sport model. The top-level CX-5 Grand Touring gets seat memory for two settings, as well as a power-adjustable passenger seat. These updates bring very minor increases in price. The Sport trim adds another $140 over the 2017 version. The Touring jumps the most, up $335. The Grand Touring model increases $285. You'll be able to find 2018 CX-5s soon, as Mazda says they'll be arriving at dealers December 2017. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Mazda CX-5: First Drive View 25 Photos Image Credit: Mazda Green Mazda Crossover SUV mazda cx-5

Question of the Day: What's the most irritating car name?

You hear a lot about how the Chevrolet Nova was a sales flop in Mexico because "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish; in fact, the Nova sold pretty well south of the border, and in any case most Spanish-speakers know that "Nova" means "new" in Latin and Portuguese. However, General Motors doesn't deserve to be let off the hook for bad car names, because the Oldsmobile Achieva— no doubt inspired by the excruciating "coffee achievers" ads of the 1980s— scrapes the biggest fingernails down the screechiest chalkboard in the US-market car-name world. That is, unless you think Daihatsu's incomprehensible choice of Charade was worse. Meanwhile, Japanese car buyers could get machines with cool names like Mazda Bongo Friendee or Honda Life Dunk. It's just not fair! So, what car name drives you the craziest? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chevrolet Honda Mazda Daihatsu Automotive History questions car names