Hello. my wife and I are going to have our first child next year are looking to buy a used Honda CRV or Mazda CX5. Buying most likely from a dealer and need to know which is better for the price and value. Thanks for your opinions.
Oh, definitely the CR-V.
Yes, but what justifies the high price of the CRV over the CX5
Durability, reliability, consumer demand, resale value justify the high price.
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Also, the Mazda CX-5 engines are not good. The naturally aspirated inline-4 comes with cylinder deactivation which is not good for longevity, while the turbo charged 4 banger tends to burn oil.
The CX-5 is nice. But if you want the best longer term value, the CR-V is a good choice.
If you can find this combination of engine and transmission:
CVT transmission - while an automatic is preferable, the automatic that came with the CR-V is a ZF 9 speed transmission. The ZF 9 speed had its problems. Maybe they solved it, but something to look out for.
2.4L K-series engine - Probably one of Honda’s best and most reliable engines. The 2.0L will suffice, it’s not bad at all. The 2.4L is a little more desirable, IMHO. If you can avoid the 1.5 turbo, that would be good. Naturally aspirated is the best, but if you have to go turbo, at least Honda is one of the better ones.
Both are good-performing, reliable vehicles with excellent safety scores.
The Mazda CX-5 is the sportier of the two vehicles. The gap isn't as big as say a CX-5 vs a RAV-4, but it is there. I own a 2016 CX-5 and while it's not quite BMW-level handling and throttle, it is a fun vehicle to take on the back road "twisties." The offset to that is that the CX-5 has a rather firm ride that might not be to everyone's taste. It's comfortable, but the CR-V is a bit more compliant over bumps and whatnot.
The CR-V has an edge in fuel economy due to having a CVT transmission (about 4 MPG), though I've found that my CX-5 still gets around 30MPG in mixed driving even though it has 110K miles on it. Mine is also a 1st gen model without the cylinder deactivation feature,
The CR-V also will have somewhat better resale value than the Mazda, though neither will have the "Toyota Tax" resale value of a RAV-4.
Probably the most striking difference between the two is in cargo capacity. The CX-5 lags behind the competition here. It's got good cargo space (30.9 cu ft), which is plenty for a single guy like me. But the CR-V has about 25% more cargo space, and the gap increases with the back seat down. For a family, that alone might be reason enough to choose the Honda.
