Hey Scotty, I've been watching your channel for quite some time now and have been doing a ton of research on a getting a new/used vehicle for me and my family. We've owned this Saturn Aura with the 3.6l engine and it has been an absolute lemon. So would like something reliable, decent on gas and decent in the snow seeing how we live in the U.P. of Michigan. Our top pick was a 2013-2016 Rav 4 but it is a little out of our price range. So we were looking at the 2013-2015 CX-5 with the 2.5l or a Subaru from the same era with the 2.5l. I have heard you speak about these vehicles in the same way. We are really stuck between those two and could use a recommendation. Thank you.
If you are looking at those then certainly the CX-5 is good SUV. 2013 is the first year so I would avoid that but Scotty has 2 videos on I believe a 2014 CX-5 and a 2016 CX-5. I would watch those and also check common complaints from owners and unreliable model years by going to http://www.carcomplaints.com/Mazda/ and then clicking on CX-5 and then the model year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByOAh5buCUQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqSgfvVQjbc
The reason I would not get the Outback is that the transmissions were junky and in some model years, they burned oil, like 2013: https://www.carcomplaints.com/Subaru/Outback/2013/
Now they can be good cars other than that you just have to do your research on the correct years.
Thanks for your input Kerem.
How long do you plan on keeping the vehicle? Also, how much mileage do you hope to tack on? (I.e. do you want this to go hundreds of thousands of miles).
I love spending time in the UP/NE Wisconsin, and I must say up there, there are a lot Subies. They are easy to get fixed and everyone loves them... But the Mazdas tend to be quite reliable. You can't go wrong with either, especially if the Subie has a stick. I'd summarize it like this:
Subaru benefits:
Better AWD system
Better MPG
Cheaper price
Fit in with the crowd
Mazda benefits:
More reliable
P.S. remember that reliability really depends on the owner of the vehicle before you, get it inspected by a trusted mechanic either way
cx-5 gets about 2-3mpg more than Outback, just wanted to put that out there.
Overall? maybe. Highway? no. And trust me, there is no city driving in the U.P...