2014 CX-5

[JPolen01]

You've been derped. It's an animated gif

Weird. I thought it might be so I waited a while. Still can't see it now. :dunno:

[Goodspeed]

+1 for dropped - that looks muuuuch better

[Evan]

been busy and havent gotten around to the 'mods' Ive had planned, but Im enjoying the car as-is so Im in no rush. One thing that I do need to take car of is the "DISO" (dealer installed swirl option) that was done when the car was 'detailed' prior to deliver despite my explicit requrest that it not be touched....

I really like meguiars line of products. Ive been using their tan bottle pro line products for years and gotten very good results. (see my old 99 miata thread for a great paint rescue)
Ive heard raves about their new consumer ultimate line though, so I picked up some ultimate polish and ultimate wax, a couple new foam pads and planned to go over the car with my porter cable.

however, was short on time with a rainstorm pending so I used a single step Pinnacle XMT 360. First time using a single step, I originally bought it to do cars that I dont want to spend much time on like my truck or wife's car.
It looks good but Im not blown away with it, but I guess I shouldnt have as high expectations with a single step as I would with using dedicated products.
I used a polishing pad but it still didnt do much correction, and the gloss at the end wasnt as good as a true sealant or wax.


this was before I did the wheels or tires. tires got some light shine and wheels some spray wax.

[navin]

I'm such a dummy -- I thought you had the CX-9. My girlfriend just picked up a CX-5 as well, I wish we had more time to haggle the dealers because I feel we didnt get the best price but whatever... not my money.

Any other impressions you can share about the car Evan? Is it FWD or AWD?

[JustinG]

Looking to both of you for reviews. Wife gotta promotion so we may be losing the SAAB in a few months. This is on our short list along with an escape.

[.RJ]

Buy the escape or edge so you can have TWO TURBOS

[Evan]

I'm such a dummy -- I thought you had the CX-9. My girlfriend just picked up a CX-5 as well, I wish we had more time to haggle the dealers because I feel we didnt get the best price but whatever... not my money.

Any other impressions you can share about the car Evan? Is it FWD or AWD?

Mine is AWD, GT with tech package.

Im at 3k miles, the honeymoon is over, and Ill give a detailed review later when I get a chance. Im still very happy with it, and the short of it is that its a fantastic vehicle at its core, with a few small things around the edges that arent ideal.

Justin you sure you want an escape or cx-5? both are much smaller than your saab.
Escape was my #2 choice, but it has a much smaller backseat than the CX-5 and made carseats more difficult. It does have better features and technology for the money, but doesnt look or drive as well.

[JustinG]

Yea I think the 5 will work. We can honestly fit everything in the XT comfortably, car seat included, so no huge need for the Saabs size. Especially since I have a yakima box now, cargo space isn't an issue.

[navin]

Thought you were keeping the Saab as the tow kaa? I haven't driven her CX5 yet, but maybe I'll take it out and see how it does.

Def. interested in hearing what you have to say about the car Evan. From some articles online it seems people have gripes about the navigation, but that's all I could really find.

[Evan]

So, dashcam. Its not russia, but I want one anyway. Got into a wreck in my truck a few months back where a dashcam would have made a big difference, but this being a nice shiny new car, i wanted something small, out of the way, and no wires strung everywhere.

Found the camera I was looking for


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-0801-Ambarella-A2S60-Chip-Car-DVR-Blackbox-HD-1080P-OV2710-G-sensor-GPS-/121132982864?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c3416a250">http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-0801-Ambar ... 1c3416a250</a><!-- m -->

About double what I wanted to pay, but it checked all the right boxes and it uses the same sensor as the GoPro HD, so the quality should be pretty good. I ordered it up and it came on the slow boat from china.

I wanted the camera hidden and as out of the way as possible, I dont want it to be obvious to cops or bystanders that I a have a camera, and I want the interior to remain clean anyway. Behind the rear view mirror is the best spot but due to the sensor pod that was a no go. Next best was on the passenger side of the sensor pod.
Install went pretty smoothly, the camera has a cleat that attaches to the windshield.


tucked the power wire up behind the headliner along and around to the A pillar, which pops off


then i popped off the seal and routed the wiring down through the panels and into the fusebox.


originally planned to use a fuse tap to tap into one of many unused fuse slots, but I bought the wrong size fuse tap. So while i wait for the right size to come in, I had just baaaarreeeely enough wire to tuck the power wire behind the lower dash panel and route the power plug around to the regular 12v socket.
when the fuse tap gets here it will be completely invisible install except for the camera itself, and ill get my 12v socket back

[ScottyB]

holy crap that looks super clean. love it.

i'm still hemming and hawing on getting one myself, but i'm taking note of the one you got...its pretty much what i've been after as well.

how's recording quality at night?

[Evan]

Im not sure. I need to pull the memory card out and check out the footage I took last night. Based on looking at the little screen its passable but not great. Frankly I doubt any dashcam is going to be stellar at night, there just isnt enough light to work with.

[Jake]

So how does this work with the memory card and all? Does it constantly record, and then if someone does something derpy or YouTube-worthy, you hit a button to definitely save the past XX minutes of footage?

Super clean install :thumbup:

[Evan]

It automatically starts recording while the car is on (and shuts off when teh car shuts off)
When it reaches the end of the memory card, it starts recording over the oldest footage.
It has a G sensor, and if there is an impact, it moves the recent 3 minutes into a read-only section of the card that isnt written over.

Any reasonably sized memory card is good enough for several hours of recording, so if somebody does something funny or stupid or future-internet-youtube-star or anything that doesnt result in an impact, you have plenty of time to pull the card and copy it off.

[Evan]

Funny story. Or maybe just cringe-worthy.

While out at dinner tonight, a flock of migratory birds decided the tree I was parked under would make a great rest stop.




When I got home, I hit it with the hose, gave it a mist with meg APC, then a quick car wash on the hood, roof, fenders and doors. Then a dry and a bit of quick detailer to finish it off, took about 35 minutes total. No harm done, assuming bid crap doesnt start to etch in 2 hours.

Prior to this, the XMT360 I put on a could months back was actually still clinging on and causing water to bead. Unfortunately this stripped it off, Ill have to apply some wax/sealant before it gets too cold.

Washing your car at 9pm when its 45 degrees isnt the best way to end a weekend, but at least I didnt leave my sunroof open.

[premiershine9]

Looks like you had some fun with the bird crap - oy. Product/ sealant recommendation if your looking to grab something different- Menzerna PowerLock or Sonax Polymer Paint Sealant are both great choices.

And just in case you need to wash in the winter- Gemplers makes a great pair of elbow length neoprene gloves- pop on laytex/ nitrile gloves and throw those bad boys over them and you wont feel an ounce of cold


I'm staying tuned to hear how you like this model- young couple who came to look at my parents place while it was for sale had a loaded one.....I really like it alot! Girlfriend is going to need a new car soon and being she's under 5 foot I'd rather see her get into a larger vehicle than a Focus for safety reasons- this ones on my list of suggestions!

[JustinG]

On my wife's short list as well. This, 14 Forester, or Escape

[Jake]

Girlfriend is going to need a new car soon and being she's under 5 foot I'd rather see her get into a larger vehicle than a Focus for safety reasons- this ones on my list of suggestions!

Get her a Tahoe, with a stepladder. Then she'll be "sooo Northern Virginia" and can crash into things and cut people off like the rest of us :thumbup:

[.RJ]

^ I lol'd

[premiershine9]

Better yet she'll get into a six figure Cayenne, Navigator, X5 or any other 150k SUV and she'll be so "northern NJ"

Evan, still lovin this thing so far?