Originally Posted by
gravitylover
So it's just about time for me to work out what to look for next. It's been 8 months since dad passed and I'm still waiting to get the car but it's getting close now so... There are a couple of important parameters: reliable, awd, good to great mpg, and foremost - it has to be fun. In season I do 1500 miles a week and over the winter anywhere from a few hundred to about 1k/week so if it's slow and soul sucking I just can't do it. This means no CVT transmissions and I won't tolerate mushiness unless it gets well over 40mpg and even then I'd question it. The no CVT thing eliminates Subaru, Toyota and Honda and the last parameter, reasonable regular maintenance costs and not unnecessarily expensive replacement parts, takes out most Euromobiles. Some other things that are important is it has to have a hatch because some stuff I use for work is big and won't fit in a sedan otherwise I'd keep dads Benz, I'd also prefer to stay away from Premium gas because it's 80 cents to $1/gal more than regular around here and it needs to be as small as possible because parking in places like NYC SUCKS and I need to be there a few times a month.
I also probably need to keep it around $25k so I think I have it narrowed down to the Mazda CX 30 turbo. Has anyone had any experience with their cylinder deactivation problems in the 3, the 30 and the CX5? I've been overanalyzing this (as I'm wont to do) and found out that the 2020 started having issues soon after it came out so they eliminated the cd sometime in early '21 and didn't start it again until 23 and now it sounds like those (and the 24s) are having problems. The other thing I'm seeing is the non-turbo models that are made in Mexico have shitty QC and silly problems, this has me looking for a 22 Turbo because they're made in Japan and avoid most of the dumb shit. Another important thing is I must be able to put a 2" receiver hitch on it for a heavy rack with 2 e-bikes or I'd be looking at a 3 awd with the 6speed manual from 21 or 22.
What else might meet my needs? Any direct experience with the CX30?