Mazda Premium Plus CX-50

Five years ago, CITYVIEW’s Cars in the City column debuted, featuring “wheels” stories and new vehicle reviews. 

After test driving shiny new cars, suddenly my trusty 2012 Honda Accord seemed dated, lacking cool tech and safety features. Shortly after driving an $80,000 Lincoln Navigator with massaging seats, I thought this car column might get expensive.

It did. 

I finally caved in and purchased a new car. After test driving nearly 50 different models, my mind swirled with details. All wheel drive? Electric? SUV? Sedan? Thanks to my budget, the sky was not the limit.

As a Honda loyalist, owning three since 1989, I appreciate the reliability, resale value and good gas mileage — all at an affordable price. The sensible car was named “Car and Driver’s” 10 best vehicle award 39 times, the most awarded in history. 

Instead of a four-door sedan, I considered an SUV that wasn’t a gas guzzler. As I test drove the Honda CR-V, the driver’s seat felt uncomfortable, similar to a no-frills airline seat. It lacked design updates, and the interior dash resembled my 13-year old car.

When my bottom and lower back said “no,” I considered the Toyota RAV4. Toyota is another top-selling brand competing nearly head-to-head in reliability and resale. However, the RAV4 inventory in the Des Moines area was limited, and I couldn’t test drive one. A Lexus option was about $20,000 more than my budget.

A friend suggested a Mazda, and I test drove three SUVs. The midsize Mazda CX-50 seemed just right. Yet, it came in a hybrid model. I hesitated, since hybrid technology is only a few decades old. The 100,000-mile battery warranty, fuel efficient SUV was a winner. A larger vehicle with better gas mileage? Sold! 

I chose the Premium Plus CX-50 with my favorite interior color, red. It checked the boxes — hands-free connectivity, infotainment screen, plus heated and cooled seats.

My car buzzes and vibrates, communicating with me about my driving habits. If I drift into another lane without using my turn signal, it alerts me with a red flash and nudges my steering wheel over. Multiple times, a red BRAKE light appears. Why? I often argue I wasn’t that close to the car in front.

The back-up camera and blind spot monitors mean I don’t have to strain my neck looking for cars. When my emergency flashers kept coming on randomly, I thought it was a safety thing. Turns out my water bottle lid kept depressing the hazard lights button. That also explains why my seat heated up when I had two cups in the cupholder.

I love how I can view navigation effortlessly on the heads up display instead of fumbling with my phone’s small screen. A favorite feature is my SiriusXM radio, which provides music education. I’ve discovered hundreds of songs I’ve sang along with for decades but never knew the song or band name. 

Driving a hybrid offers a sense of pride that I’m doing my part to save the environment by using less gas and improving air quality. I drove almost a month on a full tank of gas, just tooling around town, averaging about 35 mpg.

My new ride is nearly perfect, and may other choices certainly would have been, too. Sure, massaging seats would have been blissful, but I appreciate the extra $40,000 in my pocket for choosing the Mazda instead. ♦