Radarlove

Some thoughts after the trip(s)...

We made 2 round-trips from Albuquerque to Southern Cali (~1550 miles round trip) and from ABQ to Denver (~750 miles round trip) in the period of one week. So we now have about 5200 miles on the car.

Gas mileage ranged anywhere from a little over 27 mpg to a little under 35 mpg, with an average for the total of 30.2 mpg. Running the a/c seemed to drop gas mileage by a good 3-4 mpg (comparing day vs. night driving on the same stretch in the same direction). The bulk of the trip was done at 75-80 mph, so within 5 mph of the speed limit.

Loaded down with me, my wife, a 1 y.o., 3 y.o., 15 y.o., and luggage, and a bike on the back for the last trip to Cali. There was enough room for everything but the bike inside, including 2 laptops and cases. We have discussed putting on a hitch and one of those flat carriers for external storage in the future. Less drag and all compared to a roof-mount setup. But I may want to do something with the rear suspension if we go that route. While gassing up, I noticed there was enough load in the car to drop it a good amount in the rear, and the rear camber looked mighty similar to the race-ready front camber on my Neon, so that's approaching 3 degrees! I didn't notice it bottoming out though. Still... I'd consider spring helpers, but don't want to risk blowing out the shocks. And a camber kit isn't really a fix. Hmmm...

I'm not terribly happy with the cruise control. Way too much swing compared to some of the aftermarket units I've used before. Drops down a good 5 mph before downshifting, then overshoots another 5 mph before backing off. With a bunch of hills with some not-so-gentle turns, it was not very fun. I ended up switching to manual mode and downshifting on my own when I came to a hill that warranted it, and it would not overshoot. From what I could tell, it got better gas mileage doing it that way as well.

The a/c has a hard time reaching the back. The two center vents up front don't do a whole lot, and the vents under the front seat do even less. I could be shivering up front while my 15 year old the the far back would be sweating. And that's with 20% tint all the way around. The kids in the middle seemed to do OK though.

The front seats felt great when we first got the car. Sporty even. But after 3 hours or so in the same seat, they got uncomfortable in a hurry. I've hated the headrests from the beginning, and finally turned them around this trip. They were not designed for people with good posture... The lumbar support hits too low for my torso (5'8" w/30" inseam) but perfect for my wife's (5'8" w/34" inseam). So I've got my own lumbar pillow now. The bolsters come up too high and are too narrow, making me hunch my shoulders forward (again, not good posture). We'll be getting some memory foam for seat cushioning and sew it to some seat covers. That should take care of the sore butts and raise me up just enough to get past the bolsters.

If you have kids, a DVD player is a must! We have one of the dual screen deals that mount to the headrests. I copied a bunch of movies over, leaving just the movies (no menus, no extras), so we could just pop a movie in and it would start. Kept the kids entertained for the most part, but 6 hours in a car seat is a lot for any kid, with or without Dumbo... I still have a little more cutting and splicing to do so that all of the wiring is hidden, but I'm happy with the setup.

We had a plug-in travel cooler for part of the trip, but we stopped often enough that it really wasn't needed. We'll keep it the the back for local running around, getting groceries and whatnot. Nice for keeping fresh fish fresh for the 20 minute ride home.

The suspension is decidedly minivan. Maybe I'm just too used to my car (or even our old truck), but corners and braking really freak me out in the Mz5. Guess I'll just have to get used to body roll again... When is the warranty up?

I still need to rewire the accessory outlets to be on full-time instead of just when the car is running.

Overall, I'm still very happy with the car. I just need to make a few tweaks when making longer trips. Padded seats, outlet mod, some way to get more cold air to the back, and a fix for rear loading issues.

Edit: I should also mention that road noise is more than I like. Hopefully swtiching to smaller wheels will help some, along with improving gas mileage, acceleration, etc.

status

We're in the middle of a long road trip ourselves--Maryland to Mississippi. Interesting to read your thoughts. We're making the trip with a six and a two year old, and no DVD player--but lots of toys, books, CD player, cassette player, and an iPod with an FM transmitter which unfortunately doesn't work well in urban areas. We have the Sport and thought we'd miss the center console that's found on the Touring model--but the space between the middle seats is handy for stowing bags of books and toys.

Thus far we're getting about 30 mpg at 70-75 mph with the A/C on--it's been about 90-95 degrees most of our trip--and we got one stint of 32 mpg by driving 50-60 mph on two lane roads. No A/C complaints, but we're only using the middle seats.

I find the seats perfectly comfortable for long stretches, but it took a good two weeks after we bought our 5 in May before I found a good seating position. Just a thought.

Finally, I find the 5 very quiet with minimal road noise. Our previous long distance vehicle was an MPV--and the 5 compares well!

John Ashman

Radarlove, was that yours with a shamrock sticker and a rack on the back I beeped at the other day?

Radarlove

Nope, no stickers - wife won't allow them, and the only one I'd put on is an Apple sticker, which are now on my bicycle (came with my MacBook Pro - the stickers, not the bike...)

We do have a bike rack for the car, but rarely use it as it fits fine in the back most of the time. I'm still thinking about a roof mounted setup, but Thule and Yakima still don't have Mz5-specific parts listed on their websites, even though they make the factory unit which I won't pay for.

I'm also looking forward to an aftermarket dash/radio replacement like the ones available for the Mz3 now. Ive got a Sirius portable unit that I use now (won't be resubscribing though), and I miss being able to plug directly into the radio for a clean signal like I do in my car. Same would go for the iPod, which I'll use once the Sirius is gone.

I've traced the lines for both accessory outlets back as far as I can, but I'll need time to pull out the fuse boxes and rewire it all. Still no seat covers, but we aren't planning a long trip anytime soon. Still loving the car!

John Ashman

Well, if you see a Silver with an Apple logo, that would be mine!

I'm about to do a trip to PA and back. I have a customer who has a green one in Corrales.

He walked in one day and said (this after I'd decided to buy a 5) "what would you buy if you wanted something fun to drive, manual transmission, more spacious than a wagon, good gas mileage, reliable?" I said "you're kidding, right?"

John Ashman

Well, I did the round trip to PA and back last week. Only saw two 5s on the way. A silver one just like mine passed me on the PA turnpike on the way in and I saw a red drive by me on I40 in west Texas. The seats need upgrading!!! They were really cutting off the blood supply to my legs.

RL - I saw another red 5 downtown, but he looked to be about 55 years old when I passed and I assume you're not if you have a 1 yr old.

Radarlove

Not me, but I'm pretty sure he works at the same place I do. I've seen a red one in the parking garage driven by an older gentleman.

Not 55 yet, but my oldest son just got his first car - 1994 T-Bird... That'll put a few grey hairs on the old noggin...