I have a red Mazda CX-5 and absolutely adore it. It handles like a car, not an SUV which was a major selling point for me. Others, like the RAV 4 are too....stiff. My Mazda handles great, is speedy, and quiet inside. I love that its big enough to carry/haul enough as well as fit carseats, and yet small enough to fit into compact car spaces and take tight turns. Really, its magic. The things I was looking for in a new car were AWD because I live in an area where it snows in the winter, albeit lightly, though it rains a lot. I also needed something with great gas mileage which is difficult to find with AWD cars. My Mazda fits the bill perfectly, it averages about 29 mpg even around the city, yet has power and the AWD will kick on as soon as the system feels the car slip at all. Its absolutely perfect. I love my comfy seats, the sound system is great, and the engine has plenty of pep and power. I rarely RARELY need to flip it into manual mode to give it more oomph going up hills, etc. I don't really have many negative things to say, I kinda wish I could have afforded the grand touring, it would have added a bit more luxury, but that's about it!