We received the Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring to drive for a week in exchange for sharing our honest thoughts, and opinions with you. We decided to drive it on our family road trip to Michigan!
We went to Michigan last month for the first time ever! Living in Columbus, Ohio, the state up north isn’t far at all but it’s never been on our family’s travel list, until now.
First during our road trip, we stopped in Ann Arbor for 2 days, read all about that trip here. Then, we kept going in our Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring and made our way to Traverse City. Read all about that trip here!
We drive an SUV typically so the transition to driving the Mazda CX-5 was pretty seamless. Also, it was way nicer than my 2013 and I kinda wanted to keep it forever, especially with all those bells and whistles.
While we did spend a big part of our road trip in the car, we spent a ton of time in the water too. Lake Michigan is notorious for having beautiful and clear water and it did not disappoint. Our family rented a little lake house on Silver Lake, about 15 minutes from downtown Traverse City.
My parents also brought their boat, so Baby O got some time on there too! If you’re wondering, I bought her life vest at Costco, but you can get the same one here!
O is a little fish and LOVES the water so we made a point to visit some of the more beautiful lake areas like Leland, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Last year, we visited Outer Banks and the water was freezing! Luckily, the water in Lake Michigan was surprisingly temperate when we visited in July.
With the world moving more and more digital, it was only a matter of time before the auto industry was on board. It’s not new news that cars have Sirius XM radio or built in navigation but there were some features that were SO cool with the Mazda CX-5. Our SUV featured automatic lights but even cooler than the typical auto lights.
When we were driving back home at night, we couldn’t understand why every time we passed an exit or changed highways, they would light up. Then, after googling (no shame), we found out that they are set to highlight the traffic signs so you can see better at night! That’s a safety feature that I am ALL about.
But, my favorite aspect of the Mazda CX-5 is the HUD. If you don’t know what a HUD is, don’t worry because I didn’t either until we borrowed a Toyota Prius back in the Spring. It stands for “heads up display” and shows you speed limits, alerts you to other cards, and various other traffic notifications!
All those special features definitely come in handy when you are traveling in a new city and you don’t know the speed limits or even the regional driving habits. Don’t get me started on the “Pittsburgh left.” I’m actually not a huge fan of road trips because I’m terrified of getting in a car accident. Luckily though, all the safety features in cars make me feel so much more at ease!
I will say that the “lane departure” warning may or may not have proven to The Beard that sometimes I veer a little to close to those white lines. But, hey that’s what they are there for, right?
We had such a great time with our family in Traverse City, Michigan and will be sharing more about what to do and where to eat in this cute little mitten city!
We'd Love To Hear Your Thoughts on This Recipe!