650 mile road trip - '22 CT5-V Blackwing six-speed

[Finally-a-V]

@bloominguez ...Yes, very true. Many of those road are more fun, and more interesting than the Parkways. Many with some good restaurants too.

 

[DinoPower]

Cayenne S is a great ride, but I think you'll be very happy with a 5BW for a daily. As mentioned, with the proper attachment, a road bike is easy to haul with the 5BW.

I'll answer your questions in order as best I can:

1. 21mpg is very easy to do if you stay under 90mph on the highway. I think I ultimately averaged just under 20mpg, but I was driving "aggressively" to put it nicely. Low triple digits in clear traffic areas and 85-100mph working through traffic. If you do lower 70-80mph speeds, 23-24mpg is entirely doable at steady state cruising.

2. I have the quilted option seats, so the mid level seats. Not the base, not the carbon fiber back ones, but the suede seatback ones if that helps. Seats are very comfortable for me (6'2", 225lbs) with a/c, massage, and heat. Massage is basic, but better than nothing.

3. It doesn't sound as good as the Escalade because it has less than half the speakers and less power/bass. But for packaging purposes as a "standard" stereo, I think it's noticeably better than the Bose in my 992 GTS. I'm not a huge audiophile, but it sounds quite good with decent range and bass. I haven't heard the AKG in a 4BW.

Thank you for that expanded detail. I would be looking to go to the mid-level seats on my order. Additionally, I have a Cayman GTS 4.0--also with Bose--and the thought of 'noticeably better' with the AKG in this car is an AWESOME thought.

For @Matt27 , I'm a Seasucker owner and have used it on my Cayman. Love the ease-of-use and I totally trust it's ability to stick. My downsides on it:
1. Can't lock it.
2. In buggy areas, the bike also EATS the bugs. Not so bad on a return trip, but when heading to a ride--it's not great to start the adventure with brake levers and handlebars covered in smashed bugs.
3. When conditions are really gusty, I feel like it's a lot of stress on the front dropouts / fork. (Not sure if that's got any accuracy; but when the wind is moving the car around--the bike is really getting beat.)
So, I am going to do a hitch on the CT5BW and utilize the Seasucker for short / local transportation.

 

[VBhak]

@quikag , great write-up and the road car aspect is of particular interest to me. I've found that 3 cars is the ideal number in my fleet, and I just pick-up a 2017 Porsche Cayenne S for the road miles. Ideally the Cayenne would go as a trade-in for the CT5BW, with my only hesitation being the loss of the ability to throw a road bike in the back. (Thanks to another forum user, I have found the post about adding a hitch to the CT5, and I would do that to my car.) As some expanded reporting would you please add a few additional sentences about:

• Did you end up returning about 21 mpg for the entire trip? How does the mpg compare to your Escalade?
• For seat comfort, do you have the semi-aniline or the performance (upgraded) seats?
• For the AKG, is it as nice as what you have in your Escalade? By chance, did you ever listen to the AKG in a CT4BW? (Asking because I thought the AKG was sub-standard in the 4BW, but on one short experience with the 5BW--I liked the AKG.)

Thank you for your post and looking forward to some more reading.

A follow up to @quikag 's excellent IP.

VERY similiar to everyrone else, I have three car (Escalade, Elantra N [sharing with kiddo] and 5BW w/ manual), and frequently drive my dad's XT5 when he is out of town. Mentally was saving the 5BW for potential resale down the road, etc. Hence, was using the Elantra N as my daily, with 5BW being weekend fun.

After reading post after post about how I was missing out by not using it more, I bit the bullet and started to daily my 5BW this summer. I did not realize how much of my drive I was mentally missing out on when I used to daiily my V3, and honestly, anything with an automatic. The manual tranny FORCES me to stay locked in on driving, NOT play around on my phone while driving.

It has honestly made daily more fun. Compared to V3, just about every aspect of the car is better as a daily (except for the front end... The V3 was just an aggressive looking monster that got more looks and comments.. but the 5BW back end is pure eye candy).

SPECIFICS: Seats -- i have the mid-tier as well, they are just fine. massaging feature is great, better than nothing. Brakes -- carbon ceramic, love NO brake dust and no summer worry about summer fade in the Phx heat. Cruising -- I took it to Spring Mountain from Phx, ave ~ 20 mpg and echo EVERYTHING @quikag stated on his drive. Sounds system -- Escalade is definitely better, but this sits above the V3 BOSE system (had Expedition Plat with Bang and O system prior to the Escalade, the AKG in 5BW is better than that as well).

Hope this helps.

 

[BimmerFan]

I can't speak to Skyline, but I would suggest that running the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway without diverting onto roads like 221, 226A, 80, 151, 276, 215, etc. is a missed opportunity. Yes, the Parkway itself isn't always invigorating, but it connects the dots between many roads that are.

I have heard, anecdotally, if you get a speeding ticket on the BRP, because it is a Federal Park(way) that it is a felony. I don't know how accurate that is, but it's food for thought.

Many sections are 45 MPH, but even that is way too slow for any kind of performance car, but it's a parkway, not a road course, LOL. I concur with @bloominguez that those other "lesser" roads are much more fun and in my experience, less congested.

So far in my 4 days of ownership, I have found the stereo in my CT5V-BW to be lacking. No bottom end, kind of thin and annoying highs. I am an audiophile, but I'm also old and getting deaf (or so the wife claims) so I likely can't hear the subtleties as well as I used to. Even so, I'm not impressed by it.

Is it possible that these systems have a subwoofer, and it's not working in my car?

 

[ukcats12]

So far in my 4 days of ownership, I have found the stereo in my CT5V-BW to be lacking. No bottom end, kind of thin and annoying highs. I am an audiophile, but I'm also old and getting deaf (or so the wife claims) so I likely can't hear the subtleties as well as I used to. Even so, I'm not impressed by it.

Is it possible that these systems have a subwoofer, and it's not working in my car?

I've had mine for less than a week and my only two real complaints are the stereo and the way the infotainment screen looks at night (doesn't have the best viewing angles and looks washed out when using CarPlay at night). I agree the stereo seems thin the bass isn't really there. Even after playing around with the EQ and bumping the bass and mids it's not great.

 

[DCV]

Try Rt33 from Seneca Rocks to Elkins. That’s a great road.

 

[bloominguez]

I have heard, anecdotally, if you get a speeding ticket on the BRP, because it is a Federal Park(way) that it is a felony. I don't know how accurate that is, but it's food for thought.

Many sections are 45 MPH, but even that is way too slow for any kind of performance car, but it's a parkway, not a road course, LOL. I concur with @bloominguez that those other "lesser" roads are much more fun and in my experience, less congested.

So far in my 4 days of ownership, I have found the stereo in my CT5V-BW to be lacking. No bottom end, kind of thin and annoying highs. I am an audiophile, but I'm also old and getting deaf (or so the wife claims) so I likely can't hear the subtleties as well as I used to. Even so, I'm not impressed by it.

Is it possible that these systems have a subwoofer, and it's not working in my car?

Speaking of tickets on the BRP, I know a guy who was ticketed for skating--yes, inline skating--on the Parkway.

 

[garyc]

First thing I'm doing with mine after it's broken in is taking a trip down the entirety of Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Glad to see it's a good roadtrip car.

I have been on Skyline Drive a few times it is a fun road to drive on especially with the MT.