I have now had my Petrol 2.0L sports Nav for 3 weeks, and am more than happy with the performance, yes I agree it does not have the torque of a diesel, and the gearbox must be used if sudden acceleration is required, but I was fully aware of all this when I was test driving the CX-5 long before I decided to buy it. I also cover a low annual mileage, and in buying the petrol engine, I am saving around 5p/Litre on fuel, the purchase price was less and I have no worry about the dreaded DPF.
I am achieving to date 34mpg(actual) under mixed driving conditions and fully expect the mpg to increase as have only covered 800 miles.
I did not buy my CX-5 for high speed and fast acceleration, it was bought because it looks great, well built, solid with a comfortable and high driving position. This is what I wanted and to date has lived up to all my expectations.