Mazda continues to be a brand that punches above its weight class, bringing a premium and near-luxury-like appeal to its vehicles with a dash of sporty flavor. Such as paid off well throughout most of the lineup as they continue to give us enthusiast-inspired vehicles like the Mazda MX-5 Miata that remain a rarity in today’s automotive lineup. When it comes to compact crossovers, Mazda has kept things rolling in a literal forward momentum and continues to do so for the most part for its top seller, the Mazda CX-5.
The new Mazda CX-5 received a redesign for the 2026 model year, but doesn’t stray too far from what works in a package that still appeases the masses for the collective of its parts. What I like about Mazda’s recent thinking is that they have listened to us and others as they make moves to correct shortcomings, such as in the realm of their aged infotainment setup that now features an all-new setup through a touchscreen and a rather large one for the top-trimmed CX-5 2.5 S Premium Plus review vehicle that I have this week.
Powered by the return of its 2.5-liter SkyActiv 4-cylinder engine, the CX-5 doesn’t depart from what seems to work for most with its 187 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque. However, the naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine seems not to be up to the sporty flavor task for lighthearted enthusiasts. What I am getting at is the outgoing Mazda CX-5 with its base engine felt a bit livelier, and there was the option of upgrading to the turbocharged engine that had just over 250 horsepower. Now, the optional turbocharged engine isn’t on the menu, and you’re left to digest what feels like a vehicle that’s sluggish in my view and not as fun to drive as the outgoing generation, taking 8.2 seconds to hit 60 mph. I hate to say such a thing about the CX-5 because I genuinely like Mazda’s approach to their sporty flavor that seems to do better in other vehicles like the CX-5’s close sibling, the CX-50, and smaller iterations like the CX-30 with the same engine.
Apart from the uninspired power, the CX-5 keeps some of its charm from its pleasing exterior looks and eye-popping color selections. The CX-5 just looks good, one of the best looking in its class, as far as I am concerned, even with its new redesign that keeps things familiar.
Where things mostly change up for the redesign is on the inside, where you’re greeted with a new interior layout featuring a digital gauge cluster with limited customization and either a 12.9-inch touchscreen or a larger 15.6-inch touchscreen reserved for the top trim level, as found in my test vehicle. The new system is a welcome change, as I have said many times, and Mazda needed a touchscreen setup to replace their dated system. However, I didn’t think Mazda would go as far as to make things more complicated than they had to be with the new touchscreen infotainment system. What I am getting at here is that I am not so sure things actually improved that much with the new touchscreen, as it seemingly adds complications and distractions to what could have been made much simpler and still offer up the proper features. There’s a vast learning curve for the new touchscreen, where you’ll have to spend a good amount of time parked to learn the system, as going about it on the road proves to be quite dangerous. There are just too many layers of functions that didn’t have to be buried so deep, even for fundamental controls like the volume adjustment, requiring an onscreen touch and/or slide of your finger on the screen. I mean, c’mon – volume knobs do wonders, folks. I do like how they have integrated some functions like wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, taking up the large 15-inch screen. The wireless smartphone charging pad is also in a good location and keeps your phone in place when you’re taking advantage of the CX-5’s decent handling abilities.
Initially, the new setup idea is great for the move to the new touchscreen, as many people like me were guilty of beating a dead horse, telling Mazda they needed to go the touchscreen route. I just didn’t know they would go off the deep end here and complicate things so much. I won’t harp on the complexities of the touchscreen infotainment system much more, but just know a software update to simplify a few things could do wonders, Mazda. Moreover, the interior isn’t as premium as what I remember, where I find a bit too much hard plastic. If you don’t touch any surfaces, the interior does look like a near-luxury part, but that only lasts for so long.
The good points of the new Mazda CX-5 for its redesign filter through the ride quality, continuing to be in a good place for having a slight sporty edge, where things are somewhat firm, knowing that such a chassis could handle a lot more power. Again, I hope Mazda later offers up the turbocharged engine for the CX-5 because that’s the sweet spot from what I remember in the previous generation. A hybrid version is said to be forthcoming with more power, so maybe that’s an answer to our power addiction. I do credit Mazda for continuing the use of a traditional automatic transmission, even though it still has just its 6 gears. Once things get moving, the CX-5 proves to be a compliant vehicle out on the open road with a good ride quality that feels improved over the outgoing model, partly thanks to a slightly longer wheelbase than before.
Fuel economy falls in line with the average for its segment, but it isn’t exactly stellar considering it could still use a bit more power in my view. The MPG estimates at 26 mpg city, 30 mpg highway, and 28 mpg combined are decent and mostly consistent, as I found during my driving adventures this week. Filling up the 15.3-gallon fuel tank full of regular unleaded will get you about 459 miles of highway driving range.
Mazda continues to excel at being one of the safest brands on the road, with the CX-5 keeping with all the expected active safety features, and should continue to score at the top for its crash tests, as it has in the past.
Cargo room continues to be good for this class with 34 cubic feet out back, accessed by the power tailgate. The seating areas are comfy, and I welcome the decent list of amenities that elevate the CX-5’s positioning, such as heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a head-up display, and the vast expansion of the i-ACTIVESENSE active safety features.
Mazda keeps things respectable for pricing as the new CX-5 in its base 2.5 S trim starts at $29,990 before any options or fees. Moving to the top-level 2.5 S Premium Plus trim, the pricing inches to $41,180 as-tested, which includes a $1,595 destination fee.
