Review: 2026 Mazda CX-5

An all-new version of one of my most-recommended vehicles – the 2026 Mazda CX-5.

Review and photos by Tom Sedens. There are always more photos at the end of my reviews.

Pricing: 2026 Mazda CX-5

Base price (GT trim): $46,700

Options: $500 Soul Red Crystal Metallic paint, $250 Sport Tan leather interior

Freight: $2,195

A/C tax: $100

Price as tested: $49,745

Exterior

While Mazda has updated the CX-5 visually, it is still immediately recognizable as such. Which is smart – first of all, in my opinion, each generation of the CX-5 has been the most handsome player in the category and because of that, you don’t fix something that ain’t broke.

Another thing that ain’t broke is the Soul Red Crystal colour. While it has become very common amongst Mazdas on the road, it doesn’t look any less stunning than it did when I first saw it.

There are a few differences on the front end and Mazda has followed the industry’s new trend of emblazoning the company’s name in wide font across the tail – no more Mazda logo back there.

The wheels first struck me as hubcap-like, but they grew on me after a while. They are 19-inch rims, with 225/55-sized tires.

What has changed is the CX-5’s size – it’s slightly bigger overall but maintains its delightful proportions.

Interior/Tech/Convenience

Mazda has certainly updated the cabin in a big way. It is more modern, and at first blush (I’ll get back to this), it comes across as a step up in looking premium and luxurious. It does feel slightly bigger than previous versions inside and everything is spacious.

The leather-upholstered seats are very comfortable but it seems Mazda has designed them for bigger people – they have notably less bolstering than in the past. They are heated and ventilated.

There’s a fully digital 10.25″ dash display in front of the driver that is easy to read and the heated steering wheel is, as one expects in a Mazda, fantastic in hand and for driving.

The big news is the massive 15.6-inch touchscreen front and centre. It’s very obviously the focus of the renovation here, and there is a lot going on here – for better or for worse. It’s running on a Google-based system that is happy to just work on its own and provide most of the functions anyone would want. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto work perfectly and look great. The 12-speaker BOSE sound system is fantastic.

Unfortunately Mazda has fallen prey to this terrible idea that moving every single function to the touchscreen is the way to go. Honda did it, VW did it, and nobody liked it. Even things like the entire climate control and volume changes have to be done on the screen (volume can be handled on the steering wheel too), which requires the driver to look away from the road. And there are two taps required – you have to tap the volume button and then tap up or down. It’s so much clumsier than reaching for a volume knob using your muscle memory. Same goes for seat and steering wheel heating controls – tap the function, then keep tapping to get what you want. I don’t like this. The only hard buttons Mazda left for us are defrost – one for rear and one for front.

The climate control is dual-zone.

The materials look great but when you start inspecting a bit more closely, I’m not convinced we’ve taken a step forward. For example, the previous CX-5 dash was built entirely of a soft-touch textured plastic, which was lovely. Now the dash and the door panels appear to be wrapped in a leather-like upholstery – nice, right? But when you touch it, it’s a hard surface underneath. There are also things that come across as very cheap to me – for example, while it appears the upper dash is all one piece and a nice soft plastic, that is deceiving. It’s only soft-touch in front of the passenger. You’ll find a split in the dash, and the section in front of the driver looks the same…. but it’s a hard plastic. Weird! Overall, there appear to be more hard plastics where the hands might fall around the cabin than before. But it really does look great in the new interior.

Driver-assistance and safety tech is plentiful. You get a heads-up display, 360-degree surround cameras, driver personalization system allowing for different driver profiles, cruise and traffic support with lane change assist, front cross traffic alert and braking, smart brake support with rear cross traffic alert, pedestrian detection, blind spot monitoring, emergency lane keeping, lane departure warning, automatic high beam control and traffic sign recognition.

Rear Seats

I found the seats in the back very comfortable and very spacious. They are heated (the two outboard seats) and can recline. The middle seatback folds down to become an armrest. The whole rear seating area comes across as airier than in the past, thanks to the huge panoramic sunroof overhead.

If you are transporting little ones, you’ll find two sets of ISOFIX seat anchors. There are two USB-C plugs for charging up devices as well as adjustable rear air vents.

Storage

There’s a little angled bin at the front of the console, two cupholders and a wireless phone charging space being the shifter. The armrest has a clamshell lid and opens to reveal two USB-C charging ports and a small carpeted bin.

Popping the power trunk lid reveals a wide usable 954L space with pretty heavy-duty tie-down hooks, a 12V power port and a set of manual handles to flip down the rear seats. They do so in a 40/20/40 split which I absolutely love – this adds so much flexibility. With the rear seats folded down, the cargo space grows to 1882L which is huge.

Under the Hood

The engine carries over and remains unchanged – it’s a 2.5L inline-4 that puts out 187 horsepower at 6,000 RPM and 186 lb.ft of torque at 4,000 RPM.

The CX-5 is all-wheel drive and uses a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Fuel economy is rated at 9.9/7.9 L/100 km (city/highway) which isn’t that great these days. We ended up averaging 9.5 L/100 km with a significantly higher amount of highway driving than usual for us – so this average was disappointing to me in today’s world of hybrid technology where competitors will easily undercut this number.

The Drive

I’m not sure if the additional size is making for a slightly harder load but it felt that, under heavier throttle at least, the powertrain was working harder than it had to in the past. I’ve driven a lot of naturally-aspirated CX-5s and this one seemed to strain more often than the previous generations did when it comes to passing on the freeway, etc. With that said, it’s not struggling and it is perfectly composed around town and there’s adequate power for anything in terms of commuting.

The transmission remains quite competent even though it’s down in gears by a few compared to any competition. You can shift gears using manual mode and the gear selector or the shift paddles.

Drive modes are available – you can choose between Normal, Sport and Off-Road.

The ride is typical Mazda – firm but always comfortable, even over big hits on Edmonton’s third-world streets. The handling felt perhaps slightly less athletic than in the past. I thought it was a bit less sporty and stayed less flat around corners at speed. I know I’m comparing this CX-5 to its forebears a lot, but that’s because I felt they were always the benchmark for the compact SUV category.

Visibility out of the CX-5 is great and the cabin is nicely insulated and quiet.

Nitpicks

I am sad that Mazda’s optional terrific turbocharged engine isn’t available – this is the only engine you can get in the CX-5. While it was thirsty, the turbo was amazingly fun and changed the character of the vehicle significantly.

It sounds like Mazda won’t be bringing it back, but rather offering a hybrid option in the future. Stay tuned.

The Verdict

WAF (Wife Approval Factor) was high. She thought it looked fantastic and that it drove beautifully.

I agree. The CX-5 has long been one of my favourite vehicles, and one of my most recommended for years now. Coupled with Mazda’s stellar reliability, the new CX-5 modernizes the model somewhat and continues to offer what most drivers are after – comfort, sportiness, utility and great looks, all in one package.