2022 CX-5?

That is interesting to hear. I thought for sure that the difference would be noticeable on terrible roads. Are the roads you drive on better or worse than these?

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Those look like great roads. Remember, I am in America. Now I would not doubt that a full multi-link suspension is better at the certain situations but what I am saying is that Mazda 3 did not take a huge step back with the torsion beam suspension.
 
Because a driveshaft is needed going through the front to rear underneath for the AWD, which will intervene with the rear torsion beam which goes from left to right. So the AWD doesn’t use torsion beam rear suspension.

On my previous 2001.5 VW Passat, the FWD has the torsion beam rear suspension, but the 4Motion AWD is also switched to independent rear suspension.
I'm looking at the underside of an AWD CX-30 right now and it has the rear torsion beam
 
Because a driveshaft is needed going through the front to rear underneath for the AWD, which will intervene with the rear torsion beam which goes from left to right. So the AWD doesn’t use torsion beam rear suspension.

On my previous 2001.5 VW Passat, the FWD has the torsion beam rear suspension, but the 4Motion AWD is also switched to independent rear suspension.
yrwei52,
CX30 AWD has torsion beam and AWD.
Yes, torsion beam + AWD is a challenge for packing, but not impossible obviously. Mazda did it.
 
yrwei52,
CX30 AWD has torsion beam and AWD.
Yes, torsion beam + AWD is a challenge for packing, but not impossible obviously. Mazda did it.
Of course it’s doable. It needs more space so that the drive shaft and torsion beam can be crossed without intervene with each other. Apparently it’ll waste more interior space which is precious for the vehicle. That’s why Toyota and VW choose rear independent suspension for the AWD. This’s just logical for the design.

Of course Mazda has always been wanting to be different from others on design, whether it’s logical or not.
 
Mazda confirmed that they will not be using Toyota parts in any of the new 5 CUVs.


According to an interview with the Mazda Public Relations Department regarding this matter,

・ All five models are Mazda original new models, for example, there are no plans to receive OEM supply or provision from Toyota.
 
yrwei52,
CX30 AWD has torsion beam and AWD.
Yes, torsion beam + AWD is a challenge for packing, but not impossible obviously. Mazda did it.
What’s the effect of AWD on the driving dynamics of torsion beam vs independent suspension?
I had a CX-30 loaner for a day but I was more aware of feeling claustrophobic and the terrible rear views than the actual performanice.
 
What’s the effect of AWD on the driving dynamics of torsion beam vs independent suspension?
I had a CX-30 loaner for a day but I was more aware of feeling claustrophobic and the terrible rear views than the actual performance.
I haven't driven one, but in the most general terms the Mazda torsion beam design should be considered a semi-independent rear, generally thought to not offer as much variation in up-down travel and twist between the two wheels as a fully independent set-up. You're likely to feel more of a jolt when hitting a bump or pothole. As for smooth road driving, reviewers disagree on its handling. As mentioned before, Car & Driver likes the handling quite a bit, others less so.

For one take on the subject, see the following video:


The following video provides views of how it behaves under very aggressive maneuvers. Note that the right hand pane is in slow mo--much of this video is at 70-80 mph revving around 4000 - 4500 RPM. The lower left hand pane shows a fair amount of independent travel. One caveat--this is a European Skyactive-X version not sold in North America. I don't think they put in a fully independent suspension in this version. Somebody else can chime in on that. If this is in fact the torsion beam rear, it looks pretty competent to me.


As for being claustrophobic, it is in the subcompact class after all. Some others in the class might be a little taller or wider inside, but you're dealing with a bunch of fairly small vehicles. As for limited rear view that's actually a Consumer Reports knock on the CX-5 as well when compared to the Forester.

It's a styling trend, with so many vehicles with some combination of high belt line, sloping rear roof or a chunky D-pillar. If backup motion detection and blind spot detection doesn't do it for some, then another vehicle closer to a squared off two-box design might be the better choice depending on other personal tradeoffs in those vehicles.
 
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Anyone else think the 2022 front-end redesign is a step backward? I personally liked the character line at the bumper ending in my Signature's "designer" fog lamps. I also don't think the headlight grill combination looks as upscale but maybe it will be nicer in person than photographs.
 
I’ll tell you better when it comes but I’m indifferent to the exterior changes. The front fog lights were only really any good as marker lights. The new seats and the noise improvements are more interesting to me.
 
I’ll tell you better when it comes but I’m indifferent to the exterior changes. The front fog lights were only really any good as marker lights. The new seats and the noise improvements are more interesting to me.
I fully agree the mechanical changes announced, improved seats and NVH reduction are good things. My comment is that imho the front end is blander and less appealing. But hopefully it will look better in real life than photos.
 
I fully agree the mechanical changes announced, improved seats and NVH reduction are good things. My comment is that imho the front end is blander and less appealing. But hopefully it will look better in real life than photos.
I'm sure I'm not the only one that didn't care about the exterior at all. I bought my car because the interior is just so much better than the competition.
 
I'm sure I'm not the only one that didn't care about the exterior at all. I bought my car because the interior is just so much better than the competition.
It was the complete package for the price for me. I really like the Kodo design ethos.
Just having the CX-5 interior appointments in a RAV wouldn’t have closed the deal for me.
 
Does anyone know when we will be able to build a 2022 model on the Mazda usa website? It seems odd that the 2021 is still the only choice.
 
From last week we can build one in the UK. I’m not however convinced that the machinery in Japan is churning the hardware out thanks to covid and silicon chips. What I will say about the new “cleaned up front end”, it looks easier to wash.

Thanks for posting. I always love seeing what other markets get for options!
 
I will just check the site periodically. I don't want a bunch of promotions in my email.
auto companies generally don't spam you. Most news you find out from somewhere else and the email comes a day or two later. I've been on Subaru and Toyota's mailing lists for years and maybe get 1 email a month from both of them.
 
Any thoughts/rumors on how how many model years this “refresh” will last and what comes next for the CX-5?
For over a year, the rumor-mill talked about the new RWD “BMW-beater” CX-50 replacing the CX-5.
Now that we know the CX-50 will be a much more modest model, I wonder what that means for the CX-5?
 
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