Official 2026 Mazda CX-5 Pics and Details Released

[nickswhip24]

And now they're copying Toyota with hard plastic dashes and side door panels instead of soft-touch materials? What's going on Mazda?

i was suprised to see toyota name on mazda extended warranty ... they are in biz since 2017

 

[ColoradoDriver]

To me, that's telling. Because windshield defroster and rear window defogger are important to make sure they work. Because Mazda (or whichever manufacturer) can get sued and have recalls issued and such if the defroster / defogger doesn't work and someone has a crash they want to make sure it works. Those being on physical buttons says to me Mazda isn't completely confident in that touch screen interface not failing. Nor am I.

I mostly like the looks of interior other than the overgrown screen.

Agreed. To me all the manufacturers moving to this giant screen as the control center screams a lack of actual good user experience design. While you can eventually learn the muscle memory movements to control various things on a touchscreen, that lacks the intuitive design of actual tactile controls one can feel and not have to look around for, especially while driving! For the same manufacturer who introduced the commander knob, this is a really bizarre move for Mazda in my opinion.

They just keep moving away from Kodo.

 

[Antoine]

Interesting to read everyone’s reactions, impressions, concerns…I get it but at the same time now that we’ve had time to see more of the new CX-5…I think Mazda “threaded the needle” well for this next generation. As we know, it’s not easy updating a bread and butter model, you want to keep it fresh while still retaining the original appeal and character etc…Seems to me the two winning factors that may outweigh concerns like power output and controls/user interface is increasing interior/cargo space while at the same time making it as attractive as possible (relative to its peers).

All to often, function wins over form especially for mainstream utility vehicles but I think Mazda really cares about design and did what they could to merge the two elements and I think they did a great job actually…It appears the reception of the CX-5 at the Japan Mobility Show has been very positive, lots of interest…Of course, I’m very interested to see how it will be received once it’s available in North America.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the initial sales figures are strong. Naturally Mazda doesn’t just want to keep existing CX-5 owners, they want to attract new ones as well and that’s going to influence what changes get prioritized. Giving the CX-5 more mainstream appeal (ultimately the goal is to sell more, not fewer) without loosing its essence is really tough but so far from what we can see, I think they did it…

 

[chickdr]

Other than the big screen, I agree. The screen is a big miss IMHO. I seriously would not buy the car (and didn't wait for it because of the screen and the powertrain). I bought a Telluride a couple of weeks ago. Would have considered a CX-90 if I could have found a Turbo S to look at/drive.