Mazda Motor Corporation’s best selling SUV model, the CX-5, has a new successor. Unveiled just recently at the Los Angeles Motor Show, the mid-size SUV now boasts a much quieter cabin with improved levels of insulation and comfort.
It is still powered by the same Skyactiv engines – the 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre gasoline mills, as well as a 2.2-litre turbocharged clean diesel engine. Details on the engines’ outputs have yet to be revealed, but we can either expect a slight bump in performance and further reduction of emissions, if not both.
The styling is an evolutionary take on the outgoing CX-5 and looks just like a smaller version of the flagship CX-9, minus the obvious exterior bling. Also making its debut is the new Soul Red Crystal paint, achieved using the same Takuminuri painting technology (an advanced three-coat spraying technique that’s said to be as good as hand-painted finish). The end result gives the paint 20 percent greater saturation and 50 percent more depth!
On the outside, the CX-5 dons slimmer headlamps, sits on a new five-spoke alloy wheels and gets an entirely new pair of LED tail lamps. The trademark shark fin antenna soldiers on. Overall, the side profile gives off a very familiar silhouette, but the changes are more drastic once you step inside the car.
The cabin is entirely new, starting with the chiseled three-spoke leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel. Embedded into the centre dash is the MZD display panel (size unknown for now), whilst controls for the MZD Connect System get a design overhaul. Still no touchpad, just good old rotary dials and buttons.
New to the CX-5 is a futuristic windscreen heads-up display which Mazda claims to be one of the firsts in class. Also pictured in this trim is a central locking switch for the front passenger, something not commonly found in cars within the CX-5’s price bracket.
With that, how will the second-generation Mazda CX-5 fare against the all-new turbocharged Honda CR-V and Peugeot 3008 1.6 THP? Share with us your thoughts, and watch this space for future updates on the CX-5!
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