- Size increase delivers more interior space
- No alternative to noisy mild hybrid engine
- Interior trim quality and useability mixed
Mazda’s best-selling UK model has grown in its third incarnation, with increased practicality but some flaws.
Overview
It’s common for car manufacturers to claim their latest model is eagerly anticipated by buyers, but as Mazda’s UK boss told Automotive Management recently, the new, third-generation CX-5 SUV is causing particular excitement among the brand’s dealer network. Long-established as the UK’s best-selling Mazda, the new CX-5 arrives after a gap of several months since the previous-generation car went off-sale – a delay that’s only heightened the expectations, with Mazda hoping to sell 8,000 examples of the new car here in its first 12 months.
At 4,690mm long – 115mm longer than the previous CX-5 – the new model is right at the largest end of the medium SUV segment. Mazda is aiming to prove bigger is better against rivals such as the Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Qashqai.
The new CX-5 is only available in the UK with one engine option, a petrol mild hybrid which follows Mazda’s established ‘right-sizing’ philosophy, as the only mainstream manufacturer to eschew turbochargers. It therefore produces just 141PS from 2.5 litres.
The 24V mild hybrid system can assist the petrol engine and power on-board electrical equipment. It doesn’t facilitate engine-off coasting, but the engine can deactivate two of its four cylinders under low load. Those looking for more electrification in their Mazda SUV can instead choose the CX-60 plug-in hybrid, or, from later this year, the new CX-6e EV.
All CX-5s come with a six-speed automatic gearbox; buyers do at least get to make a choice between front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.
Pricing and spec
The CX-5 range line-up includes Prime-Line, Centre-Line, Exclusive-Line and Homura trim levels. Mazda is expecting UK sales to be fairly evenly split between the latter three, with Centre-Line the most popular taking 35% of demand, and only Prime-Line lagging behind with a projected 6% of sales. Recommended on-the-road prices start at £31,550 for a front-wheel drive Prime-Line – a cheaper entry point than that of the previous-generation CX-5 – and rise as high as £40,950 for an all-wheel drive Homura.
The starting price for the CX-5 is a few hundred pounds higher than for the Sportage and Tucson and nearly £1,000 more than for the Qashqai – although as discussed you do get more car for your money with the Mazda. This relative price premium continues when comparing the expected best-selling Centre-Line version of the CX-5 with equivalent rivals.
Standard equipment with Prime-Line spec includes automatic LED headlights and DRLs, dual-zone climate control, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and radar-guided cruise control, while Centre-Line adds features such as heated door mirrors, an electric tailgate, rear privacy glass, roof rails, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and wireless smartphone charging.
Further features of Exclusive-Line trim include a panoramic sunroof, electric passenger seat adjustment and a 12-speaker Bose surround sound system, while Homura spec adds kit such as adaptive headlights, a hands-free tailgate, ventilated front seats and ambient interior lighting.
Technology
All new CX-5s feature built-in Google services, accessed via a touchscreen measuring 15.6 inches with the Homura trim and 12.9 inches with other specs. The screen is very responsive to touches, but with the 12.9-inch version we tried the permanent shortcut icons displayed at the bottom are small and can be tricky to hit on the move. This also applies to the climate controls in the same location, which can be fiddly.
A 10.25in digital driver display is also standard. In addition to this all but Prime-Line cars get a head-up display which puts a useful range of information in the driver’s eyeline.
Safety
Standard safety systems with the CX-5 include blind spot monitoring, driver emergency assist, lane keeping and lane change assist and front cross traffic alert. If drivers wish to turn off overspeed warnings, they can do so via a single button on the dashboard.
Front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are standard. Exclusive-Line and Homura trims come with a 360-degree camera system, which is comprehensive, and features a see-through view function which includes some ground under the car in the on-screen image – something drivers need to be aware of since it means at a glance obstacles around the car can appear further away than they really are.
The new CX-5 has received a full five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP.
Driving experience
Since only one engine is available with the CX-5, it’s disappointing to report that it’s a major shortcoming. Given its output, and the size and weight of the car, performance isn’t too bad – it doesn’t feel as slow as an official 0-62mph figure of 10.5 seconds suggests. However, it’s frankly noisy, and sounds like it’s labouring hard even at low speeds – where it doesn’t sound too far removed from a diesel – never mind accelerating up to motorway speeds, when things get really loud. The situation is even worse if you select the sport drive mode, which means lower gears are held for longer, prolonging the din – for the first time in a while in a test car we saw the need to push an automatic gearbox lever to the side and take the option of sequential manual control to change up. A WLTP combined fuel economy figure of 40.4mpg is closely matched with the petrol Sportage and Tucson and worse than the mild hybrid Qashqai.
Mazda claims that the original CX-5 established it as a maker of ‘genuinely sporty SUVs’, and the latest model goes some way towards living up to this. The steering is relatively weighty and precise and offers a great deal of security and confidence, backed up by a chassis that responds well to cornering. It doesn’t pull the trick of the very best cars of this type in overcoming the inherent weight and top-heaviness of the SUV body style, but within those parameters it’s a pretty good drive.
At speed the ride is nicely polished. We wouldn’t describe it as overly soft – in fact there’s a degree of firmness – but road surface imperfections are dealt with without drama and there’s never a danger of being thrown off course by B-road yumps. Around town the firmness comes through a bit more and things like potholes are more conspicuous – especially with the 19-inch alloy wheels fitted to all trim levels except Prime-Line, which gets 17-inch alloys. Big door mirrors aid visibility.
Mazda expects the vast majority of CX-5 sales to be front-wheel drive, with a 90/10 split versus all-wheel drive. We tested both powertrain options, and could feel the effects of the extra weight of the AWD version on both performance and handling – it feels more sluggish to accelerate (more so than expected from an official 0.4 second 0-62mph difference) and loses some sharpness in bends, despite featuring a torque vectoring system which can send more drive to the rear wheels when cornering. With the AWD version also less fuel efficient, we’d suggest it will only be of interest to rural drivers who really need the increased traction. All CX-5s have a 2,000kg braked towing capacity.
Practicality
Interior materials with the new CX-5 are a bit of a mixed bag. There’s lots of artificial leather trim around the doors and dashboard, but also a lot of dark plastic around the centre console. With the Prime-Line spec we tried first the overall impression is pretty dull – the Exclusive-Line spec we drove second featured an optional black-and-white leather colour scheme which looks a lot more attractive.
We like the classy design detail of the word ‘Mazda’ being written on the steering wheel instead of the company logo. However the buttons on the wheel and some of the stalks don’t feel particularly high quality.
A wide range of driver’s seat adjustment includes the option to adjust the height of the forwardmost cushion – from Centre-Line up there’s also driver’s seat lumbar support adjustment. We appreciate the squidginess of the armrests, especially on the driver’s door.
There’s masses of rear legroom – a benefit of the new CX-5’s increased size – and loads of headroom too, which isn’t too compromised even in versions with a panoramic roof. In Prime-Line spec there are no rear air vents or USB ports, which is rather disappointing for a family car in 2026. Centre-Line adds rear vents, while Exclusive-Line also adds rear USB ports and rear heated seats.
The boot has a flat and fairly low lip, and the rear seats fold nearly flat, which can be done remotely via levers by the tailgate. A 583-litre capacity with the seats up is fairly strong for the C-segment and a 61-litre increase compared with the old CX-5 – although not quite as big as the Sportage and Tucson despite their smaller size. The Mazda does however beat those rivals when the seats are folded, with 2,019 litres.
