2026 Mazda CX-5 Review | They Redesigned Everything… Except the Engine

From Alex on Autos.

Mazda redesigned the CX-5 from the ground up for 2026 — bigger back seat, deeper cargo area, a massive new infotainment screen with Google built in — and then dropped in the same 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder and the same six-speed automatic it has used for years. The result is a 9.4-second 0-60 (slower than the CX-5 it replaces), 126 feet of braking from 60, 27 mpg combined with all-wheel drive on paper, and a real-world 23.2 mpg in mixed driving — well behind every hybrid in the segment. There’s no turbo option, no hybrid yet, and no rear-wheel-drive CX-60 inline-six rescue mission — though Mazda has confirmed an all-new in-house hybrid system is coming for 2027. So the question is: does the all-new platform, the massively improved interior, and the segment-leading styling do enough to overcome a drivetrain that already feels a step behind?

In this full review we walk through the all-new exterior styling and how the CX-5 stacks up dimensionally against the CR-V, Tucson, Sportage, and RAV4, the 2.5L engine and six-speed transmission deep-dive, front seat comfort and the dramatically improved back seat (now big enough for rear-facing child seats behind a six-foot driver), 33+ cubic feet of cargo space with the new 40-20-40 folding seats, the redesigned dashboard with its 12.9-inch Android-based infotainment system (with Spotify, YouTube, and Google built in), Bose audio, instrumented acceleration and braking, ride quality on the new softer-spring suspension, cabin noise testing, real-world fuel economy versus the hybrid competition, and a complete head-to-head comparison against the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, and Mazda’s own CX-50 — so you know whether to grab the new CX-5 now, wait for the 2027 hybrid, or move on entirely.

Here’s why we don’t talk about reliability much: https://youtu.be/WicesuUvTXo
And resale value? Same thing: https://youtu.be/635cX7A3E_Y

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Chapters
0:00 Intro: All-New CX-5 & the CX-60 That Could’ve Been
1:53 Exterior Design & Size vs. the Competition
4:02 2.5L Engine, 6-Speed Auto & the Missing Hybrid
6:17 Front Seats, Back Seat & Child Seat Fitment
9:27 Cargo Area & 40-20-40 Folding Seats
10:24 Big Screen, Google Built-In & Android Software
18:40 Interior Materials & Dashboard Design
22:40 0-60, Braking & Handling
24:07 Ride Quality, Cabin Noise & Fuel Economy
26:54 Pricing & Competition (RAV4, CR-V, Tucson, CX-50)

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