have said this before and will say it again – when it comes to SUVs, Mazda sets a very high bar and without doubt offers some of the most stylish SUVs. The original CX-5 proved that back in 2012, and with UK sales now past 100,000, it’s clear British buyers agree. But the latest iteration offers big changes.
Design and trim
The chiselled profile is still recognisably CX-5, but it now features a longer wheelbase and wider rear doors. The new front and rear light signatures look sharper, and the Mazda lettering across the tailgate gives it a more premium feel.
Trim levels are Prime-Line, Centre-Line, Exclusive-Line, and Homura at the top. Priced from £31,550 to £40,950. The brand also now offers a six year, 100,000 mile warranty.
Interior – the good and the frustrating
This is where things get interesting – and a bit frustrating. That old 10.25-inch screen is gone, replaced by a 12.9-inch or, on top trims, a massive 15.6-inch display. It’s crisp, responsive, and has Google built-in Maps, Assistant, and the Play Store. Handy.
Mazda has dispensed with the physical dial on the centre console and says core controls follow a “safety-first logic” with physical buttons remaining for essential functions.
Many key functions have disappeared into the brain of the display. So tapping and swiping can distract from road concentration. It looks good, though, and the voice control can mitigate some of this.
The rest of the cabin remains light, airy, and with excellent visibility. Four adults fit in genuine comfort, and a fifth is reasonable at a push. This tested Homura gets Nappa leather with tan or black options, soft-touch surfaces everywhere, and a panoramic sunroof allows light and air to flood the cabin.
Equipment and tech
Standard kit is generous, but the Homura piles it on. Wireless charging, a ten-speaker Bose system, powered and ventilated front seats, a 360-degree camera, plus all-wheel drive and an auto box as standard. Legroom has improved in the rear, with 64mm extra – and the rear doors now open to nearly 80 degrees, making clambering in and out a doddle.
Under the bonnet
It’s a 2.5-litre petrol with mild-hybrid assistance, producing 141ps and 238Nm of torque. This front-wheel-drive variant hits 0-62mph in a fairly pedestrian 10.5 seconds. Quick enough, but it really scores as a relaxing motorway cruiser.
Official economy hovers around the 40mpg mark, an improvement over its predecessor. I managed around 38.5, pretty close to the WLTP figure. Not class-leading, but not embarrassing either.
On the road
Handling is excellent, with Mazda’s G-Vectoring system keeping the ride comfortable and composed when cornering sharply – shifting weight and power delivery to keep things composed.
Practicality – the removal van test
Boot space is up by 61 litres thanks to the longer wheelbase, and the Karakuri one-touch folding system is still there for the 40:20:40 split rear seats. Fold everything flat and you’re looking at over 1,600 litres of cavernous space.
And I put it to the test. With a house move looming, the CX-5 became an unlikely removal van.
Furniture, boxes, trips to the tip – it swallowed the lot. The Karakuri system made flattening the seats a one-touch affair, and the low load lip meant heaving awkward items in and out wasn’t the back-breaking chore I’d feared.
We would have struggled without it. Shame it didn’t come with a loading trolley, mind.
With a braked towing capacity of up to 2,000kg, it’ll even haul a small caravan if your sofa collection gets really out of hand.
Safety
The latest i-Activsense systems are standard across the range, including Cruise & Traffic Support – which takes the sting out of stop-start queues by handling the pedals and steering. It works well enough, though I’d still rather keep my hands on the wheel. Mazda is targeting a Euro NCAP 5-star rating.
Verdict
It looks even better, is more spacious, more tech-savvy, and more efficient. I’m no Luddite, but that all-screen interior can be frustrating – but that’s the way it is.
It’s still one of the most stylish, comfortable, and engaging SUVs around – and it turns out, it’s a dab hand at shifting your worldly goods, too.
Factfile
- Model: Mazda CX-5 2.5 e-Skyactiv G Homura auto
- Price: £38,950
- Mechanical: 141 PS, 2.5-litre petrol with 24v mild-hybrid system, driving the front wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission
- Max speed: 116 mph
- 0 to 62mph: 10.5 sec
- Combined mpg: 40.4 mpg
- Insurance group: TBC
- CO₂ emissions: 157–159 g/km
- BiK rating: 37%
- Warranty: 6yrs/100,000 miles
On the road 