2026 Mazda CX-5 Previewed As Larger, Buttonless Crossover

Mazda has revealed the next incarnation of the practical and fun-to-drive CX-5. The crossover grows larger for the 2026 model year and adopts some new technology. But Mazda has attempted to keep what has proven to be a winning recipe mostly the same.

Exterior changes are subtle but add up to make a real difference. While still identifiable as a CX-5, the new model plays host to a busier front clip. The grille is larger and there’s even more space to suck in air beneath it. Contrasting trim colors make these changes more obvious and likewise help bring the CX-5 in line with Mazda’s current design language.

The automaker has said it’s still beholden to its preferred Kodo school of automotive design, however. It still wants to design vehicles that look sleek and suggest movement even while parked. Mazda clearly achieved that with the updated CX-5. But the crossover has taken on some changes to make it slightly more butch.

Headlamps are now angled slightly downward and feature stacked (albeit slanted) high and low beams. They help frame the rest of the interesting bits on the front of the vehicle, which have likewise been moved down. Compared to the outgoing CX-5 (pictured below) it’s busier and slightly more aggressive.

The new model’s profile also appears less rounded, opting for subtle angular bends instead of more-sweeping curves. It seems a tad narrower in the hips. However, the changes aren’t really that noticeable unless you’re really looking for them or whipped out the measuring tape to discover that the new Mazda CX-5 is actually almost five inches longer than its predecessor with a three-inch longer wheelbase.

Mazda previewed the 2026 CX-5 featuring black cladding around the lower extremities. It’s most noticeable around the wheel arches and features a curious little nub at the top. Considering you can option something similar on the current CX-5, this isn’t a game changer. But we do wonder if it’ll be the only option because the current model doesn’t come with them by default — offering a cleaner look overall.

At the back, Mazda has opted to ditch the emblem and have the brand’s entire name spelled out along the tailgate. The taillights have also been pulled across more surface area. Other changes are comparatively minor.

Considering how attractive the current CX-5 turned out to be, Mazda should be praised for not mucking things up for the 2026 model year. The redesign retains everything good about the outgoing model and avoids making any drastic changes that would spoil up the broth. The worst we could say is that that new car doesn’t really improve on what was arguably the best-looking, mainstream crossovers on the market. But it’s still an incredibly handsome automobile — at least until we get to the interior.

One of my favorite things about Mazda is that the brand was laser focused on offering quality automobiles with genuine personalities. This extended to vehicle cabins, which were smartly laid out and often featured a knob to control the infotainment (similar to BMW’s older iDrive system). Sadly, Mazda no longer looks to be bucking the trend and now features an optional 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen — or an optional 15.6-inch unit — that looks like it’ll be responsible for almost everything. Google software will come by default, as will Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

While there are still a few buttons inside the cabin, the ones on the steering wheel look to be of the dreaded haptic feedback variety. We’re not seeing a volume knob or physical controls for the HVAC system either.

But this may not necessarily be bad news for Mazda. There is definitely a subset of the market that absolutely wants a bigger screen and is completely fine with being sold a buttonless interior. However, driving enthusiasts are a demographic that Mazda has long been courting and they’ve broadly come out against the trend. They typically prefer the more intuitive nature of buttons and knobs, mocking the industry's attempt to build smartphones with wheels.

It could be argued that the Japanese brand has missed the boat here. Mazda has been gradually moving upmarket in recent years, framing itself as a driver-focused luxury brand. But other luxury brands have recently learned that a meaningful portion of their customer base don’t actually see touchscreens as all-that luxurious.

The novelty of screens are wearing off and a growing number of shoppers now gripe about "tech-focused" cabins. The older CX-5 interior (pictured above) was perfectly serviceable, extremely tasteful, and wasn't going to exacerbate eyestrain by forcing you to spend another hour of your day gazing into one more massive screen.

A hump behind the steering wheel appears to indicate a driver-monitoring camera for the 2026 model year. Even if this means the next CX-5 will come with the latest advanced driving systems (something Mazda confirmed), it likewise serves as another braking point for select buyers. Today’s drivers already sacrifice too much of their privacy to manufacturers (and whoever they opt to sell that information to) under the guise of safety.

The only silver lining here is that this may be exclusive to the European model being previewed here, as the European Union has mandated certain driver-monitoring protocols and even include them as part of their safety ratings. While the United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been exploring the "benefits" of driver monitoring systems, they’ve yet to attempt to make them required hardware.

Details about the vehicle’s mechanical makeup have yet to be announced and the same is true of pricing. We know that the current naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine could carry over with some updates, likely featuring a six-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. There will also be a hybrid model landing in 2027. But we haven’t heard anything about spicier engine options.

Price may come down to how U.S. tariffs play out. A large number of Mazda vehicles are still manufactured exclusively in Japan. While your author argues this could historically be viewed as a perk, it does make those models (including the CX-5) vulnerable to importation fees. Considering that the 2026 Mazda CX-5 adds tech and is larger than the vehicle it’s replacing, it’ll undoubtedly come with a starting MSRP above $30,000. However, the CX-5 has long been viewed as a decent value and any significant price increases won’t be looked upon favorably by consumers — especially since vehicle pricing is already a sore spot for the kind of people shopping within this segment.

Meanwhile, any would-be customers that find themselves wishing they had bought the older, smaller and button-friendly CX-5 while it was still around may be satisfied with the mechanically similar CX-50.

[Images: Mazda]

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