Mazda is launching an all-new Mazda CX-5 for 2026, making the stalwart of the company’s showroom a tad larger, with an upgraded interior, and a hybrid version due in the 2027 model year.
The CX-5 has long been lauded for its clean design, sporty driving experience and good safety ratings and reliability. But with so many brands in the U.S. chasing customers in the ultra-competitive compact crossover category, the CX-5 sales have softened in recent years, even as the overall Mazda brand surged to record sales last year with new models. The Japanese company, partially owned by Toyota, is hoping the changes add some spark to the CUV’s appeal.
Exterior Evolution
Mazda says the CX-5's new exterior is inspired by an idea that guided the design and engineering team – “wearable gear. (That idea) embodies flexibility and approachability, offering a vehicle that is both at home in the city and thrives in more adventurous settings too,” says the company. More specifically, it is an extension of Mazda’s Kodo design scheme, which is meant to convey Japanese minimalism and connect the CX-5 to more recent model introductions of the brand’s other CUVs, the CX-50, CX-70 and CX90.
The CX-5 and CX-50 are similar in size, features and price, but the CX-50 is known for better off-road features, as well as a more rugged look than the CX-5. The closeness of the two models accounts for some of the decline in CX-5 sales, but the company is set on offering both going into the future to maximize share of the all-important CUV segment.
The new CX-5 CUV’s front end gets a more chiseled, wider-set look than the outgoing model, while incorporating the Mazda wing grille design positioned between angular lighting elements. During the design process, Mazda says, further inspiration was found from the traditional Japanese architecture principle called “Kigumi” in which precise wood joinery is used as the construction method rather than conventional screws and nails. This, notes Jacques Flynn, senior director of Mazda Design America, is seen where the body meets the fender trim.
At the rear of the vehicle, bold “MAZDA” lettering replaces the traditional Mazda badge. The new version CX-5 is 4.5-ins. (11.5-cm) longer, with a 3-in. (7.7-cm) longer wheelbase, and half an inch (1.3-cm) wider, than the previous generation model.
Inside the CX-5
Mazda notes that it is going for a roomier feel to the CUV to meet customer demands. To achieve this, designers and engineers gave the new third-generation model larger door openings for easier ingress and egress as well as increased rear leg, knee and headroom compared with the outgoing model.
The extra size and length of the 2026 CX-5 created a larger rear cargo area, which is now almost 2 ins. (5-cm) longer and over 1-in. (2.5-cm) taller, and with a 0.5-in. (1.3-cm) lower lift-in height from the current model.
The new CX-5 also gets new ambient lighting on the front doors with a choice of seven colors. Taillights that appear to be influenced by the CX-90 and slim headlights with stacked DRL graphics frame the larger grille.
The redesigned CUV features a newly available 15.6-in. (40-cm) integrated touchscreen display, the largest ever offered on a Mazda vehicle. Mazda calls the system the hub for infotainment and connectivity, focused on Google built-in technology, with the ability to integrate key Google features, like Google Maps and Google Assistant, the latter said to feature intuitive voice control over key vehicle functions like climate control, media, navigation, calls and sending messages. The automaker also notes CX-5 owners can access the Google Play Store for a curated selection of in-vehicle compatible apps, plus ability for Mazda to add branded and third-party features via future updates.
Powertrain
The 2026 CX-5 will launch with standard all-wheel drive and Mazda’s Skyactiv-G 2.5L 4-cyl. engine producing 187 hp and 185 lb.-ft. of torque (251-Nm). This engine is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission and standard i-Activ AWD.
The CX-50 uses a hybrid system developed by Toyota, but the new CX-5 is expected to use an in-house-developed powertrain, potentially under the Skyactiv-Z family of 4-cyl. engines when Mazda rolls out the vehicle’s hybrid variant next year for the 2027 model year.
In many ways, the CX-5 has been Mazda’s bread-and-butter model since it was introduced in 2012. Omdia Automotive data shows CX-5 sales tallied 134,100 units in 2024 in the U.S., well behind the segment-leading Toyota RAV4’s 475,000-plus deliveries but making the CX-5 the best-selling Mazda here. The automaker says since the vehicle’s introduction, more than 1.6 million CX-5 models have been sold in the United States and 4.5 million sold globally.
