Mazda’s best-selling vehicle, the CX-5 compact SUV, is all-new for 2026, bringing fresh looks inside and out, more room, and the flashiest tech of any Mazda to date. It impressed us so much upon debut that we decided to test one for an entire year to see what living with one long-term is like.
Needless to say, so far we’ve found a lot to appreciate about the 2026 Mazda CX-5, and we think you will, too. Here are our three favorite features.
1. Innovative Tech
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 comes standard with a 12.9-inch touchscreen or an optional 15.6-inch version like the one on our 2.5 S Premium Plus long-term test model, the largest yet in a Mazda vehicle. But the story of this revamped CX-5’s tech is bigger than screen size. It also offers myriad helpful tech features, some we’ve never even seen in this segment.
For example, there’s the Active Driving Display – otherwise known as a head-up display (HUD) – that projects vital information onto the windshield. It comes in 2.5 S Preferred trims and up, and is super helpful. Then there’s the Driver Personalization System in our top trim, which can do everything from help you set an ideal driving position based on your height, to store settings for each driver and then recognize their face when they enter the car and automatically adjust settings it to their profile. Finally, we also love the 360-degree camera system on the topline model, which makes parking in tight spots a cinch.
2. Wide-Opening Rear Doors
You might be thinking, “They are doors; of course they open wide.” But here’s the thing: On the new CX-5, they open wider than much of the competition, as well as its former self. Why does this matter? If you’ve ever finagled with a child’s car seat, getting said child arranged or out of the seat, or perhaps needed to assist a passenger or even a dog into and out of the rear seats of a car, you know it can be challenging.
By engineering the rear doors to open especially wide, Mazda has made what might seem like a small detail a big one. In our own experience living with the CX-5, we’ve found it helps with everyday practicality, every day.
3. Athletic Spirit
Many features in a car are objective and quantifiable, easy to point out since they are physical or at least measurable. The CX-5, though, has also long benefited from a certain je ne sais quoi that you just don’t get in rivals. We’ve found it most asserts itself when you push the CX-5 into a corner faster than a road sign might suggest, or the way it downshifts just when you think it should.
Yes, the CX-5 remains a versatile and practical SUV, but like every other Mazda, it seems to have the soul of a sports car. That’s something you just won’t find in rivals, and it’s something we enjoy every time we get behind the wheel.
Read More on the 2026 Mazda CX-5
Read our full review of the Mazda CX-5, find this week’s Fair Purchase Price, or see CX-5 models near you.
