2026 Mazda CX-5.
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The 2026 Mazda CX-5 was caught again. Looking a lot like the current model…
I mean it is so close it looks like the exact same car. With a slightly revised front end. The grille seems a bit narrower and the headlights thinner. The current, 2nd generation, CX-5 came out in 2017. For the 2026 model year, anyone would really expect a brand-new design. And one that doesn’t look 90% like the old one either.
A refresh after all these years isn’t enough. Especially when you already have the newer CX-50 that looks 10 times better.
The ‘big deal” for the new CX-5 will be a new Hybrid powertrain. Which will be a Mazda design and not the Toyota powertrain used in the CX-50 Hybrid. I think this just means a PHEV could be available. One that might use the same PHEV system we have seen in the CX-90 and CX-70. That same PHEV powertrain that has been getting mixed reviews at best. As it seems pretty rough and not really ready for primetime. It also only gets around 25 miles of EV range for a big price premium over the 6-cylinder versions.
I am not sure why Mazda would spend so much R&D money to come up with their own regular hybrid system when they’ve just started using the Toyota system on the CX-50. However, we are talking about a company that is offering 2 separate models that are actually the same (CX-70 and CX-90).
No matter what the CX-5 ends up looking like, it won’t look very new. That CX-5 design language is wearing thin after 8 years. A thinner grille and headlights might not be enough to fool potential buyers into thinking this is new.
It looks bigger, longer and taller. You can especially see it in the rear doors. Possibly to increase the rear seat room. They can’t be faulted for continuing the design aesthetic. Both the first and second generations still look good years later, which is more than can be said for much of the competition.
JohnC is correct. Its getting bigger. And just because Mazda is using its own system doesn’t mean its not using Toyota technology. It means Mazda is using its own engines, transmissions, tuning, etc… But the battery, the management system, electric motors, , control logic… will all be Toyota. This is gonna be a whole lot more like the RAV than you think.