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By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 56

The CX-5 is Mazda's most important global model, so this third generation version could hardly be more important to the Hiroshima maker's fortunes. This mid-sized SUV now has a sharper look, a more modern cabin and a slightly different outlook, so much has changed. If you liked it before, you'll probably like it even more now.

Background word count: 221

Mazda is rarely the first to champion new market trends, but once the Hiroshima brand gets on board with something, the result usually tends to be a thoughtfully designed and enduring product. A great example of this is the company's CX-5 mid-sized SUV model line. At its original launch back in 2012, this car was a late-comer to this rapidly expanding segment but had a depth of engineering missing from some of its more hastily conceived rivals. As a result, over 1.5 million CX-5s had been sold globally by the time the second generation version arrived in 2017, a car that took world sales of this model line to over 4.7 million, with over 100,000 of those owners in the UK. That MK2 design was very much an evolution of its predecessor, carrying forward the previous car's platform and much the same range of engines. And at first glance, you might think the same applies to its third generation replacement, announced in the summer of 2025. Yet Mazda insists that much is fundamentally different here. From a car that better fills the gap in the Japanese company's line-up between the compact CX-30 and the larger CX-60. The MK3 CX-5 is larger, has a completely redesigned, much higher-tech cabin and adopts a new approach beneath the bonnet. Let's take a closer look.