2017 Mazda CX-5 vs 2026

What's the difference?

The Mazda CX-5 was a genuine phenomenon. It pretty much came out of nowhere and knocked off a few cars we previously thought had an unassailable grasp on the Australian SUV budget.

Even more extraordinary was the fact the stylish CX-5 came from a company that had given us a fairly bland decade of cars, after a flourish in the late '90s descended into a series of dull boxes (although the 3 did signal a revival).

I drove a first-gen CX-5 late in its life and found it hard to believe it needed replacing. But in 2017 that's exactly what Mazda did. Fresh sheetmetal, lots of detail work, and a new interior were all dropped on to a lightly updated chassis to give us the second-generation CX-5.

And a lot faces ended up buried in hands at other car companies because it turns out Mazda did a smashing job second time around.

The new-generation Mazda CX-5 is here, promising to be bigger, better and bolder, with fresh styling, sharper handling and more technology. But in a market where hybrid power is becoming increasingly hard to ignore, has Mazda left the CX-5 at a disadvantage? I’ve spent a week with the Evolve grade to find out for you.