2017 Mazda CX-5 vs 2022

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.

Let's get this out of the way early: Mazda's new CX-5 isn't actually all that new.

Instead, the brand has given its popular SUV a little nip and tuck to keep it fresh in the face of the stiff competition that prowls the mid-size segment in Australia.

But has it done enough to stay relevant in Australia's biggest new-car segment? Let's find out, shall we?