Mazda CX-5 2024 News

The Toyota RAV4 hybrid topped sales charts again in November, but it isn’t likely to take the number one spot from the Ford Ranger this year.

Mazda is offering thousands of dollars worth of savings on its popular CX-5 range with a national plate clearance offer.

The next-generation, hybrid-powered Mazda CX-5 won't be joining the Mazda Premium push.Mazda has vowed its most popular SUV will remain accessible to the masses and not follow the CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90 upmarket.That's the word from Australia CEO Vinesh Bhindi, who says the CX-5 would have to slot below the new CX-60 Pure, which would likely mean a price in the $40-$50k bracket.Having already confirmed the CX-5 will feature a game-changing in-house hybrid powertrain that will push the model closer to the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid than ever before, the brand has also confirmed that its most popular SUV will remain within reach of mainstream buyers.Asked whether the brand is committed to the new CX-5 remaining an accessible product that will sit below the CX-5, Mr Bhindi replied: "Absolutely".As to where it will be priced, we look to the incoming CX-60 Pure for guidance. A reminder that the CX-80 (near-enough a three-row version of the 60) starts at $54,950, before on-road costs.Mazda says the CX-60 Pure, a five-seat offering, will be below that."You've got to look at the 80 offering, and 60 will be in line with that, given it's a smaller product with two rows. So 60 will fit in under the 80 pricing and you can only speculate what that may be in terms of pricing," Mr Bhindi says.So if we posit that the CX-60 Pure would need to start close to $50k, then that would suggest the CX-5 will at least drop into the $40k range.The downside? Don't expect it to be the same price as the current-gen vehicle. Not only has the CX-5 been in market for some time, but the addition of a high-tech hybrid powertrain, combined with what the brand calls a "step up" in materials and tech, will surely lift the sticker prices range-wide."The next CX5, whatever it may be called, it'll be a step up," Mr Bhindi says.Current drive-away offers on the current CX-5 see the model span $37,990 for the entry-level Maxx to $52,265 for the range-topping Akera.The new follows confirmation of Mazda's hybrid plan for its CX-5, with the company not borrowing from Toyota and instead developing its own solution in house."That segment is massive for Australians, and you can see the demand in that segment. We have a next generation CX-5 already underway," Mr Bhindi says.In fact, Mazda's global CEO Mazda Masahiro Moro promises the CX-5's hybrid will focus on driving dynamics to give it a point of difference to the current hybrid rivals, such as the Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail and Haval H6.“We have been using Toyota’s hybrid system, and that’s an excellent system,” Moro said in an earnings call. “So to have a unique difference is the basic concept that we have. In our case, in the engine and the electric motor balance, we will mainly focus on a high-efficiency engine.”“Customers can can enjoy excellent driving dynamic performance and also at the same time good environmental performance. This hybrid system pursues the joy of driving.”

Mazda has announced it will release a new low-emissions, four cylinder internal combustion engine in 2027.

We know the next-gen Mazda CX-5 is coming. What it will be called, its powertrain offering and underpinnings remain a mystery, though. 

Mazda Australia has confirmed a small pricing change to its line-up, almost a standard rise across all models, which took place as of January 1.

The good news for Mazda Australia, and the many satisfied CX-5 customers, is that a replacement for the popular CX-5 is confirmed. The bad news is Mazda HQ may change the name and there aren’t too many specific details on what form the new model will take.This is a very big deal for the local operation, with the CX-5 making up more than 23 per cent of the brand’s total sales in 2023. It was also the third best-selling mid-size SUV behind the Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander.While Mazda is trying to keep details under wraps, there’s plenty we do know about this crucial model.One of the biggest challenges for the CX-5 is finding space in a dramatically changing Mazda line-up. Mazda is making a global push to follow its successful ‘semi-premium’ philosophy in Australia, launching its ‘Large Product Family’ models that are designed to be more dynamic and more premium positioned. This has already seen the CX-8 and CX-9 replaced by the CX-80 and CX-90, with the CX-70 confirmed to arrive in the near-future too. This change has also seen the arrival of the two-row, mid-size CX-60, which crosses over with the CX-5 in the current range. In the USA and China there’s also a slightly smaller, but more rugged, CX-50 available and this gave rise to speculation that the CX-5 would simply be discontinued.That is categorically not the case though, with Mazda confirming the CX-5 will be replaced, but without saying what form the replacement will take. The biggest question surrounding the next-generation CX-5 is how big it will be. The current model measures 4550mm in total length, compared to 4740mm for the CX-60, making it slightly smaller. This leaves Mazda in a tricky position, with most models typically growing with each new generation, but with only 190mm to play with it will be challenging to ensure there is a meaningful size difference between the CX-5 replacement and the CX-60.It’s highly likely that the CX-5 successor will take styling influence from the new SUV models, as our renders show. This is part of a new era of design for the brand and part of the premium push.Not that Mazda is afraid of crossing over, as demonstrated by the similarities between the CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90 (the 70 and 90 appear to simply be five- and seven-seat versions of the same basic vehicle). So expect to have plenty of very similar choices in the Mazda showroom in the years to come.However, what is likely to be different is what underpins the new CX-5, with it expected to continue on the front- and all-wheel drive platform it currently has, rather than switch to the rear-biased all-wheel drive architecture of the new ‘Large Products’.This will be the biggest difference between the CX-5 and CX-60 and should allow for a significant price difference, in keeping with the current gap between the pair. At present the CX-5 range starts at $36,590 for a front-wheel drive Maxx model and tops out at $55,100 for the Akera all-wheel drive, beneath the entry-level CX-60 Evolve, which is priced from $60,550.Perhaps the most telling detail we don’t know about the new CX-5 is if it will even be known as the CX-5. Last June Mazda Australia Managing Director Vinesh Bhindi told CarsGuide that it isn’t clear whether the nameplate would remain globally.“I don’t know,” Bhindi said, when asked directly if it would change names. “Let’s not worry about the nameplate, but a replacement for CX-5 is confirmed. What it is, when it is, is not something that can be shared today.”As we wrote at the time, changing such a popular name would be a bold and highly questionable move from Mazda, at least in Australia where the CX-5 is so popular. But Bhindi is just happy that the model will be replaced with a like-for-like model rather than moving to the more expensive, premium strategy.“They would have to have a very good reason to ,” Bhindi said. “But we’re not going to get caught up in . As long as we have the product, we’ll be very, very happy.”Timing is still unclear for the new CX-5, but with the focus currently on the premium SUVs, expect the new CX-5 (or whatever it’s called) to be revealed by the end of this year or early in 2025, before going on sale before the end of next year.