Video: Is the 2026 Mazda CX-5 Still Fun to Drive?

The Mazda CX-5 has always been the sportiest option really in the compact crossover SUV category. And we were worried that they were really gonna nerf the thing, given that this new one is longer and tuned to be more comfortable and ride better, is it still fun to drive? Is it still the sports car? Yeah, it actually is, despite the fact that you can only get the naturally aspirated 2.5 liter four cylinder in here and it makes 187 horsepower, which on paper is not a lot, but Mazda has tuned this thing beautifully. It's made it to a six speed automatic transmission, and this version has all wheel drive. And when you put this thing in sport mode, it actually is a lot of fun to drive. When you're just driving it, normally the Mazda CX-5 is perfectly calm, perfectly composed. The ride quality is greatly improved from the old one. That's one of the things Mazda focused on, was to make the ride better because the old one took its sports car mission a little too seriously and it really was a little bit rough. But this one with its longer wheel base, and it's differently tuned suspension, a lot more supple out on the roads, but it still maintains that excellent body control. So when you want to get sporty in it, it'll do it. Now to engage sport mode, you can actually do it two different ways. There's now a switch on the steering wheel, and if you just push up, bang, you're in sport mode now little light comes on and it tightens things up considerably. Throttle responses are better. It will keep a gear well into the high rev range if it detects that you are actually driving this thing in a sporty manner, and that makes it pretty entertaining. So yeah, you know what? The Mazda CX-5, despite the fact that it's cushier and more family friendly now than ever, still retains its Mazda sportiness. If you'd like to learn more about the new Mazda CX-5, if you enjoy car review videos, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel. (bright music)