Mazda pulls out the stops for the all-new third-generation version of its big-selling CX-5
It might be going a bit far to suggest that the stakes are high for the all-new Mazda CX-5, but it’s certainly not a car the hierarchy high-ups in Hiroshima want to mess up.Introduced in 2012, this slightly left-of-centre mid-size SUV has become the brand’s best-selling model almost everywhere – globally, across Europe and here in the UK. In total, more than five million of them have rolled off the production lines, which makes this box-fresh third-generation version a big deal for the company.As you might expect, it’s bigger, safer and more luxuriously appointed than its predecessor, while the firm’s Kodo design language has been subtly evolved. (Given the apparently high levels of customer loyalty the CX-5 demands, bosses didn’t want to alienate this important demographic.) Yet this is also a Mazda, which means it does things differently from more mainstream contenders. If you’re expecting yet another fully electrified or heavily hybridised offering, then you’ve come to the wrong corner of the family SUV sector, but we’ll get to that.
