Mazda CX-5 Follow-up: Mazda Walked the Tightrope (But Lost the Volume Knob)
Reviewers like it, and Mazda’s candor about tradeoffs isn’t undermining (so far)
Following up on Mazda Says the Quiet Part out Loud, the CX-5 first-drive reviews dropped and are largely positive. They validate Mazda’s bet on infotainment, tech, and practicality. The loud exception is the removal of a volume knob.
The Motor Trend headline for their article’s infotainment system section sets a positive tone: “New Infotainment System Shows the Industry How It’s Done.”
It loads on the compliments from there:
We’d compare it to the excellent systems from Lucid, Rivian, and Tesla, but that’d be selling Mazda short…
Other automakers, please take note—this is how things should be done.
Other reviewers were generally positive on the infotainment and technology implementation, which was not a given since Mazda moved nearly all the buttons into the screen. Zack Spencer from Motormouth (Canada) provided the type of balanced perspective Mazda was likely hoping for:
[You] have to look at this vehicle as its whole, and on the whole, there’s a lot of really good improvements here. And the screen is actually a big improvement.
The one consistent complaint was the removal of a volume knob. Reviewers largely accepted the steering-wheel control for the driver, but panned the touchscreen slider.
Doug DeMuro mentioned the cost tradeoffs Mazda described, but said they do not undermine the quality of the CX-5’s interior:
Mazda has said that they've actually had to make this interior less nice than they were planning to…Mazda has occupied now for a while a bit of a premium position among mainstream brands—Toyota, Honda—and Mazda feels a little nicer inside and this car still feels that way to me…if they really have taken stuff out to save a little bit of cost, frankly, I don't really see it. I think this is a nice place to be, even better now with this great center infotainment screen.
None of these reviews mentioned the change to the steering wheel stitching. Car and Driver said the wheel has “a smooth leather rim that feels great.” Beyond Doug’s quote above, there were no mentions of Mazda’s tradeoff messaging and it did not dominate the storylines.
Dynamics and handling—longtime brand cornerstones—were praised. Multiple outlets quoted or commented on messaging from Mazda’s Manager of Vehicle Dynamics, whose goals were to maintain the prior model’s “fun to drive” characteristics while improving comfort. Car and Driver said Mazda met the objective:
[T]he new CX-5 also feels like a Mazda in its driving dynamics…the CX-5 did a great job masking the patches of deteriorated tarmac that we did encounter. And when the road turned twisty, the new CX-5 exhibited the same athleticism for which this model has long been known…
Mazda seems to have landed the execution in the tradeoff areas while maintaining its historical strengths. Reviewer tone and narrative are upbeat and positive. Mazda has met and in multiple areas exceeded expectations. The new CX-5 has resonated with reviewers and, assuming Mazda’s margins improve, they should be on solid ground with investors.
Customer reactions come next. The big questions will be the reaction to the screen-centric controls and whether Mazda will be pressed to add a volume knob at the mid-cycle refresh.
Saying the quiet part out loud has worked for Mazda at this point. It will be interesting to see whether this makes it more viable for others in managing expectations about their own tradeoffs.
