I flew out to California a few weeks back to spend some time with the new 2026 Mazda CX-5, and there’s a lot to talk about. Mazda made some big changes to its compact SUV this year, but the biggest news is the update to the touchscreen interface.
Dear Buttons, Please Come Home
The most controversial part of the 2026 CX-5 redesign is largely the removal of the real buttons and the quintessential Mazda dial. In their place, we have a full touchscreen interface and zero buttons. It was a bold move that Mazda credits to customer feedback, but that remains to be seen.
The good news is the CX-5 grew by just under 5 inches in length and by around half an inch in width, giving the cabin a much more spacious feel. The second row has tons of room for your passengers, and the cargo area is longer, wider, and has a bigger opening for easy loading and unloading.
The new touchscreen setup is probably the most talked-about change in this redesign. I still have a soft spot for Mazda’s physical controls, but in everyday driving, the steering-wheel buttons and voice commands proved surprisingly intuitive. If you’re unsure about the switch, my advice is simple: spend time with it yourself and see how it feels in real use.
Even with that shift, the CX-5 is still an easy recommendation. It’s comfortable, practical, safe, and it hasn’t lost the driving feel that makes a Mazda feel like a Mazda.
