With a theme of “refined toughness”, the new CX-5 elevates Mazda’s Kodo – Soul of Motion design concept to a new level.
The exterior features sharper lines, a chiselled look and slimmer lights, while the interior has been enhanced for more passenger comfort.
The seats have thick cushioning, and the interior impresses with its high-quality fit and finish.
A new premium colour, Soul Red Crystal was created specifically to highlight the beauty and quality of Mazda’s Kodo designs.
Soul Red Crystal is billed as having 20% greater colour saturation and 50% more depth than Soul Red, for a more lustrous look.
New premium colours also include Machine Gray and Snow Flake White Pearl Mica.
A new Mazda-exclusive paint line system was built at the Inokom plant for the CX-5, which is said to provide premium paint quality and finishing on par or even exceeding that of cars produced in Japan.
Featuring G-Vectoring Control, the first in the SkyActiv Vehicle Dynamics series of vehicle motion control technologies, the new CX-5 offers drivers responsive performance and passengers a quiet and comfortable ride.
G-Vectoring Control is standard on all CX-5 variants.
The cabin is a quiet cocoon, as Mazda engineers worked hard to reduce low frequency road noise, especially on rough road surfaces, with parts designed to minimise vibrations.
Also, wind and tyre noise at high speeds is reduced by minimising turbulence around the body and blocking high-frequency tyre noise intrusion in the cabin.
The new CX-5, which is assembled at the Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah comes in five variants of 2.0-litre GL petrol (RM134,605), 2.0-litre GLS petrol (RM148,605), 2.5-litre GLS petrol (RM160,996), 2.2-litre GLS diesel (RM164,579) and 2.2-litre GLS diesel all-wheel drive (RM175,179). Prices are on-the-road without insurance.
The standard kit and features across all CX-5 variants are impressive.
Among the key features for all variants are six airbags, dynamic stability control, traction control, hill start assist, a six-speed SkyActiv-Drive automatic transmission, LED headlights with auto levelling and auto on/off function, rain sensing wipers, engine start-stop button, and i-Stop Idling technology.
Adding more convenience are an electronic parking brake with auto-hold function, four windows with one-touch up and down powered function, rear air conditioner vents, reverse camera, 7-inch colour touchscreen display, four USB ports, MZD Connect infotainment system with voice command, six speakers, and dual-zone automatic air-conditioning.
There is more than decent rear storage space at 442 litres (seats up) and 1,342 litres (seats down).
The 2.0 GLS and 2.5 GLS get additional items such as LED daytime running lights, LED rear tail-lights, keyless entry, front parking sensors, 10-way powered driver’s seat, leather seats, GPS navigation system, walk away lock function, Adaptive Front Lighting (AFS), Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) and front Smart City Brake Support.
Meanwhile, the diesel-powered 2.2 GLS and 2.2 GLS all-wheel drive are also offered with Lane Departure Warning System, Lane Keep Assist System, Driver Attention Alert, and front and rear Smart City Brake Support.
The new CX-5 have powerful and fuel efficient SkyActiv petrol and diesel engines, with the 2.0-litre SkyActiv-G petrol engine producing 162hp and 210Nm of torque, the 2.5-litre SkyActiv-G petrol making 192hp and 257Nm of torque while the 2.2-litre SkyActiv-D diesel outputs 173hp and 420Nm of torque.
The diesel-powered CX-5 units are tuned to run on Euro 5 diesel.
Fuel economy is rated at 5.9 litres per 100km for the two-wheel drive CX-5 2.2-litre GLS diesel, and 7.1 litres per 100km for the CX-5 2.5-litre GLS petrol.
For the 2.0-litre CX-5 petrol, fuel consumption is rated at 6.8 litres per 100km.
