What's the news?
We've always really liked the Mazda CX-5 and thought it one of the superior SUVs around, which seems just as well seeing as Mazda has decided not to change much for the all-new version, which is being launched this week at the Los Angeles motor show.
Exterior
The new CX-5 looks, overall, very similar to the outgoing version, albeit there are new, narrower headlamps and a bigger, broader grille. The styling seems very much poached from the larger American-market CX-9, and that's no bad thing. Familiar, but handsome, we'd call it.
The new CX-5 is a tiny bit shorter than the old one, a little bit lower and about 10mm wider. The wheelbase is unchanged at 2.7 metres, and while that doesn't mean any more space in the cabin, Mazda says it has increased visibility for the driver by moving the A-pillars back a little.
Interior
Much of the interior looks familiar too, although, as with the Mazda6 saloon, there seems to have been a considerable improvement in perceived quality. The central infotainment screen carries over the MZD software from the current range and while Mazda hasn't yet started shifting to all-digital instruments, there is a new HD TFT screen to augment the main analogue dials and a new heads-up display too. There's also the option of a kicking 10-speaker Bose stereo system.
Mechanicals
Underneath, things are just as familiar. Although updated, the mechanical package that underpins the CX-5 is still the same SkyActiv platform and 2.2 diesel and 2.0 petrol engine line-up that we already know from the outgoing car.
The engines are more or less untouched, although Mazda hasn't yet revealed full technical details for them. Expect the same 150hp and 175hp outputs for the diesels and 165hp for the petrol, but there may be some improvements in terms of CO2 emissions. The CX-5 will also get the subtle G-Vectoring Control, seen recently on the revised 6 and Mazda3, which alters the engine's torque outputs to make cornering smoother and more accurate.
Anything else?
Expect prices to rise a little from those of the existing CX-5 (possibly to leave space beneath it for a compact CX-4 to slot between it and the Mazda CX-3) and for it to be more of a rival to the Volkswagen Tiguan and Toyota RAV4 than the Nissan Qashqai or Renault Kadjar.