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2021 Mazda CX-5 gains new infotainment, cheaper entry for the Turbo

Mazda has updated the 2021 Mazda CX-5 with a couple notable changes in the new model year. It’s the brandÂ’s best seller by a longshot, and we think buyers of the 2021 car will like what Mazda has done. The infotainment system is new this year, as Mazda has yanked its new screen and software out of the Mazda3 and CX-30 for duty in the CX-5. That means thereÂ’s a new 10.25-inch high-resolution widescreen sitting atop the dash, and the software itÂ’s running is much improved over the previous Mazda infotainment. ItÂ’s also the end of the touchscreen, because Mazda has designed this new system to be exclusively operated by a rotary dial. Previously, you could operate the CX-5Â’s screen via touch if the vehicle was stopped. We prefer the new system greatly over the old interface, so this is a big upgrade. The new screen comes standard on the base Sport trim, and both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard. Secondly, Mazda has added availability of more safety systems this year. Both rear automatic emergency braking and a driver attention monitor (alerts the driver when it senses fatigue or inattentiveness at the wheel) come standard on the Signature trim. For those who buy the Signature (or any trim with the 2.5-liter turbo engine), Mazda has added a new “Turbo” badge to distinguish the cars with the more powerful engines. There are a couple trim/packaging changes for 2021, as well. The first weÂ’ve already covered: the Carbon Edition. Two Carbon Edition models will be available; one has the turbo engine, and the other has the standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder. You get Polymetal Gray paint, gloss black trim on the exterior, 19-inch black wheels, red leather seats, red stitching and black honeycomb patterned interior trim. The second new trim package is called the Touring Preferred SV Package, and it costs $1,445. It fills the small gulf between the Touring and Grand Touring trims by stealing some of the features from the Grand Touring and splitting the difference on price. This package adds the Bose 10-speaker audio, leather seats, power liftgate, power moonroof, auto-dimming rearview mirror with Homelink, six-way power passenger seat and eight-way power driverÂ’s seat with lumbar and memory. The 2021 CX-5 starts at $26,370, which amounts to an $80 increase over the 2020.

Mazda CX-5 updates bring nav to more trim levels

The refreshed 2016 Mazda CX-5 is already one of our favorite crossovers of its size for the model's engaging driving experience, upscale interior, and slick infotainment system. For a new 2016.5 model year upgrade that arrives in January, Mazda gives customers even more standard features to enjoy, but prices also tick upward. The Japanese automaker just gave the 2016 CX-5 light upgrades like LED signature lights and an update to the Mazda Connect infotainment system. The 2016.5 updates add a backup camera on every version except for the base front-wheel drive Sport with the six-speed manual. For buyers considering higher trims, all Touring and Grand Touring models get the welcome inclusion of standard navigation, and the Touring now comes with heated front seats, too. The extra tech comes with a jump in cost. As of Dec. 15 Mazda increases its delivery and destination charge from $820 to $900 for crossovers and $835 for cars. The change brings the base price of the front-wheel drive 2016.5 CX-5 with a manual gearbox to $22,695, and the top-spec all-wheel drive Grand Touring now retails for $30,770. 2016.5 Mazda CX-5 Adds More Standard Features to Best-Selling Compact Crossover - Backup Camera Now Standard on Most Trim Levels, Navigation Added to CX-5 Touring and Grand Touring - IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for Christmas, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) has announced pricing and packaging for the 2016.5 Mazda CX-5 compact crossover, adding value and reducing complexity in CX-5's trim level structure. 2016.5 Mazda CX-5 Adds More Standard Features to Best-Selling Compact Crossover New for the mid-model year, a backup camera is now standard on all trim levels equipped with Mazda's SKYACTIV-Drive six-speed automatic transmission. CX-5 Touring models gain standard navigation and heated front seats. CX-5 Grand Touring models also add navigation as standard equipment. "The added content in 2016.5 CX-5 reflects our customers' tastes toward premium features in a compelling, fun-to-drive, stylish crossover," said Robert Davis, Senior VP of U.S. Operations, MNAO. "CX-5 buyers are educated, upwardly mobile, active-lifestyle individuals. With these updates, we aim to provide them with an even greater ownership experience." Previously, CX-5's backup camera was part of the Rear View Camera Package on the CX-5 Sport trim level. Navigation was available in the CX-5 Touring and Grand Touring Technology Packages.

Why we can't have better headlights here in the U.S.

It wouldn't be a European auto show if we weren't teased with at least one mainstream vehicle we can't have here. At the Geneva Motor Show last week, the small but vocal contingent of shooting-brake buffs lamented that the Mazda6 wagon won't be coming to our shores, although they can take comfort in the fact that the vehicle won't get the torquey 250-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine we'll get here. Mercedes-Benz also announced a new headlight technology in Geneva that likely won't be available here anytime soon. It's just the latest in a long line of innovative and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards — and a current lack of leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mercedes-Benz's new Digital Light system that debuted in Geneva uses a computer chip to activate more than a million micro-reflectors to better illuminate the road ahead. The Digital Light headlamps works with the vehicle's cameras, sensors and navigation mapping to adjust lighting for the given location and situation and to detect other road users. The Digital Light technology also serves as an extended head-up display of sorts by projecting symbols on the pavement ahead to alert drivers to, say, slippery conditions or pedestrians in the road. And it can even project lines on the road in a construction zone or through tight curves to show the driver the correct path. Digital Light will be available on Mercedes-Maybach vehicles later this year, although like any technology it's bound to trickle down to less expensive vehicles. That is, if we ever get it here in the U.S. Audi, a leader in automotive lighting, has repeatedly run into snags trying to bring state-of-the-art car headlights to the U.S. The German luxury automaker's recently introduced matrix laser headlight system, which performs many of the same trick as Mercedes-Benz's Digital Light, also isn't legal on U.S. roads. And five years after the introduction of its matrix-beam LED lighting, which illuminates more of the road without blinding oncoming motorists with brights by simultaneously operating high and low beams, Audi still can't bring that technology to the U.S. either.