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AWD is now standard with Mi-Drive (drive mode/terrain selector). Exterior changes include a new grille and grille surround, new headlights and taillights, slightly altered front and rear bumper, body-coloured trim (probably only on the Signature and GT trims), and new 19" wheel design. There is also a trim level that offers a gloss-black grille/grille surround, gloss-black trim, and black leather interior with red stitching.
Price will likely increase with making AWD standard, but I'm glad that they're doing the body-coloured/gloss black plastic trim now. The exhaust tips are also a nice touch.
They state that the Grand Touring Reserve trim has been renamed to 2.5 Turbo. They also mention that the seats have been redesigned to be more comfortable, which is a welcome change given the complaints some people have had about the seat bolstering on some Mazda forums.
The article also mentions some transmission tweaks, and some suspension changes (new dampening control structure and higher frame rigidity).
That looks good. It still looks like a CX-5 but with a nice update/refresh. The grill is understated but stylish which is a rarity these days.
I agree. The front bumper has a bit less character since they appear to have ditched the bumper-integrated fog lights, but overall I think its good enough for a facelift.
I'm not sure I like the body colored trim, but it may grow on me. I really dislike that they ditched the fog lights, though.
I'm not sure what your experience is, but, with mine, fog lights are more of a gimmick than a serious lighting-aid. I find that, in significant fog, they make little or no difference, and are just one more set of bulbs to burn out and need replacing (and a more complex light-switch).
I'm not sure what your experience is, but, with mine, fog lights are more of a gimmick than a serious lighting-aid. I find that, in significant fog, they make little or no difference, and are just one more set of bulbs to burn out and need replacing (and a more complex light-switch).
That rings especially true on most current Mazdas in particular. The fog lights on the current model are LED, so they are less likely to burn out, but they don't do much in terms of improving visibility since most modern headlights with projector style housings have a more evenly distributed spread. This has basically rendered the fog lights on Mazdas to be more decorative than functional, compared to a car with halogens that uses the fog lights to illuminate the dimmer areas to the left, right, and front of the car.
All that said, apparently the fog lights are now integrated into the headlights, so maybe the actual function of the fog lights has been improved in these headlights.
I'm not sure I like the body colored trim, but it may grow on me. I really dislike that they ditched the fog lights, though.
It would have been nice to showcase the body-coloured trim on more than one colour. Given the chance, I'd probably swap out the body-coloured trim for gloss black trim.
i do like the body colored trim. anything in black just adds to the illusion of wheel gap or higher ride height (which may be a positive for some). i suppose i'm more accustomed to the european SUVs with body colored trims and small fender gaps (GLS/GLE, range rover, etc). the american market loves black colored cladding for that "rugged" look.
mazda has lately been a cut above with their interior and styling so going more closely to european styling is aligned to this trajectory.
I'm not sure what your experience is, but, with mine, fog lights are more of a gimmick than a serious lighting-aid. I find that, in significant fog, they make little or no difference, and are just one more set of bulbs to burn out and need replacing (and a more complex light-switch).
They are more for ascetic purpose, but do show more of the road directly in front of the vehicle. I believe they're more driving lights, than fog lights. "Gimmicky" is in the eye of the beholder.
They are more for ascetic purpose, but do show more of the road directly in front of the vehicle. I believe they're more driving lights, than fog lights. "Gimmicky" is in the eye of the beholder.
We have fog/driving lights on our X3 and they do a decent job of lighting up the area in front of the car. Even though I rarely use them I do like the looks of them from a styling standpoint.
Nice catch. They are probably region-specific (these pictures came from a Romanian article). I also just noticed the little coloured accents in the upper-right area of the grille in some pics.