So it appears Mazda will be making significant updates to the 22 after all. Very strange to me. Maybe they plan to keep the current car around longer and then bring the new 6 cylinder SUV in as a different model? I would not have expected new exterior revisions so late. New front and rear fascias, new lights front and rear, AWD standard. Even more interesting is they have changed the seats. I should have run my lease out and bought a '22....

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...-cx-5-updates/

 

If true, them I'm glad to hear they're coming out with updated seats with firmer support. Good change.

Hopefully they'll consider proper auxiliary lights on the thing, as well. Perhaps something like the Valeo Cibie LED 7" rounds, with enough light to see instead of merely be slightly seen.

These are about the only two things I'd want done differently, on the CX-5.

 

Bet they go electric in 2 years- latest.

 

Very interested in the new seats. My main complaint in our 2018 CX-5.

 

I got an email come on from Mazda this morning about the 22 models. Here's the link it takes you to.

https://www.mazdausa.com/vehicles/20...17288268#turbo

 

Me too, here is the updated website: https://www.mazdausa.com/vehicles/2022-cx-5

 

From the Mazda website: "Mazda Intelligent Drive Select technology (Mi-Drive) allows you to customize your drive modes along various roads and surfaces."

Sounds interesting. Depends on how much customization there is. Would love it if they cure the sluggishness on the normal driving mode (as opposed to "Sport" mode), with respect to gear selection. With moderate throttle, shifting to 2nd gear at 8mph just doesn't work well, nor does staying in a too-low gear when pressing the throttle quite a bit. No idea if they'll allow the customizing to merely pick modes, or to alter how a given mode deals with hills, loose traction (ie, ice/snow/sand), better management of throttle position to gear selection.

 

Lost me at AWD standard... 0-1 light snows most years, 2 is rare and a heavy accumulation maybe once a decade.
i have no desire to drag around a light duty rear axle, transfer case etc. along with it's reduction in MPG and more potential costly driveline repairs. I know it's (somewhat) apples to oranges but I saw a lot of rear differentials and some transfer cases in GM & Saab on the FWD based models in my time at a dealer.

 

Just my personal opinion, but I welcome the choice to make AWD standard on the 2022 model year. Very useful on the occasional light off-roading we do with our CX-5 and one of the main reason why we got the AWD since it rarely snows in NC. Also peace of mind for our road-trips to the North during Winter season.

 

I expected to be in the minority. I'm old school (read old!) and hate seeing consumer choices going away; hopefully single axle drive doesn't become as hard to find as a manual transmission.

My Bronco II was my bug out vehicle when whatever hurricane loomed and everyone left Wilmington in the mid-late 90s. (Fran?) With the 4WD and larger tires I crossed some roads I probably shouldn't have in the ensuing days trying to find a way back home.

I listed what I thought were valid reasons to bemoan losing the choice but I can certainly respect your reasons in favor of it and considering the lack of training of a lot of drivers nowdays (not meaning you) I should take some comfort that maybe their car will keep them from plowing into me with all the government mandated safety nannies. I'm not autocrossing anymore but the techniques for handling at the limit are different for FWD/RWD/AWD (as are recovery techniques when exceeded) I'm only proficient in FWD/RWD.