My daughter has a 2016 CX-5 (cloth), we have a 2023 CX-5 CE (leather/vinyl). To me, our 2023 seats are more comfortable. It could be age and material, but I also think it is due to the shape and padding. We also test drove a CX-50 and liked the seats in the CX-5 much more. For long trips we use a cushion from Purple. We have used these in several cars because they keep you cool which helps for comfort. I have a Frontier with cloth seats which I feel are very comfortable.

I also ride motorcycles and can tell you it is rare to hear someone say the OEM seat is comfortable. On motorcycles, seats are designed for looks and cost, definitely not comfort. There are many options for seat comfort, but there is no "holy grail". Bottom line, everyone's bottom is different. (pun intended)

 

As with many other things, seat comfort is nothing more than a personal preference.
There will always be and endless opinion on which is better or worse, much like which came first, the chicken or the egg....

 

I know this thread is mainly concerned with the leather seats on the higher trims to which I cannot comment, but to me the cloth seats in my base 2023 CX-5 are plenty comfortable for me, much more so than in many other cars that I have owned. Of all the cars I have owned (20+ at last count) my 2009 Miata had the absolute worst of all. Just my experience. Of course they are not equal to those in my wife’s Lincoln but that is to be expected considering it cost over twice as much.

 

Well, at one time I wanted to be a Paleontologist, (long before dinosaurs specifically (Jurassic Park the movie made them so popular) in the early 1960's) and even took may class in college to support the always possibility of changing careers? So it was the egg came first, but the old saying and question is always entertaining.

 

I've had a 2016 CX-5 as well as 2019, 2021, and yesterday bought a 2024. My favorite seat was the 2016 model, because it was the most firm-hard. For me a firmer seat is more comfortable than a soft one.

 

Blanket good or bad statements regarding seat comfort are useless. One owner's hard seat is another's dream. Another owner's soggy mess is another's preference. I have a 2020 Signature and 2022 CX-5 Preferred. In 2022 Mazda made some changes to seat comfort. Both ​​have leather. The 2020 is still a little more firm and sides don't "bucket" as much as the 2022. I slide around a little side to side in my 2020 vs the wife's 2022. Between the two the 2022 is obviously and improvement... to me. Someone else might think both are too firm and be looking for that true water bed sensation in their seat. As said above, if you don't like it don't buy it; get what you want life is short!

 

Right on the money about personal preference. For example I still prefer the old bench seats that nobody puts in cars these days. My all time favorite was the pillowy early 70s Chrysler models which is probably the least favorite of any on here.

 

My personal favorite was Pinto Buckets. If you had a early American steel Hot Rod the to go seat were Pinto buckets. Circa 1970-1976 for me! The next to have seat were the Datsun 240 z but they were harder to install in many cars because ot the offset seat rail unlike the pinto Bucket rails which were flat to the pan and easy to install with a single 2x4 on one side. LOL After that I can say I really like any factory seat except the 1st and 2nd generation BMW/MINI and Mazda 3 2017 and a couple years newer. Most of my past vehicles that I do modding on had aftermarket seats mainly because for the most part factory buckets from any platform were so darnn heavy and later with SRS bags in them they are undesirable as a mod addition. But that's just me and my opinion!

 

My old pickup bad a folding bench seat, and boy do I miss that...

 

I am going to one up you , back in the day while trying to install my first set of bench to bucket conversions not having anything except DIY skill, I drove around sitting on a milk crate for about a week. No seat belt. Seatbelt were a luxury not required back then.