The Mazda CX-5 has been facelifted for 2015 and among the big changes is an upgrade in interior quality and a range of new kit now available as standard.
Seen first at the LA Motor show in November, the revised model will go on sale in the spring and will be available in the same three trims as before: SE-L, SE-L Lux and Sport Nav.
New kit as standard
Every new CX-5 will now include manual front passenger seat height adjustment, an electronic parking brake, a coming/leaving home headlamp function and voice command system as standard.
There’s a new seven-inch centre console too, called MZD Connect, which features a full-colour touchscreen, DAB radio, two ports for USB connectivity and advanced smartphone pairing allowing internet connection and on-screen browsing while on the move.
Moving up to the top of the range, Sport trim now features new 19-inch Gunmetal alloy wheels, LED headlamps including LED daytime running lights, and LED foglamps.
Inside, Sport Nav cars also feature a tweaked sat-nav system which is now more better intergrated into the car and offers improved accuracy and search features along with three years of free map updating.
Options a plenty
A range of new options are available on SE-L Lux and Sport Nav trims including stone leather upholstery and radar-guided cruise control.
If safety is top of your agenda when looking for your next company car, Mazda’s optional safety pack has also been upgraded and now includes several newly-developed systems including adaptive LED headlamps which automatically adjust the high beam to avoid dazzling other drivers and a new Lane-keep Assist System with Driver Attention Alert which builds on the existing Lane Departure Warning system, providing steering wheel vibration and assisted steering if the driver strays from the lane plus alerting drivers to take a break if it detects a degradation in driving style.
Other new safety systems include an advanced blind-spot monitoring system and a city safety system which automatically applies the brakes when reversing if the system detects an imminent rear impact.
Small price increase
The new CX-5 is available with the same 2.0 litre petrol and 2.2 litre diesel engines as before either in two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive versions.
Offering the lowest emissions of the range at 119g/km is the 2.2-litre diesel 2WD meaning a 19 percent BiK tax band for the current tax year. Likely to be the most popular choice with company car drivers, fuel economy is also pretty impressive with an official combined figure of 61.4mpg.
Verdict
There is a small price increase over outgoing models of around £400, which will equate to only a few pence extra over the outgoing model on a company car driver’s monthly tax bill. Considering the amount of new kit available as standard, we think the CX-5 is still very good value for money.
