Mazda CX-5
Ranked 5 of 7 compact SUVs by recommenders
People recommend it for physical knobs and buttons instead of a touchscreen, and for reliability through high mileage. Critics say the large touchscreen makes the cabin feel cheaper.
People recommend it for physical knobs and buttons instead of a touchscreen, and for reliability through high mileage. Critics say the large touchscreen makes the cabin feel cheaper.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Physical knobs and buttons instead of touchscreen
“My 2023 Mazda CX-5 uses knobs to control car play, it basically acts like using Tab key to walk through selectable UI elements.”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “CarPlay Is Additive” “I've got a CX-5 that's 3 years old and it's pleasingly touch screen free.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “All Cars Sold in the EU Now Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face” Few problems through high mileage
“my mazda cx-5 has had no issues. it's an extension of my phone at this point.”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “CarPlay Is Additive” “It's barely had any problems, though, through 150k miles”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “BMW PHEV: Safety fuse replacement is extremely expensive”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Large touchscreen replaces physical controls
“went all in Tesla screen derangement and folks don't love it”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “CarPlay Is Additive” “Disliking the giant touchscreen wasn't the only reason”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Car touchscreens are cheap, not good” “the new cx-5 is a touch screen-only monstrosity”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Mercedes-Benz commits to bringing back physical buttons”
Other compact SUVs people recommend
The four most recommended other compact SUVs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota RAV4 | 19 | 16 | 54% | 9 | 5 yrs3 owners | — |
| Honda CR-V | 11 | 2 | 85% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Kia Niro | 11 | 3 | 79% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Toyota RAV4 Prime | 9 | 4 | 69% | 4 | — | — |
| Mazda CX-5This page | 8 | 4 | 67% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
12 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I've got a CX-5 that's 3 years old and it's pleasingly touch screen free.”
“The screen actually makes the entire experience feel cheaper compared to the extremely nice feeling buttons on the older model.”
“Disliking the giant touchscreen wasn't the only reason”
“My 2023 Mazda CX-5 uses knobs to control car play, it basically acts like using Tab key to walk through selectable UI elements.”
“went all in Tesla screen derangement and folks don't love it”
“my mazda cx-5 has had no issues. it's an extension of my phone at this point.”
“because the CX-50 has even worse visibility”
“Visibility sucks looking left & right because the A frame is so thick.”
“the new cx-5 is a touch screen-only monstrosity”
“It's the best thought-out oil filter location I've ever seen; I cannot think of any possible improvement.”
“our 2023 Mazda CX-5 is significantly better with almost no false positives”
“It's barely had any problems, though, through 150k miles”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.