The next generation 2026 Mazda CX-5 will ditch physical climate controls and a rotary knob for its infotainment system, foregoing long-standing mainstays from the Japanese car brand. However, Mazda promises that its new touchscreen-based controls won’t be distracting.
“Mazda’s driving philosophy remains the same,” said Matthew Valbuena, project manager for vehicle technologies and human-machine interfaces at Mazda Engine1.
“We focus on minimizing driver distraction.
“While our approach to the solution may be different than what we have done before, the goal is the same: how can we provide the driver with the connectivity and features they are looking for, but in a safe way that does not distract them while driving,” he added.
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Mazda has offered rotary knob infotainment models since introducing the MZD Connect system in the third-generation Mazda 3 in 2014.
It said at the time that the new system was designed with “the highest priority on safe driving (that) minimizes the factors that lead to driver distraction,” with a “command button that can only be operated by touch.”
The brand currently offers a range of infotainment systems, each with confusingly different operating principles.
For example, MZD Connect remains in the outdated Mazda 2 and CX-3 models and features the rotary dial and touch functionality for the screen, but only when the vehicle is parked.
Mazda’s next generation of infotainment technology, Mazda Connect, debuted with the fourth-generation Mazda 3, launched in 2019. The touch functionality was removed and the infotainment screen was controlled exclusively via the rotary controller.
To further confuse matters, certain Mazdas with Mazda Connect later received touch functionality, but only for use with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which are notoriously difficult to operate without a touchscreen.
This means that some Mazda model ranges either have touch functionality or not, depending on the variant.
The new CX-5 – due in Australia in mid-2026 – will switch from a 10.25-inch to a 15.6-inch touchscreen, making it the largest Mazda in Australia… at least for now.
In the US market it will also feature Google Built-in with embedded apps such as Google Maps and Google Assistant, although Mazda Australia has yet to confirm whether local CX-5s will also have this functionality.
Mr Valbuena said: “Consumer sentiment will drive demand for this to spread across the range,” suggesting more Mazdas will ditch the rotary and physical climate controls.
While the next Mazda CX-5 will feature a huge touchscreen, the new midsize SUV will soon be surpassed by its electric counterpart, the CX-6e.
The upcoming CX-6e, which like the 6e Liftback is an electric vehicle (EV) developed and built by Chinese joint venture Changan Mazda, features a huge 26-inch touchscreen that effectively combines the digital instrument cluster, infotainment screen and passenger display.
Unlike the previous CX-5, which has separate physical climate controls, these have been relocated to the touchscreen in the new CX-5. However, they are anchored at the bottom so they are always visible.
Mazda says there are still multiple ways to control various features, including steering wheel controls and the built-in voice assistant. However, according to Mazda, the rotary controller was eliminated because of its simplicity and ease of use, and due to the fact that the majority of adults own a smartphone.
“Trying to control this wide variety of apps with a single command button would be very difficult,” Mr. Valbuena said Engine1.
“We didn’t want to have this super-complicated user experience that required reading a huge instruction manual. We wanted that kind of entry and discovery, and this system provides that.”
Mr. Valbuena also compared the new and outgoing Mazda infotainment systems to the now-defunct iPod Classic and iPod Touch, saying, “Both can do the same things, but the iPod Touch is more flexible and can do more things than the iPod Classic.”
Mazda is the latest proponent of rotating infotainment controllers to move away from them.
Audi has phased out its MMI rotary controller, while BMW has gradually removed its iDrive controller – first on its New Generation compact models and now on its New Class electric vehicles.
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