Priced at P 2,495,000, the solitary 2.5 AWD HEV Premium Plus variant finds itself in stiff competition; not just from its typical rivals (RAV4, Forester, CR-V), but also from atypical ones (X-Trail, Sportage, Tucson, and the countless Chinese brands). To that end, Mazda must offer something special up its sleeve to stand out, and it does on three fronts.

First up, there’s the exterior design. A typical high point for Mazda, the third-generation CX-5 manages to continue that trend. Barely. From a carmaker that’s come up with design homeruns in the past, the bar has been set so high that the CX-5 can be criticized as looking evolutionary. Still, not bad considering its predecessors all manage to look mint. The bookends—the front and rear—are high notes. The front features aggressive-looking interlocking headlights (now with headlight washers), while the rear looks more visually planted with the CX-60-like taillight cluster and the new “MAZDA” rear badge.

If anything, it’s the side profile where the CX-5 loses some style points. Granted the carryover platform may have been a limiting factor, but designers could have veered away from the same rear quarter window treatment. Plus, because this generation’s actually much longer, they could have also applied larger wheels as the standard 19s look too small here.

The second high point has to do with the added practicality. Coming from the previous CX-5 (and even CX-60), this CX-5 makes no compromises when it comes to interior room. It now becomes truly a capable and versatile 5-seater family SUV. With the added length all going to the wheelbase, it gives all other compact SUVs a run for its money. Wider opening rear doors, re-sculpted seats, and a re-worked roofline all contribute to increased knee and headroom accommodating vertically-gifted individuals with space to breathe.

The thoughtfulness of the CX-5’s cabin design extends to its cubby holes and cargo hold. The cargo hold itself has a much lower floor depth meaning loading and unloading of luggage is less like doing bicep curls and more like a lazy just-slide-it-in (or out) affair. What’s more, Mazda has done so and still managed to keep a spare tire tucked in an underfloor storage compartment.

For those who like to drive around with their wallets placed somewhere in the cabin, you’ll be glad to know that there’s zero chance of having your credit cards demagnetized by the wireless charger. The wireless charger has been relocated to its own dedicated compartment located just ahead of the armrest. Still prefer to use wires when charging? No problem. The armrest console’s butterfly hinge opening has cutouts where cables can snake through without creating a mess.

Having said that, there are some compromises clearly done to cut costs. One of the defining features of the CX-5, which is a tonneau cover that cleverly goes up when the tailgate opens is now gone; replaced by a more traditional slide and tuck system. And while the rear seats can still be tumbled in a 40/20/40 split, from the cargo compartment, you can only do so in a 60/40 split. Dropping the center portion to fit long items has to be done via a lever on the middle seatback.

The third high note and the single best thing on the all-new CX-5 remains the driving dynamics. Mazda hasn’t lost their touch in chassis tuning here. Throughout this 560-kilometer drive from Cabuyao to Baguio and back shows that this third-generation model’s steering, grip, ride, brakes, and NVH not only beats the previous-generation CX-5 by a mile, but it still manages to school every single contemporary compact SUV out there using the same criteria.

Impeccable handling may be the last thing anyone expects in this category of vehicles, but the CX-5 delivers on just that. The steering isn’t just linear and precise, but it’s got impeccable feel; a rarity in this day and age. When driven spiritedly, it communicates just how much grip the chassis has left and for the more mechanically sensitive, when electronic aids such as torque vectoring (GVC Plus) start kicking in. And when compared to the CX-60’s much weightier rack, this one’s more approachable thanks to its lighter effort. The brakes too have excellent bite and modulation, perfectly suited to its driver-centric character. Of course, Mazda hasn’t forgotten the comfort aspect too. It soaks up road imperfections—even giant potholes—with aplomb and without any noticeable detriment to ride quality. There’s some slight low-speed jitteriness when going over small road corrugations, but that’s probably down more to the unadjusted (delivery) tire pressure than anything else.

Now, for all of the CX-5’s highs, it does falter on three aspects. The first has to do with the interior quality. Instead of elevating what typical compact SUVs offer, Mazda’s done the opposite here. It may be part of the whole “Wearable Gear” philosophy, but make no mistake: it feels cheap with hard plastics galore. It may be more well-wearing for those who actually transport kids, pets, or messy significant others, but it’s also a downgrade from the Grade A interiors this carmaker’s done in the past. The standard colorway may seem like Mazda aimed for Lexus lite here, but ended up with something more bog-standard Toyota instead. Shame as the driving-related controls such as the switchgear all get top marks.

Another area where the CX-5 loses out is in the new man-machine interface. Points for making it look like the newest BMW iDrive or Tesla interface, but it also does so as a bad facsimile. The all-digital gauge cluster looks simplistic and lacks the overall legibility of past Mazda models. Then, proper tactile buttons, even for the most basic controls such as the trip computer (read out and reset), seat memory (set and recall), and i-stop (on or off) have all migrated to the giant tablet-like screen. Making this worse is the lack of voice commands (there’s no Google integration for local spec units) and the screen’s apparent lag and lack of resolution. Given that those aforementioned functions require double or even triple the number of steps than before, it’s a pain to use. The home screen can be customized with widgets, but they’re limited to just three at the moment—ADAS, Calendar, and Trip Computer. There’s a fourth one, but that automatically displays whatever the audio’s playing.

Sad as the new steering wheel concept is pretty intuitive. The largely capacitive bank of buttons default to the usual button press format (complete with sensory feedback), but can be made to recognize swipe commands when enabled in the Settings screen.

However, by far, the CX-5’s weakest point has to do with the engine. Driven purely in the city or even just sensibly on the highway, it feels alright. Even if it doesn’t feel as relaxed as a turbocharged motor, it’s adequate enough to transport three adults and luggage with no issue. True enough, its 14.9 km/L fuel economy shows just how perfectly matched that engine is to the rest of the car.

However, with such a brilliant chassis it’s attached to, the performance or rather, the lack of it, of the 2.5-liter Skyactiv-G is made even more obvious when pushed. Since Mazda tuned it for better low-end responsiveness (peak horsepower and peak torque arrive way sooner), it loses steam quickly. At times, it feels taxed pushing its 1,781-kilogram curb weight around in anything other than a flat piece of road. It requires careful planning of overtaking maneuvers and the engine can also get quite vocal in the process. By the time it reached Baguio, that fuel economy reading dropped by 3.2 km/L (11.7 km/L average).

At this point, it’s apparent that the all-new CX-5 isn’t for the hardcore Mazda buyer. For those who’re already worshiping in the Church of Jinba-Ittai, the CX-60 comes is still the uncompromising choice when it comes to overall driving dynamics and pure smiles-per-mile experience. This one is often touted as the “two-ton Miata,” and from the driver’s seat, it’s easy to see why.

On the other hand, the 2027 Mazda CX-5 finds itself with a different purpose and mission. Instead of trying to capture current Mazda buyers, it seems this one wants to bring more into the fold. With that, it’s engineered to be much more mainstream. It offers just the right amount of Mazda differentiation thanks to its class-leading design and dynamics, but wrapped in a more familiar, more palatable compact SUV package down to its space-first priority and tablet-like tech.

With an increasing reliance on more SUVs and crossovers in its line-up, Mazda, as a company, can’t afford to play the same tune. Going for a more mainstream audience, than simply catering to your current one is risky business, but taking chances is what Mazda needs at this point. Some will judge the all-new CX-5 as a cop out. Yet, everyone has to be reminded that going conventional has managed to work in another compact SUV in the recent past (*cough* Forester *cough*). Enthusiasts will see this as a compelling, but unlovable choice, but the fact that it’s managed to wedge itself in the every person’s RAV4 versus CR-V conversation; it’s job done.