The Mazda CX-5 you’re looking at here is new, believe it or not. Yes, the design looks a lot like the old one, but that isn’t a bad thing. Even the powertrain is the same as before, right down to the six-speed automatic transmission. That makes it a bit of a rare bird, considering so many new vehicles have switched to eight speeds or more by now. We were curious about Mazda’s decision to stick with the old-school gearbox, and since one of the company’s executives had time to sit down with us ahead of the car’s launch, we asked about it.
“The six-speed transmission works really well with our current Skyactiv-G engine, so we didn’t want to change the recipe,” explained Stefan Meisterfeld, vice president of strategic planning for Mazda North America. “It’s very linear, very direct. The shift feel and the feedback we get from our customers, and also people like you in the press, is that this is a really good combination. So we didn’t intend to change this, at least at the time of launch.”
It’s true that the CX-5 is and has long been a solid driver. It’s no Miata, but it’s clear that the same people who build the MX-5 are the ones behind this four-door, five-seater family hauler. The Skyactiv-G engine that Meisterfeld mentioned is an interesting part of the formula—or recipe, as he called it—given that its peppy nature is due to high compression (13:1) instead of a turbo. Because of that, there’s not as much torque, and it makes sense to run fewer gears so it isn’t hunting around for the powerband.
Indeed, the 2026 Mazda CX-5‘s power figures are identical to the old one’s at 187 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque. That’s… not a lot, and though the recipe worked fine in its predecessor, we’ll have to see how it feels with the new CX-5 growing substantially in size (+4.5 inches in overall length) and putting on a few pounds. Just how many, Mazda hasn’t revealed yet.
Meisterfeld insists that it will still be enough.
“Our engineers, as I’m sure you know, they’re very passionate about our driving DNA and the fun-to-drive aspect,” he explained. “They’re still fine-tuning the vehicle to ensure that it delivers the same performance as you’re used to from the current CX-5, despite the vehicle being bigger. And yes, we can’t fight physics, the car will also be slightly heavier, but our engineers, they do everything they can to keep our driving DNA in this vehicle, and I’m very confident you will be satisfied when you drive it.”
If anybody knows how to make a slow car feel fast, it’s Mazda. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt here.
And as for the six-speed auto, I’m sure that it, too, will be fine. We’ll see if it sticks around on the hybrid CX-5 coming in 2027 with the new Skyactiv-Z powertrain. When asked about that, and whether the six-speed’s compatibility with the system was a consideration in keeping it on, Meisterfeld declined to share further details at this point.
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com
From running point on new car launch coverage to editing long-form features and reviews, Caleb does some of everything at The Drive. And he really, really loves trucks.
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