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The 2022 Mazda CX-5’s interior offers the finest design, technology, and standard features across the lineup.

A little under half a year ago, Mazda released the new and upped version of their flagship compact crossover SUV: the Mazda CX-5. Joining the 2022 SUV segment, this is part of the CX-5’s second generation fleet, which made its debut in 2017 for the same model year. Back then, it made a strong statement with its flashy design and perfectly-organized interior, robust performance, and refined tech, with which it attained Wardsauto’s ‘10 best UX for user experience satisfaction and was named Digital Trends' Best Crossover SUV. Over the years, the brand has revolutionized its crossover, adding an engine option, standard smartphone connectivity, and multiple safety features.

Realizing that everyone has different style, performance, and driving preferences, the Mazda CX-5 is the brand's way of meeting the needs of the masses by offering more features to ensure the satisfaction of each customer. That’s the kind of context that the 2022 Mazda CX-5 was now born, or rather, refreshed into. The 2022 Mazda CX-5 has received significant refreshments, like the now-standard all-wheel-drive, suspension tweaks, redesigned front seats, reshuffled trims, and a more potent turbocharged powertrain that has now gained 6 horses. It also has a redesigned exterior, which gains new headlights, taillights, and stunning alloy wheels while losing some body lines for a cleaner and more expressive appeal. It's currently offered in about 8 trim levels: base S, Select, Preferred, Carbon Edition, Premium, Premium Plus, 2.5 Turbo, and the 2.5 Turbo Signature model.

The Mazda CX-5 is already on the horizon for the 2023 model year, with sales set to begin in fall 2022. With that said, we can’t help but feel like the new version’s hype has somewhat overlapped the current model, or, stolen the show, if you may. Nevertheless, the 2022 version is still a compelling choice, and one compact crossover we’d absolutely recommend to buyers.

Here’s a closer look at what the interior of the Mazda CX-5 has to offer.

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The most feature inside the Mazda CX-5 is probably the dashboard, which gets equipped with a 10.25-inch touchscreen as standard across the entire lineup. The infotainment comes with desired standard features, like the subscription-based Wi-Fi hot spot, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, and two front USB ports. For added convenience, the system comes with a voice recognition feature.

While the Mazda CX-5 has a lot of family members, the brand did a good job of distributing the features in a way that wouldn’t make fans steer clear of the low-end trims. Take the base S trim, for instance, which received features like a leather-wrapped steering wheel, rain-sensing wipers, cloth seating, and automatic high-been headlights. Not to mention keyless entry. Like the entire lineup, the base model also gets safety features like automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and the forward collision warning system.

The next model up the line, the Select trim, adds automatic climate control, heated front seats, faux leather upholstered seats, rear air conditioning vents two rear USB outlets, and a power-adjustable driver’s seat. And the coolest part is that the Select model is only about $2,000 pricier than the base sibling.

The Preferred model adds a six-way power-adjustable passenger seat, and an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory settings, and tops it up with a few exterior updates, but is otherwise similar to the Select trim on the inside, and the Carbon Edition adds a Bose 10-speaker stereo system, and a 7-inch digital gauge cluster. Going up the family tree gives you features like wireless device charging, and a power rear liftgate, among many others.

RELATED: Beware: The Mazda CX-5 Is Probably The Safest Crossover In North America

The Mazda CX-5 has always flaunted cool interior designs that, if we were to hide the Mazda logs and signature design cues, could fool you into thinking that you’re looking at a more luxurious cabin. And that’s just what makes it unique in the compact SUV segment.

Like most of its competitors, the Mazda CX-5’s interior takes on a more driver-focused approach that strategically placed all major controls at an arm’s length. This creates a smooth-looking and uncluttered dashboard design.

Overall, the CX-5’s interior is stylish, with exclusive materials, high-quality plastics, soft-touch details, glossy black finishes, and chrome accents. The Updated leather seats and wood trim in the top-of-the-line Turbo Signature model bring the CX-5 up to a more luxurious level.

The seats themselves offer exceptional comfort, even on the longest trips. Plus, the high-end trims get heat functions for all front and rear occupants, as well as power adjustments for the driver and front passenger.

While the Mazda CX-5 has a spacious cabin, it falls behind a few rivals. Thanks to its 106.2-inch wheelbase and its 104 cubic feet of passenger space, both the front and rear passengers have enough legroom and headroom to seat comfortably. But the rear occupants have considerably less headroom, which makes it a lot suitable for children.

But, with a cargo space that grows from 29.1 cubic feet behind the rear seats to 58.1 cubic feet with rear seats folded, the CX-5 does lack the cargo space that most of its competitors, like the Honda CR-V and Hyundai Tucson, offer abundantly - 39.2 cubic feet and 38.7 cubic feet behind the rear seat respectively. However, The CX-5 is still roomy enough to carry a couple of suitcases. Plus, you get extra storage compartments up front for smaller items and gadgets.

Wilfred Nkhwazi is a screenwriter, actor, and sports car enthusiast from Blantyre, Malawi. He has written 2 feature films and a thriller trilogy. Wilfred is pursuing an Electric Car Technology program and spends a lot of his time writing for hotcars.com, penning down fast whips, celebrity collections, and everything else in-between. When he isn't writing, he loves to take long drives around the city, make music, and drink hot chocolate.