Sport Mazda South · Orlando, FL · Mazda Research Hub
Last updated July 27, 2026 · Written by Michael Craig-Voyk
Mazda deleted the rotary Commander knob for 2026 and moved almost everything onto the screen. This page covers what each trim gets, whether the touchscreen works while you drive, and the parts of that change we would rather you heard from us.
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 has a 12.9-inch center touchscreen on the 2.5 S, 2.5 S Select, 2.5 S Preferred and 2.5 S Premium, and a 15.6-inch touchscreen on the 2.5 S Premium Plus. Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ are standard on every trim, wired on the 2.5 S and wireless from the 2.5 S Select up.[2]
Every trim also has a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster and Google built into the vehicle, which means Google Maps, Google Assistant and the Google Play Store run natively rather than through your phone.[1] The rotary Commander knob fitted to every previous Mazda CX-5 has been deleted.
Two rows in this table decide most purchases: the display size and the wired-against-wireless split.
| Trim | Center display | Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ | Wireless charging pad | Audio | Head-up display |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 S | 12.9 in. | Wired | Not available | 8-speaker | Not available |
| 2.5 S Select | 12.9 in. | Wireless | Standard | 8-speaker | Not available |
| 2.5 S Preferred | 12.9 in. | Wireless | Standard | 8-speaker | Standard |
| 2.5 S Premium | 12.9 in. | Wireless | Standard | Bose® 12-speaker | Standard |
| 2.5 S Premium Plus | 15.6 in. | Wireless | Standard | Bose® 12-speaker | Standard |
The base 2.5 S connects your phone by cable only. Everything above it connects wirelessly and adds the charging pad, so your phone goes in the tray and stays there.[2] If you drive to work and back with a phone in your hand every morning, that single line is the strongest argument for the 2.5 S Select over the base car, and it brings leatherette seats and privacy glass with it. Ask us to demonstrate both. Call (321) 235-6764.
Touch works on all five trims. The 12.9-inch display is not a downgraded non-touch screen on the base car, which is a fair question to ask given how Mazda used to do this.
This is the question we get asked most, and it comes from real experience with the previous generation. On a 2013 to 2025 Mazda CX-5 the touchscreen went dead the moment the car moved, and you drove the menus with the rotary knob on the console.
That behaviour is gone. On the 2026 vehicle the screen accepts touch while you are moving. Consumer Reports, which has been critical of plenty else about this cabin, describes the old arrangement in the past tense and its testers are plainly operating on-screen menus at speed.[3]
We want to be precise here, because Mazda is not. The owner’s manual describes touch operation in one sentence and attaches no speed condition to it. It separately carries a distraction warning asking you to operate the system with the vehicle stopped, which is advice rather than a description of a lockout. And a Mazda footnote attached to the Google features says some features may be locked out while the vehicle is in motion, without naming which. Video playback is the one restriction that is independently documented. If a specific function matters to you, ask us to try it in a car before you buy rather than after. Call (321) 235-6764.[4]
Mazda keeps the most-used controls pinned to the bottom of the screen rather than buried in a menu. On a permanently docked control bar, the argument that the screen is locked while moving does not hold together.
Mazda ran a rotary controller on the console for more than a decade and defended it hard. Deleting it is the largest single change inside this vehicle, so it deserves both sides.
The case for the change is that the knob made a touchscreen useless. You could not tap a destination, could not drag a map, and had to spell an address by rotating through an on-screen keyboard. The 2026 system responds to touch the way a phone does, which is what most drivers now expect from a vehicle.
The case against it is what went with the knob. There is no physical volume control on the dashboard, replaced by an on-screen slider that you reach by tapping the screen first. Consumer Reports objected to that specifically, along with the number of taps needed to change fan speed and to switch on the heated seats.[3] We have heard the same from customers on their third Mazda CX-5.
| Control | Where it lives on the 2026 Mazda CX-5 |
|---|---|
| Rear window defogger | Physical switch |
| Windshield defroster | Physical switch |
| Temperature, fan, air conditioning, modes | Touchscreen |
| Heated and ventilated seats, heated steering wheel | Touchscreen |
| Volume | Steering wheel, plus an on-screen slider |
| Track, source, phone, voice assistant | Steering wheel |
| Drive mode select | Physical control |
| Gear selector, wipers, lights, turn signals, mirrors | Conventional switches and levers |
Two physical climate switches survive: the rear defogger and the windshield defroster. Everything else in the climate system is on glass. In a market where you reach for the air conditioning before you reach for the seat belt, that is worth ten minutes in a parked car before you commit.
Straight from the owner’s manual: “If there are water droplets or dirt on the surface of the switch, the switch may not respond as intended. Switch the ignition OFF and clean the surface of the switch.” If you get into a Florida car with wet hands after loading a soaked stroller, that is the sentence that explains why the volume control ignored you. There is also a touch sensitivity setting that can be turned up.
Google built-in is standard on every 2026 Mazda CX-5, which is different from Android Auto™. Android Auto™ projects your phone onto the screen. Google built-in puts Google Maps, Google Assistant and the Google Play Store into the vehicle itself, running whether your phone is in the car or not.[1]
Mazda includes a one-year trial of vehicle connectivity and a one-year trial of Mazda Connected Services. After that a subscription applies, and Mazda publishes no price for it. We will not print a figure we cannot source, and we would rather you asked us than found out at renewal.[4]
One workaround the delivery team will show you: the vehicle has Wi-Fi and can join a phone hotspot, so the connected features can run on data you already pay for. Our delivery specialists set that up on request at handover.
The owner’s manual states plainly that “Gemini will replace Google Assistant and become available through future updates.” A car on our lot today ships with Google Assistant. Anyone selling you a 2026 Mazda CX-5 on the strength of Gemini is selling you something Mazda has scheduled rather than delivered.
SiriusXM 360L comes with a three-month trial on the 2.5 S Premium and 2.5 S Premium Plus. Every trim has AM, FM and HD Radio, Bluetooth, voice control and 911 emergency notification as standard.
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 can update its own control unit software wirelessly, and it is new with the redesign. Previous Mazda CX-5 owners brought the car to us for a software update; this one can do most of it in your driveway.
Mazda’s published terms are unusually generous and worth stating precisely: “Communication fees associated with performing this update will be free for 10 years after purchasing the vehicle,” and “Software updates are available even if you do not have a Connected Service subscription.” The vehicle checks for new software every seven days.[1]
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Download | Runs in the background. The system stays usable |
| Install | Also runs in the background |
| Activation | Requires the shift selector in Park and a power cycle. Rear Seat Alert and the Blind Spot Monitoring exit warning do not operate during this step |
| History | Up to 20 previous updates are listed on the display |
Why this matters more on this vehicle than on most. The infotainment system is the one part of the 2026 Mazda CX-5 with a documented early-life problem, covering display blackouts and connectivity faults, and Mazda has been shipping software to address it.[3] A car that can update itself is a meaningfully better place for that problem to live than one that needs a service appointment.
If your vehicle has not picked up an update, our service department at (321) 236-9164 can apply the current software and check for any open campaigns against your VIN.[5]
Three things that only show up after a few months here.
Screen glare is the first, and it is better than we expected. The display sits deep enough in the dash to be shaded through most of the day, and the matte finish handles direct afternoon sun far better than a glossy phone screen would. Polarised sunglasses are the variable nobody warns you about; bring the pair you actually wear when you come to drive one.
The second is heat and your phone. A wireless charging pad and a phone running navigation in an August cabin will get warm enough that some phones throttle their charging. That is your phone protecting itself rather than a fault in the car, and a cable into one of the USB-C ports gets around it. Two ports are standard up front on every trim, with two more in the rear console on the 2.5 S Premium and above.
The third is wet hands, which we covered above and which surprises everybody once. Capacitive steering wheel switches and a rainy state are an awkward pairing, and the fix is a cloth in the door bin.
Our honest overall view: this is a much better system than the one it replaces for anyone who uses navigation and phone projection, and a step back for anyone who liked reaching for a volume knob without looking. Which of those you are is a ten-minute question in a parked car at 9786 S. Orange Blossom Trail, and we would rather you answered it before you sign than after.
Seat materials, comfort features by trim and every interior measurement Mazda publishes.
What the published reliability scores actually cover, and the one substantiated third-generation problem.
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 has a 12.9-inch center touchscreen on the 2.5 S, 2.5 S Select, 2.5 S Preferred and 2.5 S Premium, and a 15.6-inch touchscreen on the 2.5 S Premium Plus, the largest Mazda has fitted to a production vehicle. Every trim also has a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster.
All of them except the base 2.5 S, which connects by cable. Wireless Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ are standard from the 2.5 S Select up, together with a wireless charging pad.[2] Phone projection itself is standard on all five trims.
Yes. The 2026 Mazda CX-5 accepts touch input while the vehicle is moving, unlike the 2013 to 2025 vehicle, which disabled the screen above a standstill and required the rotary knob. Mazda restricts certain functions rather than touch itself, publishes no list of which, and asks in its owner’s manual that you operate the system stopped.[4]
No. Mazda deleted the rotary Commander controller with the third-generation redesign and moved its functions to the touchscreen and the steering wheel. Two physical climate switches remain, for the rear defogger and the windshield defroster, and the gear selector, wipers, lights and mirror controls are all still conventional.
No. Volume is adjusted from the steering wheel or from an on-screen slider reached by tapping the display. This is the change owners of previous Mazda CX-5 models comment on most, and it is a fair objection.[3] The steering wheel controls are capacitive, so Mazda notes they may not respond if wet or dirty.
Google Maps, Google Assistant and the Google Play Store running natively in the vehicle rather than through your phone, standard on all five 2026 Mazda CX-5 trims with a one-year connectivity trial.[1] A subscription applies afterward and Mazda publishes no price for it. Call (321) 235-6764 and we will walk you through what it covers.
[1] Google built-in and Mazda Connected Services require an active subscription following the included trial period, a compatible network connection and account setup. Google, Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC. Feature availability and functionality vary by trim and may be subject to change. Standard data rates may apply.
[2] Don’t drive while distracted. Even with voice commands, only use mobile phones and other devices when it is safe to do so. Apple CarPlay® and Apple are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Android Auto™ and Google are trademarks of Google LLC. Requires a compatible phone; standard text and data rates apply.
[3] Reliability ratings, quality studies and ownership-cost estimates are published by the organizations named and are not produced, endorsed or verified by Mazda North American Operations or by Sport Mazda South. Each publisher uses its own methodology, sample and model-year coverage. Several figures currently published under the Mazda CX-5 name are drawn from 2013–2025 vehicles or from Mazda brand averages rather than from the all-new 2026 Mazda CX-5, and are shown here for context only.
[4] This figure was not published in a 2026-model-year Mazda document available at the time of writing and is carried from the previous-generation Mazda CX-5, from a supplier catalog, or from a component manufacturer’s own publication rather than Mazda’s. Because the 2026 Mazda CX-5 is an all-new vehicle, confirm it against your vehicle’s VIN with the Sport Mazda South parts or service department before relying on it.
[5] Recall, complaint and investigation counts shown are taken from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration databases as of the last-updated date of this page and change without notice. A vehicle with no open recall today may have one tomorrow, and a complaint is an unverified owner report rather than a confirmed defect finding. Check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or ask the Sport Mazda South service department to run it for you.
[6] Dealership hours shown on this page are accurate as of the last-updated date above and are subject to change without notice, including on holidays and during special events. Call Sport Mazda South at (321) 235-6764 or visit sportmazdaorlando.com to confirm current hours before visiting.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only. Information herein is subject to change without notice and does not constitute an offer to sell. Specifications, features, pricing and availability are based on manufacturer-published data available as of the last-updated date shown at the top of this page. Confirm all details with a Sport Mazda South representative before purchase.
