Sport Mazda South · Orlando, FL · Mazda Research Hub
Last updated July 27, 2026 · Written and reviewed by the Sport Mazda South product team, Orlando, Florida
The third-generation cabin is the part of this redesign people notice first. Every interior measurement Mazda publishes is below, along with what each trim actually gives you and the one comfort feature that costs you head room.
The third-generation Mazda CX-5 cabin, with the rotary Commander knob replaced by a touchscreen.
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 seats five in two rows, with cloth on the 2.5 S, leatherette and microsuede through the middle of the range and leather on the top two trims, and a 12.9-inch center touchscreen that grows to 15.6 inches on the 2.5 S Premium Plus.1 Front leg room is 41.7 inches, rear leg room is 39.9 inches, and EPA passenger volume is 106.5 cubic feet on trims without the panoramic sunroof.
This is an all-new cabin rather than a refresh. Mazda deleted the rotary Commander knob that sat on the console of every previous Mazda CX-5, moved the controls onto the screen, and built Google in at the factory. If you are trading out of an older Mazda CX-5, the interior is the change you will feel on the first drive.
Three seat materials cover five trims, and the interior color you can have is tied to the material rather than chosen freely.
| Trim | Seat material | Interior colors | Driver’s seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 S | Cloth-trimmed | Black | 8-way manual |
| 2.5 S Select | Leatherette-trimmed with microsuede insert | Black, Pure White | 8-way manual |
| 2.5 S Preferred | Leatherette-trimmed with microsuede insert | Black, Pure White | 10-way power, power lumbar, 2-position memory |
| 2.5 S Premium | Leather-trimmed | Black, Sport Tan | 10-way power, power lumbar, 2-position memory |
| 2.5 S Premium Plus | Leather-trimmed | Black, Sport Tan | 10-way power, power lumbar, 2-position memory |
Leatherette and microsuede, standard from 2.5 S Select.
Leatherette with a microsuede insert sits on the 2.5 S Select and 2.5 S Preferred. The suede centre panel is the part that matters in this climate. It does not go slick when the cabin is hot and it does not stick to the backs of your legs in shorts.
Sport Tan comes only with leather, so it starts at the 2.5 S Premium. Pure White comes only with leatherette, so it exists on the 2.5 S Select and 2.5 S Preferred and nowhere else. The base 2.5 S is black cloth and nothing else. If a light interior is what you want, that decision narrows your trim choice before anything else does.
Mazda publishes a full interior dimension set for the 2026 Mazda CX-5, and the head room rows split by trim because the panoramic sunroof takes space out of the roof.
| Measurement | 2.5 S, Select, Preferred | Premium, Premium Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Front head room | 39.7 in. | 39.2 in. |
| Rear head room | 40.2 in. | 39.1 in. |
| Front leg room | 41.7 in. | 41.7 in. |
| Rear leg room | 39.9 in. | 39.9 in. |
| Front shoulder room | 57.6 in. | 57.6 in. |
| Rear shoulder room | 55.6 in. | 55.6 in. |
| Front hip room | 55.2 in. | 55.2 in. |
| Rear hip room | 52.4 in. | 52.4 in. |
| Rear knee clearance | 5.2 in. | 5.2 in. |
| Passenger volume, EPA | 106.5 cu. ft. | 104.5 cu. ft. |
Read the two head room rows together and the trade is plain. The panoramic sunroof on the 2.5 S Premium and 2.5 S Premium Plus costs half an inch of front head room, 1.1 inches in the back, and two cubic feet of passenger volume.1 For most people that is nothing. For a tall rear passenger who rides in your car every day, it is the difference between comfortable and aware of the roof.
Sit in both before you decide. We keep a 2.5 S Preferred and a 2.5 S Premium on the lot for exactly this reason, and the comparison takes about four minutes.
The panoramic sunroof is standard on 2.5 S Premium and 2.5 S Premium Plus, and is not available on the three trims below them.
Comfort equipment is where the trim ladder does most of its work. This table is the order things arrive in.
| Feature | First trim it is standard on |
|---|---|
| Wireless phone charger | 2.5 S Select |
| Rear seat air vents | 2.5 S Select |
| Heated front seats | 2.5 S Preferred |
| Heated steering wheel | 2.5 S Preferred |
| 10-way power driver’s seat with lumbar and memory | 2.5 S Preferred |
| Active Driving Display | 2.5 S Preferred |
| 6-way power passenger seat | 2.5 S Premium |
| Ventilated front seats | 2.5 S Premium |
| Heated rear seats | 2.5 S Premium |
| Panoramic sunroof | 2.5 S Premium |
| Ambient lighting, seven selectable colors | 2.5 S Premium |
| Driver Personalization System | 2.5 S Premium Plus |
Heated seats are the feature people ask about and ventilated seats are the feature that changes a Florida summer. They start at the 2.5 S Premium. If your car sits in a parking lot from nine to five, this is the single line on the whole options walk we would tell you to pay for.
Ambient lighting on the front door trims arrives at the same point, with seven colors selectable from the center display. The Driver Personalization System on the 2.5 S Premium Plus goes a step further and sets the seat and mirrors for whoever is behind the wheel, a feature that came down from the Mazda CX-90.
Every 2026 Mazda CX-5 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.2
| Trim | Center display | Active Driving Display | Audio | Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 S | 12.9 in. | Not available | 8-speaker | Wired |
| 2.5 S Select | 12.9 in. | Not available | 8-speaker | Wireless |
| 2.5 S Preferred | 12.9 in. | Standard | 8-speaker | Wireless |
| 2.5 S Premium | 12.9 in. | Standard | Bose® 12-speaker | Wireless |
| 2.5 S Premium Plus | 15.6 in. | Standard | Bose® 12-speaker | Wireless |
Wired against wireless is the row worth a second look. The base 2.5 S connects Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ by cable only. Every trim above it is wireless and adds the charging pad.3
15.6-inch display, 2.5 S Premium Plus only.
The largest screen Mazda has put in a production vehicle is exclusive to the 2.5 S Premium Plus. The four trims below it run 12.9 inches, which is not a small screen by any standard.
Now the honest part. Mazda deleted the rotary Commander knob, and almost everything now lives on the touchscreen. Consumer Reports published a piece in June 2026 objecting to that decision, singling out the missing volume knob and the depth of the climate and seat-heater menus.4 We have heard the same thing from customers who have owned three Mazda CX-5s, and we would rather you hear it here than find out in month two.
The counter-argument is that the screen now responds to touch at any speed, which the knob-driven system never did, and that the steering wheel still carries physical volume and cruise controls. Whether that trade works for you is a ten-minute question in a parked car, not a specification. Come and drive the menus before you commit.
Every 2026 Mazda CX-5 has a 40/20/40 split rear seatback with one-touch fold-down, a center pass-through, and seatbacks that recline independently on the left and right. A center armrest with cup holders is standard across the range.
40/20/40 split with a center armrest, standard on every trim.
Rear knee clearance is 5.2 inches and rear shoulder room is 55.6 inches. Two adults sit comfortably. Three across is a school run rather than a road trip, which is true of every vehicle this size.
For child seats, the 2026 Mazda CX-5 has lower anchors at the two outboard rear positions and three top tether anchors including the center. A seat with rigid lower connectors cannot be installed in the center position; a seat that belts in can, and Mazda notes the nearest lower anchors sit 19.7 inches apart if you are trying to reach them from the middle. Bring your seat and we will fit it in a car on the lot.
Storage is where Mazda goes quiet. An overhead console with a sunglasses holder is standard, and the owner’s manual lists a center console, glove compartment, front and rear cup holders, a bottle holder and rear coat hooks. Mazda publishes no volume for any of them.
We will not estimate a console or glovebox capacity for you, because Mazda does not publish one and a guess is worse than nothing. If your question is whether a specific thing fits, bring the thing. Our team will measure a car on the lot with you standing there. Call (321) 235-6764.
Two front USB-C ports are standard on every trim. Two more appear in the rear center console on the 2.5 S Premium and 2.5 S Premium Plus, which is the trim step that matters if the back seat is usually occupied by teenagers.
Three things about this market change which interior decisions you will care about a year from now.
The first is what a closed car does in August. Ventilated front seats on the 2.5 S Premium and above pull air through the cushion rather than just cooling the cabin around you, and the difference on a black leather seat at two in the afternoon is not subtle. If your budget stops below that trim, a windshield shade and the remote start in the MyMazda app do more for you than any other accessory we sell.
The second is the panoramic sunroof. It brings light in, and light in Florida brings heat with it. The shade closes and the glass is tinted, but a car with a panoramic roof parked in the open still loads up faster than one without. Some of our customers love it and some ask us to find them a 2.5 S Preferred specifically to avoid it. Both are reasonable.
The third is color. Pure White leatherette and Sport Tan leather both look superb on the lot, and both show more than black does when the car spends its life carrying beach gear, sports kit and a dog. That is not a reason to avoid them. It is a reason to add the all-weather floor liners from our parts department at (407) 851-8510 on day one rather than in year two.5
How much fits behind the rear seats, how the 40/20/40 bench folds and what is under the cargo floor.
Screen size by trim, wired against wireless phone projection, and what Google built-in actually does.
How many the Mazda CX-5 seats, LATCH positions and how car seats fit in the second row.
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 uses cloth-trimmed seats on the 2.5 S, leatherette-trimmed seats with a microsuede insert on the 2.5 S Select and 2.5 S Preferred, and leather-trimmed seats on the 2.5 S Premium and 2.5 S Premium Plus.1 Interior color follows the material: Black on every trim, Pure White with leatherette only, Sport Tan with leather only.
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 has 41.7 inches of front leg room and 39.9 inches of rear leg room, with 5.2 inches of rear knee clearance.1 Front shoulder room is 57.6 inches and rear shoulder room is 55.6 inches. EPA passenger volume is 106.5 cubic feet without the panoramic sunroof.
Yes. A 2026 Mazda CX-5 without the panoramic sunroof has 39.7 inches of front head room and 40.2 inches in the rear. With the sunroof, fitted as standard on the 2.5 S Premium and 2.5 S Premium Plus, those figures are 39.2 and 39.1 inches.1 Passenger volume drops from 106.5 to 104.5 cubic feet.
Heated front seats and a heated steering wheel are standard from the 2.5 S Preferred. Ventilated front seats and heated rear outboard seats are standard from the 2.5 S Premium. In Central Florida the ventilated seats are the upgrade our customers tell us they notice most. Call (321) 235-6764 to drive both.
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 display on the 2.5 S Premium Plus. Every trim has a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster and Google built in.2 The rotary Commander knob used on previous Mazda CX-5 models has been deleted.
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 is an all-new third-generation vehicle on a 110.8-inch wheelbase, and it carries 33.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats against roughly 29 on the previous generation.1 The cabin architecture, the seat materials and the entire infotainment system are new rather than carried over. Sport Mazda South stocks all five trims at 9786 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando.6
1. Dimensions, weights and cargo volumes are manufacturer-published figures and may vary by trim, optional equipment and measurement method. Cargo capacity and passenger volume vary with configuration. See dealer for complete details.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Genuine Mazda accessories are sold and installed separately from the vehicle and are not included in MSRP. Part numbers, availability, fitment and installation labor are current as of the last-updated date of this page. Confirm fitment against your vehicle’s VIN with the Sport Mazda South parts department before ordering, and confirm any accessory installation with the service department before towing.
6. Vehicle availability, trim availability and color availability are subject to current inventory and change without notice. Contact Sport Mazda South at (321) 235-6764 to confirm availability of a specific 2026 Mazda CX-5 configuration.
7. 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.
