2024 Mazda CX-5 carries on with a few small changes

As foretold, the Mazda CX-5 continues into the 2024 model year alongside its better and slightly more expensive brother, the CX-50. Changes are minimal, starting with the disappearance of the base S trim — a popular move for automakers lately, shedding the low-hanging, questionably profitable fruit. This makes the CX-5 $2,600 more expensive to consider after factoring the price increase on the S Select trim that’s now the entry-level model. There are changes further up the trim order, too. The Carbon Turbo returns (pictured), recalling the Carbon Turbo Edition that hasn’t been seen since the 2021 model year. Mazda rolls out new color combos for this trim, the 2024 Carbon Turbo offering a special Zircon Sand Metallic paint for $450 and a Terracotta leather interior mixed with black suede. As before, it slips in as the most accessible variant with the turbocharged 2.5-liter, below the current Turbo that’s renamed Turbo Premium for 2024, and the top-tier Turbo Signature. 

Pricing for the range after the $1,375 destination fee, and the changes from 2023, is:

S Select: $30,675 ($800)
S Preferred: $32,025 ($470)
S Carbon Edition: $33,325 ($850)
S Premium: $35,275 ($900)
S Premium Plus: $37,875 ($1,000)
Carbon Turbo: $38,375 (new)
Turbo Premium: $39,175 ($950)
Turbo Signature: $41,975 ($950)

Every trim comes with Mazda’s i-Activ all-wheel drive. Standard driver assistance and safety features include adaptive cruise control with stop and go, Smart Brake Support, Advanced Smart City Brake Support, Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, and Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist. 

Platinum Quartz Metallic takes a spot on the exterior paint palette as one of the free colors. Soul Red Crystal Metallic, Rhodium White Metallic, and Machine Gray Metallic cost the same $595.

Engines carry over, a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four cylinder serving the S trims with 187 horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque. This engine gets Mazda’s stop-start tech called i-Start in 2024. The automaker says the result is improved fuel economy, going from 24 miles per gallon in the city, 30 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined to 26 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, and 28 mpg combined. Any trim with Turbo in the name comes with a boosted version of the 2.5-liter that makes 227 hp and 310 lb-ft. when sipping 87 octane, or 256 hp and 320 lb-ft. when given 93 octane. Both motors shift through a six-speed automatic transmission.

Mazda’s U.S. best seller will be in dealerships this fall.