The Rise of the Soft-Roader
The recipe is straightforward, and it works. Start with a regular crossover, give it a small lift, fit chunkier tires, and add some tougher styling cues. Suddenly, it looks ready for more than just city errands. Buyers, especially in North America and Australia, have responded. Soft-roaders now fill the gap between daily comfort and occasional adventure, and they’ve been quite popular with customers.
The Subaru Forester Wilderness and Hyundai Tucson XRT show there’s real demand for this middle ground. These aren’t built for hardcore trails, but they have just enough capability to make weekend trips off the pavement feel easy.
That idea isn’t lost with Mazda with the next-generation CX-5. While Mazda usually takes its time with updates, especially with its hybrid system, the brand is now openly weighing whether a tougher version is the right move.
Kristen Brown
What Mazda Is Saying So Far
In an interview with Carsales, a Mazda executive admits it is evaluating whether a tougher CX-5 is worth pursuing. Program manager Koichiro Yamaguchi stopped short of confirming anything, but his comments suggest the idea is being taken seriously.
“I like to monitor the customer feedback really carefully,” he said, pointing to demand as the deciding factor.
If Mazda decides to go ahead, the upgrades would follow a familiar pattern. Expect a substantial lift, pushing ground clearance past 7.9 inches, along with all-terrain tires and some basic underbody protection. The styling would likely get darker trim, roof rails, and a few interior tweaks to set it apart from the regular CX-5.
The hardware is already moving in the right direction. Yamaguchi said that the next CX-5’s all-wheel-drive system now delivers more torque to the rear wheels and offers finer control, giving Mazda a solid foundation if it chooses to push further into off-road territory.
Mazda
A Familiar Playbook, Just in a Different Form
Mazda has already dipped its toes in this segment with the CX-50 Turbo Meridian Edition in the US. That model gets light off-road upgrades, bolder styling, and a focus on outdoor practicality instead of hardcore capability.
A more rugged CX-5 would take that same idea and apply it to a nameplate that’s better known around the world. It wouldn’t replace the CX-50, but would sit alongside it, giving buyers another soft-roader option in a package that’s already familiar.
If Mazda moves forward, the CX-5 could become a newer, more understated entry in the soft-roader segment. It wouldn’t be a hardcore off-roader, but it would feel more at home when the pavement ends. That fits right in with what more buyers are looking for: a crossover that’s ready for the weekend.
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