- Mazda says the CX-5’s large touchscreen is better than physical buttons.
- The company’s reasoning is that the button-heavy dashboard often requires drivers to take their eyes off the road.
- Installed at eye level, the screen is designed to minimize distractions.
Mazda has been defending its decision to supersize the CX-5’s infotainment system since the crossover changed generations nearly a year ago. People didn’t have a problem with the generous 15.6-inch diagonal of the touchscreen, but the problem was that the dashboard is almost entirely devoid of physical buttons. Although many have accused the Japanese company of resorting to cost-cutting, we’re told other factors are at play as well.
Matthew Valbuena, project manager of in-vehicle technology and human-machine interfaces at Mazda, said motor1 It said in February that the company was “focusing on reducing driver distractions.” In July 2025, Tamara Mlynarzyk, public affairs manager for Mazda North American operations, said in a statement that the new user interface was “based on customer feedback.”
Now, another executive is standing by Mazda’s decision to give the CX-5 a screen-centric dashboard. Speaking to an Australian magazine To driveCX-5 program manager Koichiro Yamaguchi explains why it’s safer to have a larger screen instead of traditional controls. It may seem counterintuitive, but there is some truth in the following statement:
Photo by: Anthony Alaniz/Motor1
Mazda explains why the screen is safer:
‘The air conditioning, you can operate with one finger, and if we have to put a physical button, it will be in the lower position. Then the driver has to look down, and (there are) 15 switches that look similar. This means you have to look down and select the correct button – in effect, requiring the driver to take his eyes off the road. So instead, it’s better to have this control over the screen – minimize this change (distraction).’
However, muscle memory means you can use buttons and knobs without taking your eyes off the road. It takes time to learn where everything is located, but once you do, you can use traditional controls with minimal distraction.
In Mazda’s defense, it pinned frequently used functions like climate settings to the base of the screen. Yamaguchi left the door open for the return of more old-school buttons in future models, but said this would only happen based on customer feedback.
The CX-5 isn’t the only Mazda down this road, as the 6E and CX-6E also feature a minimalist dashboard and oversized infotainment screen. However, those two models have their roots in Chinese vehicles, and everyone knows customers in China love larger displays.
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Source: Anthony Alaniz/Motor1
Motor1’s Opinion: Whether you’re team screen or team button, we can all agree on one thing: Mazda could have made almost everyone happy if it had kept the climate controls as a traditional button, separate from the infotainment system. The switchgear found in the company’s rear-wheel-drive SUVs (CX-60 and above), combined with touchscreen functionality at all times, would have provided the perfect balance.
Looking back, Mazda saw things very differently when the Mazda3 came out in 2019. Here’s what the research conducted at the time revealed:
‘When a driver reaches towards the touchscreen interface in a vehicle, they inadvertently apply torque to the steering wheel, and the vehicle drifts out of its lane position. And of course, with touchscreens you have to look at the screen while you’re touching.’
How times have changed.
