Yahoo Autos 2023 Mazda CX-50 Interior Review | Firmly premium, still affordable
Mazda revealed a new interior design language with the redesigned Mazda3 a few years ago, and it was received so well that each subsequent vehicle to be re-done (or made all-new) gets a variation of that interior. The trend continues for the new 2023 Mazda CX-50.
The luxurious look, a generous serving of feel-good buttons/knobs and an enticing combination of colors and styling makes the CX-50’s cabin one of the best — if not the best — in its segment. My tester is a Turbo Premium Plus, which is the highest-possible trim level of the CX-50. It starts at $42,775, which is mighty pricey on the surface, but step inside, and the interior sure does feel its price.
Spec the Terracotta leather option, and you end up with a tan interior that is verging on orange in bright light. The seats get an eye-catching center line in black with contrast stitching. Mazda does up the doors in a two-tone look, and you get faux (but convincing) leather pads on both the dash and doors. These are additionally accented with contrast stitching that just feels lovely to run your hand over. There’s no wood or aluminum trim to be found here, but the way in which Mazda has styled the interior makes such flashy bits feel unnecessary.
The controls are all logically and ergonomically laid out. You get a traditional gear lever that also serves as a nice hand rest for long-distance cruising. The infotainment system is pushed fairly deep into the dash to keep your head from swiveling away from the road to use it. It’s close enough for you to touch it (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are controllable via touchscreen), but not encouraging you to do so. You’re much better off making use of the tactile rotary knob that twirls, tilts and presses to control the infotainment. Quick shortcut buttons by the knob for navigation and music make it easy to swap between the two (they even work to swap between navigation and music apps in CarPlay and Android Auto), and a dedicated “home” and “back” button are also greatly appreciated.
The marrying of digital and analog continues in the instrument cluster. Analog gauges flank a digital screen that could be mistaken for an all-analog setup until you notice the display information can change. You can choose to make the screen look like a traditional speedometer, swap to a driver assistance monitor and others. It’s easily one of the most legible and easy-to-use gauge setups out there.
