IF YOU’RE feeling a bit of deja vu, we can’t blame you. It was only 13 months ago that Mazda launched the second-generation CX-5 mid-size SUV. But here we are again, having another look at Australia’s best-selling high-rider.

Car-makers are increasingly feeling the pressure to move their product game along, going beyond the usual five- to seven-year model life cycles and facelifts that we have become accustom to. Thus, the advent of the model year update. Enter the 2018 CX-5.

When it first launched, we thought the CX-5 was a pretty good thing – a class leader, in fact. Surely a tickle here and there would stand to improve matters? More importantly, what was so important that Mazda couldn’t wait until a facelift to introduce it? Read on to find out.