cars news 10: Chief Designer Gives us a Walkaround of the 2017 Mazda CX-5

The Mazda CX-5 enters its second generation, and though the changes may be subtle for a ground-up redesign, the compact crossover’s styling has been refined and sharpened for 2017. At the 2016 L.A. auto show, Detroit editor Alisa Priddle caught up with Mazda design chief Julien Montousse, who walked us through the new model’s design changes.

The 2017 CX-5’s Kodo styling has been updated to match the rest of the Mazda lineup. In the Facebook Live video below, Montousse says the evolutionary changes were made to “push the brand toward a premium expression.” To that end, the profile has been made sleeker with a subtle sharknose front end and an inverted five-point, chrome-underlined grille. The roofline is also more raked at the rear, with the 2017 model’s liftgate featuring more of a slope.

Mazda had a similar goal for the interior, which now looks more upscale with softer materials and a redesigned dash. The CX-5 is the latest Mazda model to adopt the “floating screen” design, with the screen rising out of the dash. Montousse explains that this decision was made for safety reasons, as mounting the screen higher places it closer to the driver’s line of sight.

Watch the full video below to learn all about the 2017 Mazda CX-5’s design.