The second generation of Mazda's compact crossover gets its world introduction at an event coinciding with the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show.

2018 Mazda CX-5 front 3/4 view

Mazda CX-5

Mazda may have started the 21st century as a company that builds driver-oriented cars, but as we reach the midpoint of the second decade, it is in the process of transforming itself into a manufacturer that produces driver-oriented vehicles.

2018 Mazda CX-5 rear 3/4 view

A case in point is the company's compact CX-5 crossover.

2018 Mazda CX-5 3/4 overhead side view

First launched in 2012 as the first vehicle to incorporate Mazda's Kodo design language, the CX-5 now accounts for 25 percent of Mazda's sales worldwide – nearly 1.4 million to date. More importantly, here in the U.S. it's responsible for nearly 37 percent of the Japanese manufacturer's deliveries.

2018 Mazda CX-5 rear 7/8 view

Needless to say, the second-generation CX-5, unveiled late yesterday during the 2016 LA Auto Show, has some big shoes to fill.

2018 Mazda CX-5 front fascia

2018 Mazda CX-5

Outside, the 2018 CX-5 borrows a number of design cues from the redesigned 2016 CX-9 midsize crossover. Up front, the hood has a more chiseled look, with a leading edge that juts out over a smaller grille. The headlamps are narrower and the chrome trim that surrounds the grille on three sides is wider and more prominent. The horizontal bars that were part of a refresh in 2016 are gone, replaced by a mesh similar to that found on the original model. The fog lamps surrounds are recessed within the lower air intake, which is also slimmer.

2018 Mazda CX-5 side view

The character line along the sides is also more chiseled, and it now angles downward. In back, the taillamps are also narrower and the lower valance is also slimmer. All in all, however, the re-style is more evolutionary than revolutionary. After all, don't mess too much with a winner.

2018 Mazda CX-5 dashboard

Inside, it's a much different story.

2018 Mazda CX-5 front seat detail

While the instrument pod is relatively unchanged, the 7-inch touchscreen has been moved from the middle of the C-stack and not sits above that position on the dashboard like the rest of Mazda's vehicles. Taking its place is a pair of air vents situated along a horizontal band trimmed in brushed metal that runs from the right door to the instrument pod. The HVAC controls reside in a pod on the lower center stack centered just above the console.

2018 Mazda CX-5 console detail

The console is similar, but its sides are now trimmed in soft stitched vinyl, while the cupholders, placed in front of the covered storage bin, now rest side-by-side rather than fore and aft. The console was raised and the shift knob on automatic models is 60 millimeters higher, while the shifter on manual models is 40 millimeters higher. The rear seats now feature a 2-step recliner. But again, despite the changes, it will all look very familiar to Mazda fans.

2018 Mazda CX-5 interior cutaway

Minimal changes were also done to the CX-5's underpinnings. According to Mazda, the new model has a lower center of gravity, while both the front and rear tread were widened by 10 millimeters.

2018 Mazda CX-5 dashpad detail

Changes are also in store under the hood. The Sport model will again feature a 2.0-liter inline-4 paired to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission while the Touring trim and up models carry on with a 2.5-liter inline-4 mated exclusive to a six-speed automatic.

2018 Mazda CX-5 headlamp detail

But starting in the second half of 2017, Mazda will begin offering a Skyactiv-D 2.2-liter clean diesel engine. There's no word yet on which trim levels will receive it, but when it happens it will be Mazda's first diesel engine model in the North American market.

2018 Mazda CX-5 front passenger door trim detail

New to the CX-5 for 2018 is Mazda's G-Vectoring Control, which modifies engine torque to steering wheel action thus optimizing the vertical load on each wheel, an especially nice feature on crossovers with their high center of gravity. The new model retains a column type electric power steering system, but adds rigid steering mounts for improved linearity and steering rigidity.

2018 Mazda CX-5 console storage bin detail

Changes to the body structure include an increased application of ultra-high-tensile steel in the A- and B-pillars as well as the side sills. Cabin noise levels have also been reduced and, although no measurements are given, according to Mazda, the changes mean that "at a cruising speed of 62mph, "the new CX-5 achieves approximately 10% clearer conversation levels within the cabin and reduces noise by approximately 1.3dB when traveling on rough road surfaces."

2018 Mazda CX-5 with new Soul Red Crystal paint finish

2018 Mazda CX-5 prices and availability

The 2018 CX-5 will launch in Japan in February of 2018 before being rolled out to global markets. Pricing, it is assumed, will be released closer to its on-sale date.

2018 Mazda CX-5 rear fascia