2026 CX-5 2.5 S Preferred

Built for a household that shares the car

The Preferred trim's headline feature is easy to undersell on a spec sheet: driver-seat memory. A 10-way power-adjustable seat with two memory positions doesn't sound dramatic until you're the second driver in a household, sliding into a seat that was set for someone six inches taller than you, and realizing you've got a one-button fix instead of a manual re-adjustment every single time you drive. Pair that with the 19-inch black-finish alloy wheels — which fill the wheel wells more convincingly than the smaller wheels on the trims below and read as noticeably sportier in person than in photos — and the Preferred starts to look like the trim built for a family that actually rotates who's behind the wheel.

The programmable power liftgate is the other piece of that same puzzle. Set the opening height once — useful if the CX-5 lives in a garage with a lower ceiling clearance than a dealership showroom — and every subsequent open respects that limit automatically. It's a small thing until the first time you're loading the back with both arms full and a car seat balanced on one hip, at which point it stops being small.

Everything carried over from Select, unchanged

The Preferred keeps the Select trim's wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, leatherette-with-microsuede seating, and automatic power-folding heated mirrors, then layers its own additions on top. The 12.9-inch touchscreen, 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster, and the full standard i-Activsense safety suite carry through unchanged from the base trim, since none of that is gated by trim level on this generation of CX-5 — every 2026 model gets it.

What Preferred and near-Preferred buyers say

Erin K. leased her CX-5 at Empire Mazda of Green Brook and came away describing the kind of process that shows up repeatedly in the dealership's reviews: "I had a great experience at [Empire Mazda of Green Brook]. Sam and Kelvin worked with me for my lease and they were very kind and thorough, I definitely recommend them! I love my CX-5!" That combination — a sales team that walks a lessee through trim comparisons without pushing toward the most expensive option — is a recurring thread across the dealership's nearly 800 Google reviews, most of which land at 5 stars.

Frequently asked questions

What does the CX-5 Preferred trim add over the Select?

Three things: 19-inch black-finish alloy wheels, a 10-way power-adjustable driver's seat with 2-position memory, and a programmable power rear liftgate. Everything from the Select trim — wireless CarPlay, leatherette-microsuede seats, heated power-folding mirrors — carries over.

Is the Preferred trim a good middle-ground choice?

For most buyers, yes. It sits roughly halfway up the price ladder and adds features that matter for daily convenience (seat memory, hands-easier liftgate) rather than luxury flourishes, which makes it a common landing spot for shoppers who started out looking at the base trim and worked their way up during a test drive.

Does the Preferred trim come with leather seats?

No — leatherette with microsuede inserts carries over from the Select trim. Genuine leather-trimmed seating is introduced at the next step up, the 2.5 S Premium.

Where can I test drive the CX-5 Preferred near Green Brook, NJ?

Empire Mazda of Green Brook, 220 US-22, generally carries Preferred-trim CX-5 inventory; check current stock or call 732-658-9288 to confirm before the drive from Watchung or Plainfield.