(Mazda photo)The small but feisty Japanese automaker is benchmarking premium crossover models instead of the expected mainstream rivals, which it says fail to measure up. Driving the CX-5 in the company of an Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mercedes GLA and Lexus NX200T revealed some unexpected results. But before we get to those surprises, here’s a quick rundown of the changes Mazda has made for 2017. With that in mind, Mazda chose to keep the exterior design recognizable but with distinctive changes to enhance its presence and purposeful appearance. Everything we did was to maximize visual stability by lowering the visual center of gravity.

Source: Forbes March 25, 2017 14:37 UTC