Mazda has revealed its facelifted 2015 Mazda CX-5 at the LA Motor Show, promising improvements to its AWD system and quality of the interior.

THE MAZDA CX-5 was the first model in the line-up to receive the full KODO design language treatment and while this facelifted model is largely a carry-over, you’ll notice the new-look grille and headlights. Mazda says these were restyled to “heighten the car’s look of vitality”.

When you boil it down, this 2015 Mazda CX-5 is more of a freshen up than anything else. Beyond the tweaked snout, the head- and tail-lights get a new LED “lighting signature”, there’s a new 19-inch aluminium wheel design, and two new paint colours have been added (borrowed from Mazda3 – Sonic Silver Metallic and Titanium Flash Mica), taking the total number available to nine.

On the inside, Mazda says its revised the interior to “convey a sense of taste and quality” and that means the CX-5 now gets Mazda’s MZD Connect car connectivity system (allowing those who connect their smartphone to connect with the internet and social media), an electric park brake, and a dashboard that’s based around the driver (borrowing from the MX-5 and new CX-3).

There are new metallic finish design flourishes around the cabin, replacing the gloss plastic of its predecessor, there are also three new finishes for the instrument panel; an aluminum-look panel featuring a vertical hairline finish and a thin satin chrome strip, a metallic-finish panel, and a piano black panel. Black leather and sand fabric seat coverings carry over with a new pure white leather option – not great if you’ve got kids.

Beyond the cosmetic, Mazda says the CX-5’s ride, handling and refinement have been improved. Indeed, it says the cabin, due to greater insulation, is now 10% quieter than before, while “a smooth, flat ride is offered by adopting a new structure for the front and rear dampers and by optimising the bushing shapes for the front lower arms.” The seats have also been redesigned with rear seat base cushions longer.

The 2015 CX-5 also gets some new safety systems, including adaptive LED headlights which control the illumination range of high beams at night, Lane-Keep Assist, Driver Attention Alert (which tells the driver when they need to take a break), Smart City Brake Support, Pre-collision Throttle Control, Smart Brake Support and Mazda Radar Cruise Control.

The 2015 Mazda CX-5 will go on-sale in Japan in January 2015 and is expected to arrive Down Under towards the middle of 2015. There’s no word yet on the affect these tweaks will have on the price.