If you enjoy getting wet and dirty, you won’t have to worry about the messy aftermath in the boot of the Mazda CX-5. New for the car this year is a reversible cargo floor, one side of which has a water-resistant surface that you can wipe down with ease.

That’s one of a handful of improvements to a family sport utility vehicle (SUV) that first rolled into town 5 years ago. The CX-5 already got a few upgrades in 2019, but has now received a facelift that freshens up its looks and adds new colour and trim options. Most cars get an update once in their lives and that’s it, but Mazda engineers seem like the sort who can’t stop tinkering.

One caveat: It’s business as usual under the bonnet, meaning the 2.0-litre engine is carried over. That being so, it doesn’t have any fancy hybrid or even turbo technology, and churns out the same 165 horsepower as before.

Yet, this might be the one area where the Hiroshima-based brand probably did well not to mess around; ownership surveys by the influential Consumer Reports magazine say Mazda’s cars are now the most reliable around, at least in the US.

While the engine guys could sit back and relax, it must have been fiendishly difficult for the designers to refresh the car’s styling. More than any rival, the CX-5 came straight out of the box looking just right, with smooth, coherent lines and a tasteful mix of subtlety and aggression.

This time around, the CX-5 gets noticeable tweaks without losing its overall mojo. The front bumper gains a cleaner lower air intake that makes the car look wider, while the redesigned grille has shed the wing-like projections that jutted out under the headlights. The lights themselves now have L-shaped elements, which also appear on the new tail lamps to create a sense of breadth at the back. All in all, the CX-5 is still a sculpture on wheels.

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If you noticed the red grille inserts, the black 19-inch wheels and dark body trim, you were meant to. They’re part of a new Luxury Sports pack that really gives the Mazda a touch of raciness. The cabin comes with red stitches, too, so the sporty theme carries on inside the car.

There’s also a Luxury trim line (subtract S$5,000) that loses the sporty black bits and sits on 17-inch wheels. If you’re a basic sort of guy, there’s the Elegance version that costs another S$10,000 less, but you’ll have to do without niceties such as the Bose sound system, leather upholstery, the head-up display system, ventilated front seats, the 360-degree parking camera and so on.

You also lose autonomous emergency braking (a worthwhile safety feature) and the new hands-free electric tailgate, but you do at least get the new wireless smartphone charging pad.

The one bit that really needed updating is the entertainment system. It still sounds good (at least the Bose one does) and the menu system is nice and easy to use, but by today’s standards the 7-inch (18 centimetres) display looks tiny.

Knowing Mazda folk, they’ll probably say CX-5 drivers are much more likely to keep their eye on the road than on any screen. There’s something to that, because for an SUV the Mazda is surprisingly sharp to drive.

This year’s facelift brought some suspension tweaks, and to the Mazda’s credit it rides firmly yet comfortably over most road surfaces, even on 19-inch wheels. The engine needs revving before it’ll give up the goods, though the transmission apparently shifts gears more quickly than before, but the CX-5 is nice to drive more because of its taut handling and precise steering than its straight-line acceleration.

Anyway, I’ll take an engine that wants a heavy foot if the chassis is sorted, over an SUV that’s quick but lurches and flops around everywhere. Aside from being large and practical enough to be a useful car for 5 people, the CX-5 continues to exhibit the sort of Mazda magic that reminds you of a few important truths. Namely, a family SUV can still be an eye-catching thing, and you don’t have to get wet and dirty to have fun.

Mazda CX-5 2.0L Luxury Sports Engine: 1,988 cc, in-line 4 Power: 165 hp at 6,000 rpm Torque: 213 Nm at 4,000 rpm Gearbox: 6-speed automatic Top speed: 182 km/h 0-100km/h: 10.3 seconds Fuel efficiency: 7.0 L/100 km Price: S$194,888 with Certificate Of Entitlement Agent: Trans Eurokars Pte Ltd Available: Now