iTouring 2016 vs 2017, my thoughts...

I have a 2016 iTouring 5-Door.

Recently have been provided a courtesy car from Mazda, a 2017 iTouring 4-door. Let me say that I am grateful to have a 2016 instead.

The GOOD

• There are things I like about the 2017 model, such as the appearance of the center console is an improvement visually, although I do not like the feel of the armrest compared to the 2016 model.

• G Vectoring is noticeable, quite a bit less body roll in cornering over my 2016 although it comes at the expense of reduced torque, it does make the car as a whole feel way more compliant.

• The new screen design looks better and the screen is much more vibrant.

The BAD

• Electric parking brake, I love having a manual parking brake.

• The steering wheel is thinner on 2017, even with leather wrapping on it, the thickness is less and the steering column shroud looks odd as the center airbag/horn is much smaller now. It just looks odd to me. Not only does it feel thinner the wheel is much stiffer when gripped, overall a less premium feel.

• New facelift looks weak, the CX-5 and CX-9 look so aggressive I love the massive grille on them, but this new face they design looks weak and the front wheel arches appear subdued.

Neutral thoughts: My 2016 has Bose audio and I have to say the non-Bose 6 speaker of 2017 is almost comparable to 2016 Bose audio. I did notice the 2017 stock 6-speaker lacks the bottom end the Bose is able to reproduce but the two are very rather similar.