I wish the Sport Mode switch on my 2020 Signature was in a better location. The times I want to use it I'm about to hit the accelerator to pass another vehicle and I don't want to have to look down at the shift panel to find it or fiddle around to feel it while I keep my eyes on the road. I suppose the latter is what most users learn to do but I sure wish it were on the steering wheel instead. Granted there may just be no room for it there.
More drive modes are being added for 2022, a catch-up to competitors, so the issue is probably moot. You have to think past just a Sport toggle. The current competitor multi-mode systems are typically controlled by a dial on the console. One key competitor has both a dial and buttons:
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The evident intent in this design is to select a mode with one click of a button or one click on the dial. The Normal "hot button" on the dial and the separate normal button seem redundant, so the logic behind that would require a reading of the manual and a test drive. A dial-only design would require clicking through multiple modes to get to the one on the far right or far left, evidently not intended as something to use on the fly.
According to some reports, the 2022 CX-5 features increased body rigidity and a re-tuned suspension which would suggest Mazda is shooting for better off-road chops. So, one or two off-road settings along with Sport, Snow, whatnot may be in the cards.
Now, if they go with a console dial and retain the screen controller dial, there will be two big dials on the console. Then drivers will have the opportunity to complain about turning the wrong dial.
Pictures I've seen on the webinets purporting to be of the 2022 interior show console, steering wheel, and the small touch screen that don't look any different than on my 2020 so those are head fakes. The C&R photo intro to their slide show is an example of the old interior presented as new. The last Mazda stock photo in the C&R slide show has an interior shot which excludes the console. I guess we'll just have to wait for Mazda to do a reveal unless somebody has dug one up.
Anyway, the 2022 trans is purported to be smoother shifting which would address a common complaint. If that's the case, one may be less inclined to momentarily punch in and out of Sport.