The compact crossover market is hot, hot, hot and Mazda may be looking at a way to increase its share. Recently, in the wintery clime of the Alps, our spy shooters found this prototype, presumably undergoing winter testing.
Looking very much like a shorter, chopped CX-7, this crossover is based on the Mazda3 and could be powered by one of Mazda's new breed of fuel-efficient engines - either the gasoline-powered Skyactiv-G or diesel-powered Skyactiv-D. Odds are that the new Skyactiv transmission can also be found here, helping to boost fuel economy yet another notch. We suspect the car would be dubbed CX-5, in relation to the current CX-7 and CX-9 vehicles.
The new 1.4-liter Skyactive engines will be direct-injected with extremely high compression ratios of 14.0:1. The gasoline variant is slated to achieve 70 mpg when it rolls out in the Japanese market Mazda2 next year. Skyactiv transmissions include dual-clutch types as well as CVTs.
It is predicted by our European correspondents that the Mazda CX-5 is a global vehicle and will be sold in Japan, Europe and the U.S. We could hope to see a near-production vehicle in the sheetmetal in late 2011.
Thanks to: Motor Trend
The new 1.4-liter Skyactive engines will be direct-injected with extremely high compression ratios of 14.0:1. The gasoline variant is slated to achieve 70 mpg when it rolls out in the Japanese market Mazda2 next year. Skyactiv transmissions include dual-clutch types as well as CVTs.
It is predicted by our European correspondents that the Mazda CX-5 is a global vehicle and will be sold in Japan, Europe and the U.S. We could hope to see a near-production vehicle in the sheetmetal in late 2011.
Thanks to: Motor Trend