Exciting project: The Mazda 4WD concept car will be revealed next month at the Moscow International Automobile Salon. Photo Gallery
The crossover family of new-age Mazda wagons is set for an addition.
The company has just revealed the latest in its series of swoopy concept cars, called the Kazamai, but in reality it is a clear pointer to a CX-5.
The CX-7 and CX-9 SUVs are already on the road and doing well across the world, but the CX-5 will give Mazda a sharp new contender in the compact soft-roader class to put up against the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.
The Kazamai, whose name means “swirling crosswinds” in Japanese, will be revealed next month at the Moscow International Automobile Salon. Its importance is as obvious as the leaks of information, starting with a rough sketch and, now, official pictures.
Mazda Australia is avoiding comment on the Kazamai, or what it means, but there is obvious potential.
“We're not in the business of releasing information about future models,” spokesman Glenn Butler says. “Clearly, what we're talking about is a concept car. There has been no talk at all about production.”
Still, Mazda is dropping plenty of hints.
Official press information on the Kazamai says the design is intended to be “spirited and fun to drive, with compact dimensions”.
“The concept's four-wheel drive Mazda powertrain will consist of a next-generation direct-injection engine and a newly developed transmission.
“It is aerodynamically efficient, with an evolved lightweight and robust body structure that contributes to dynamics and safety,” Mazda says.
“If it were to be built, Mazda's latest showcar would deliver exciting driving dynamics, frugal fuel consumption and greatly reduced CO2 emissions.” The mechanical platform for a CX-5 would come from the Ford Kuga, a RAV4 rival which is already selling well in Europe. It has the all-wheel-drive system which Mazda wants for a production version of the Kazamai.
The direct-injection engine fitted to the concept car could be petrol or diesel, as Mazda is looking at both and has developed diesels for its Mazda3 and Mazda6 to boost European sales.
The CX-5 would also be expected to come with a DSG-style manu-matic gearbox similar to the ones which have been so successful for Volkswagen and are now also in use by BMW with its M3 and Porsche with the recently updated 911.
The CX-5 plan is likely to advance from a Kazamai dream to a Zoom-Zoom reality within two years, even if the company is only talking vaguely about its work. It would obviously lose the 22-inch wheels from the motor show machine and would pick up rear doors, as the Kazamai is only a two-door design.
“There is such potential in the compact SUV market that we want a car here today,” Butler says.
“If Mazda was to green-light something for production, we would do everything we can to get our share.”
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