Mazda's mega CX-5 mystery: Is this the all-new model that will take down the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid?

Mazda has at last confirmed the super-popular Mazda CX-5 – or, at least, something with a similar size and price point – will live on with an all-new generation, but there is one big mystery that surrounds the brand's all-important medium SUV.

There were fears that the brand's shift into the premium space with the CX-60, CX-80 and CX-90 would come at the cost of the CX-5. We know, for example, that the CX-9 will be removed from sale this year, replaced by more premium-feeling, and more expensive, alternatives.

But while we know the CX-5 won't suffer the same fate, there could be a critical change on the way for that model. Because look a little bit closer at the brand's confirmation, and another question does emerge — are we talking about a new CX-5, or about something else entirely?

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"Have a look at it from our perspective," Mazda Australia CEO Vinesh Bhindi told us previously.

"Don't look at it [from a] nameplate perspective, but from a portfolio offering — it's different sizes, different price points, different specifications.

"With the CX-5, Mazda Corporation has said there will be a next generation. What it's called? That's not what we're debating here. That sized-car, a CX-5, is important, and it will continue."

Could that medium-sized SUV be a new CX-5, in an all-new generation? Or is Mazda Australia instead referring to the CX-50, a vehicle already sold in the USA, and which roughly shares its dimensions with the CX-5?

We know that Mazda in Australia has been eyeing the CX-50 with interest.

We know that Mazda in Australia has been eyeing the CX-50 with interest, with the brand telling us last year that, should it become available in right-hand drive, it would be evaluated for our market.

"The CX-50 would be nice to the range, but it's not available to us at the moment. They're just building up their production in the US and it's all allocated to North America, which makes sense. But who knows down the track," Mazda Australia's Marketing Director, Alastair Doak, told us last year.

"We've certainly made our position clear that if it was available to us, we'd love to explore the business case properly, rather than just saying ‘yeah, that looks interesting and I think it would work'."

Available in the USA – though exports have begun to Mexico – the CX-50 is not directly related to the CX-5, the latter of which rides on a previous-generation platform. The CX-50, though, sits on Mazda's fresher New Small Car Architecture, which underpins the Mazda3 and Mazda CX-30.

The CX-50, though, sits on Mazda’s fresher New Small Car Architecture, which underpins the Mazda3 and Mazda CX-30.

That means the big diesel and petrol engines reserved for the brand's larger vehicles (like the CX-90) aren't on offer here. Instead, you can have a 2.5L naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine or a 2.5-litre turbo-four that ups the grunt further. Both pair with a six-speed auto, and arrive with i-Activ All-Wheel Drive as standard – those same engines are offered in our CX-5, too.

Interestingly, the CX-5 and CX-50 are priced similarly in the USA, too. In fact, the latter is only about US$900 more expensive than the former in its cheapest guise, and even the top trims are separated by less than US$3000. Making it something of a like-for-like replacement, without asking customers to climb into a new price bracket.

Could the CX-50 be a ready-made solution for the CX-5 in Australia? Only time will tell.