Mazda reveals the CX-50 we can't have

Tuesday, 16 November 2021

Mazda North America has revealed the new CX-50 SUV. We can't have it, but it does give us a good idea of how the future Mazda SUVs we will get might look.

When Mazda recently announced a raft of new SUVs that would be hitting the market soon, there was one vehicle in the new line up it was emphatic we would not be getting here in New Zealand, and now Mazda North America has revealed that vehicle.

It is, of course, the mid-size CX-50 that is most definitely not a CX-5 replacement, despite being largely the same size and fitting perfectly into the company’s new SUV naming structure where the CX-5’s eventual replacement would.

But according to Mazda CEO Akira Marumoto the CX-50 is intended to sell alongside the CX-5 in the USA and is expected to strengthen the company’s position in the SUV-hungry market.

Mazda North America is selling the CX-50 alongside the CX-5, but as a more capable, outdoor-lifestyle alternative.

'We have developed the car in line with requests from North American customers, so we have high expectations for the CX-50,' Marumoto told Automotive News recently, saying that he expected it to add around 150,000 sales in the U.S. market.

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The CX-50 is wider than the CX-5 and gets more interior space as a result.

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The interior appears to take things up yet another level in terms of build quality and materials.

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The aggressive fake vents front and rear add extra visual width to the CX-50’s increased actual width.

Marumoto said that the CX-50 is roughly the same size as the CX-5, but has a wider track and more cargo room, which should suit the American customers' tastes. And would no doubt suit Kiwi tastes as well, but it is currently not likely to be seen here, being a U.S. market exclusive and is essentially a wide-body version of the CX-5.

But it likely to remain forbidden fruit for us, the CX-50 does give us a clear look at Mazda’s styling direction for the new SUVs we are going to receive, namely the larger CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90, all of which will be based on Mazda’s forthcoming new rear-drive Large Product Group architecture.

All of the larger SUVs will get some degree of electrification, with most markets getting plug-in hybrid models using an inline-four petrol engine, as well as the new straight-six engines that will be paired with 48-volt mild hybrid systems. The sixes will come in diesel and petrol flavours.

At launch, CX-50 will be available with Mazda’s Skyactiv-G 2.5 naturally aspirated engine or Skyactiv-G 2.5 Turbo engine and paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, and the company says that in “the coming years” the CX-50 will also be offered with electrified powertrains, details of which will be shared at a later date.

Mazda says that the CX-50 “creates a new styling expression in the Mazda lineup that blends the brand’s striking Kodo design with an outdoor capable presence that respectfully interacts with the surrounding”, which basically means it looks like a Mazda, but has a tougher, wider stance, emphasised by the aggressive fake vents in the front and rear bumpers.

On the inside, blended seating materials and details “inspired by technical, modern outdoor gear” feature, while a new panoramic moonroof, a first for Mazda, “helps the occupants feel more connected to nature.”

Mazda is pushing the “outdoorsy lifestyle” angle hard with the CX-50, in case you didn’t already guess that.

To further back this up, Mazda says it has extended the CX-50’s off-road capability to “enable drivers to venture further into the outdoors and various terrains” and it will be equipped as standard with the company’s latest i-Activ all-wheel drive technology and new drive modes.

The CX-50 is the first product in Mazda’s SUV offensive, and is a completely new model, as well as being the first Mazda vehicle to be built at the new Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) plant in Huntsville, Alabama, with production beginning in January 2022.