Mazda's new small crossover will come to the U.S. next year

Mazda will enter the growing compact crossover segment early next year when its CX-5 debuts in the United States.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Mazda will enter the growing compact crossover segment early next year when its CX-5 debuts in the United States.

At 178.7 inches long, the CX-5 is more than five inches shorter than Mazda's CX-7 crossover. The 106.3-inch wheelbase is two inches shorter than the CX-7.

The CX-5, which a source said will be available with a diesel engine for the 2014 model year, will compete with such vehicles as the Honda CR-V, Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.

Mazda has yet to announce pricing and packaging for the U.S. market, but Hideaki Tanaka, manager of the CX-5 program, said the base model will likely sticker for around $20,000. The CX-7 starts at $22,785 including delivery.

Mazda allowed a group of journalists to drive pre-production, European-spec prototypes at a press preview this week. Final specifications for the U.S. market won't be released until the CX-5's North American debut at the Los Angeles auto show in November.

The CX-5 will be outfitted with Mazda's new Skyactiv fuel-saving technologies, including new engines and transmissions, and a lightweight chassis and frame.

On a prototype tested here, a 2.0-liter engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission was rated at 165 hp and about 150 lbs.-feet of torque.

Power and torque will likely fall slightly for the U.S. version with the same setup. Mazda plans to lower the Euro-spec engine's ultra-high 14:1 compression ratio to 13:1 to run on 87 octane regular gasoline, engineers said during the media event last week.

Also tested was a CX-5 equipped with a 2.2-liter, twin-turbo direct injection diesel engine, producing more than 160 hp and about 310 lbs.-feet of torque. The engine will be added to the CX-5 lineup in United States for the 2014 model year, according to a company source.

The CX-5 will be the first production vehicle to feature Mazda's sporty "kodo" design language.

(Source: Automotive News)