Oh, So The Mazda Koeru Might Be a Completely New Car

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Settling the debate between whether Mazda’s Koeru concept from Frankfurt was a new CX-5 or CX-9 (or CX-7?), CEO Masamichi Kogai told Automotive News that the answer may be “none of the above,” apparently.

On Monday, Kogai said that the Koeru could get the green light as a sporty crossover, sold alongside the CX-5 as a wagon-esque crossover aimed “to generate more driving pleasure,” Kogai told Automotive News.

Media reports on Tuesday likened the lower, fastback, five-door Mazda wagon to a possible Subaru Outback competitor, which completely forgets what an Outback looks like today.

(That’s because the Subaru Outback has nearly 9 inches of ground clearance, is the size of a battleship and isn’t really “sporty.”)

It’s hard to tell what itch the Koeru would scratch from Kogai’s comments to Automotive News.

“It’s a totally new car. It’s a lower, sporty SUV. It’s close to a wagon,” he said. “The CX-9 rides higher. So does the CX-3 and CX-5. (The Koeru) aims to generate more driving pleasure.”

So it’s a MazdaSpeed5? There’s that new turbo four in the CX-9 that looks awfully tasty.

Mazda has some ground to make up and history has proven that the market for Subaru Outback’s is lucrative, but extremely loyal.

Remember the Toyota Venza? Honda Crosstour?

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Kyree Kyree on Dec 08, 2015

    Looks to me like it'll have the approximate footprint of the departed Toyota Venza, but will be more driver-focused.

  • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on Dec 09, 2015

    Seems to me more of a Murano-size competitor, but it's hard to tell with no scale to the photos. Perhaps it's something Infiniti EX-sized?

    • Kyree Kyree on Dec 09, 2015

      That's what I was thinking...a proper 5-seat mid-sized crossover, like the Murano. Technically, the Venza was a competitor to the Murano and Edge (its lack of ceremony meant it also competed with the lower-priced Santa Fe/Sport), but sat a bit lower, so that it was more like a slightly-lifted Camry wagon. The way the author is describing this Mazda Koeru concept makes it sound like that might be the case for its production spawn, too.

  • Vtnoah Vtnoah on Dec 09, 2015

    I dig it. Would be tough to go up against the outback as it's slayed all previous challengers and it's better than ever. Next car for the fam is going to be an Outback to replace our Forester but I'll take a trip to the Mazda dealer to check this thing out just in case.

  • Derekson Derekson on Dec 09, 2015

    Yeah I was confused when I read about this elsewhere as a more car-like, wagon-like crossover for driving enjoyment and then comparing it to the Outback. At this point the Outback is basically a straight up 100% CUV.

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