Mazda CX-5 Diesel to Appear in U.S. Next Year: Report
Mazda is remaining tight-lipped, but a new report claims the automaker will debut a diesel-powered CX-5 crossover in the U.S. next year, followed by a oil-burning Mazda 6.
If true, it means Mazda’s years-long effort to bring its overseas powerplants to North America were not in vain.
According to the Nikkei Asian Review, sources close to the matter claim Mazda will introduce the vehicles next year, with the CX-5 bowing first. An updated gasoline-powered CX-5 appears first, next spring, with the diesel variant likely to appear in the summer.
After several pushbacks in the launch date, Mazda has previously confirmed to TTAC that its diesels are still U.S.-bound. The automaker feels there’s still a market for the fuel, despite gaining an unfriendly reputation in the wake of Volkswagen’s emissions scandal.
Jacob Brown, product communications specialist at Mazda, said the automaker “can’t confirm any speculation one way or the other.”
The report claims we’ll learn more from Mazda at this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show. That’s where the automaker will unveil its redesigned 2017 CX-5 ( see a teaser here).
The diesel powerplant would be a version of the Skyactiv-D 2.2-liter two-stage turbodiesel already available in Japan and Europe in two power outputs. The automaker’s next-generation Skyactiv gas and diesel engines are already in development. Past attempts to bring the diesel to the U.S. fell flat when the engines failed to make appropriate power after conforming to emissions standards.
More by Steph Willems
Comments
Join the conversation
How about a rotary diesel: 9000 rpm redline, 50 mpg? Now that would be an emissions, reliability, and performance trifecta.
Mazda is not selling the Skyactive here, but I have a feeling that part of it's DNA will go into the new Mazda/ Isuzu Diesel Pickup,after Mazda divorces Ford. Ford and Mazda have gone their separate ways after the joint Ranger development
Many hope that the exhaust note and muscular rumble of Mazada's diesel will be more than enough to offset the NVH of the gasoline engine - powered vehicles. "Zoom - Zoom" will become "Brrrrap - Brrrap". A sales increase of 2 to 3 units a month is expected.
What odds most people who say Diesel won't sell in America haven't driven one? It's not just about fuel savings. It's not about top speed. It's about torque and driving distance between fill ups.