Instead of making an off-road version of the CX-5, Mazda created an entirely new all-terrain SUV vehicle to appeal to a new car market. The upcoming CX-50 off-road crossover was unveiled on Monday. The brand-new Mazda CX-50 will be the first vehicle jointly produced by Mazda and Toyota in the manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Mazda CX-50 will be an off-road-oriented SUV with a higher ground clearance version of the CX-5 – featuring rugged-style accessories.
“But it is still a unibody crossover and based on the same transverse architecture as the Mazda 3 and CX-30,” Car & Driver reports. “Mazda says it’s slightly longer than the CX-5 and claims that it has more room for rear-seat passengers. Mazda’s upcoming longitudinal architecture and inline-six engine won’t arrive until the larger CX-70 and CX-90 crossovers make their debut.”
Powering the five-seater CX-50 will be the naturally aspirated and turbocharged versions of Mazda’s Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a six-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive. Output is expected to be around the same 187 horsepower and 250 hp as they do in the CX-5. There is expected to be a Toyota-inspired hybrid with an electric powertrain option available at a later date. Details have yet to be released.
Mazda promises:
Enjoy a seamless connection to every terrain with our newest i-Activ AWD® technology, a standard feature on all trim levels. The CX-50 is also equipped with Mazda intelligent Drive Select (Mi-Drive) technology that includes drive modes which enhance off-road and sport driving. Turbo models also include a mode designed to support towing. So, you can stay effortlessly immersed in the moment, no matter where the road takes you.
Motor 1 reports, “The exterior of the CX-50 maintains the brand’s signature “Kodo” design language, but with a fun outdoor flair. Typical of an adventure vehicle, there’s black plastic cladding on the wheel arches and fascias, with high-strength roof rails up high for added versatility. The grille also gains thicker black accents and larger vents live on either side of the bumper. And now buyers can select a sharp-looking Zircon Sand exterior paint job to go with those rugged good looks.”
Mazda hasn’t released pricing information for the CX-50, but the new truck model is expected to cost more than the CX-5 that starts at $27,945 with all-wheel drive. The off-road SUV is expected to hit Mazda dealerships in 2022.
“If you’re off the pavement, off-road mode is the one you want,” said Dave Coleman, vehicle development engineer at Mazda R&D. “It’s as simple as that.”
“While [multiple off-road modes] seems exciting in the showroom, we found it confusing off-road,” Coleman added. “The real-world conditions are always some ambiguous combination of surfaces landing somewhere between the settings you’re choosing from. We firmly believe the most intelligent system in the vehicle is the driver.”