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.
Um well I was totally gonna buy a diesel manual CX-5 and I love it, but the only wheel design available has 10 spokes and I want 11 or more. So now I’m NOT BUYING IT.
-All of internet car fools after product release
Only proles have ten spokes or less on their wheels.
Oh also the Mazda dealer was 13.5 miles away, and I told my girlfriend no way was I gonna drive more than 8 miles to pick up a car. I mean COME ON!!1!!1
My nearws dealer is 17 miles away and yet, I drove 50 miles to get my car
Unless your one of a handful of independently wealthy eccentric individuals that drive 3-spoke Saabs.
The Saab 9000 is an elegant and timeless design with superior wheels.
Those poor blokes at Mahzder just can’t catch a break.
A diesel? For bloody Yanks?
How did those silly buggers ever take Singapore?
Well they may beat Elio, Tesla 3, and Mitsu PHEV to market…or not…
Next year? I’ll hold my breath.
The business case for buying a diesel has really worsened in the past few years, so price and MPGeez will be important. Personally, I can’t see much interest for diesel in the CX-5 demographic.
In other news, Henrik Fisker has some new battery technology that may or may not be used in a TBD EV someday-ish.
Hey, Fisker has solved all the issues. And the product is still in early development because of how solved they are.
I’ll believe it when they roll off the transporter at University Mazda in Albuquerque. Given that the same dealer has a VW franchise they’ll be ecstatic to have a diesel to sell to the diehard TDI fans.
Have you visited Walter White’s house since you’re over there?
No and I’m not going to throw a pizza on the poor guy’s roof (which is a popular thing for those on pilgrimage to do.) I am sad that I missed Albuquerque Goodwill selling off a bunch of items from the series right before the finale. Heard it was a great fundraiser for them and I would have loved to gawk.
I’ve heard about that, and it sucks for them certainly.
I’d probably go and act like a tourist and take a picture of my car in front of his house. And then put that as my cover photo on Facebook.
The FB pic only works if you have “the hat”.
Lol, my haircut does not work with hats.
How interesting. Largest Mazda dealer around here also happen to be VW-Mazda
That would be a bitter pill for the VW sales people, watching their Mazda brethren sell the mythical CX-5 diesel.
Interestingly, VW and Mazda have nearly identical US market share (1.8, 1.7% respectively, and both falling).
@SCE to AUX
It goes up against the VW Tiguan as a tow vehicle for European Caravans, wel English anyway. Had Mazda diesel against Tiguan on an episode of Top Gear
I’ll believe it when I see it.
For literally years I held off buying a Mazda 6 because I was waiting for the -D variant to come over here. It didn’t. And it didn’t for the right reasons – Mazda indicated they couldn’t meet emissions standards with the engines without sacrificing performance or reliability. Too bad a certain other manufacturer didn’t do the same. ;)
Either way, unless there’s been a significant re-engineering in the interim, I’d expect the -D variants of 2017 to still sacrifice *something* to be oil burners. It will be interesting the see what the trade-off is, but I doubt they will be compelling to me personally, because of them. Sadly!
It was the fuel/oil mixing in the crankcase problem that scared me (reliability, as you point out).
Props for Mazda for taking chances, but I’m still waiting for the CX-9’s turbo 2.5 SkyActiv to make its way into the CX-5 or Mazda6.
They only need to offer it in brown with a manual, and an optional lowering kit. That way => Brown Manual Diesel Wagon, the internet will explode and nobody will buy it anyway.
How about a rotary diesel: 9000 rpm redline, 50 mpg?
Now that would be an emissions, reliability, and performance trifecta.
Haha! I shudder at the thought of what a rotary diesel would look like – given the compression ratios required. :)
In all seriousness, though, one of the things I loved about the Rotary design was the idea that you could pretty much run it off of hydrogen (not as in a fuel cell, but fed liquid hydrogen) if needed. I wonder what sort of output you could get from direct hydrogen as a fuel. I’m going to guess quite a bit.
I think there was a plan for a two-stage rotary diesel engine [googles]. Ah, yes. Rolls Royce was trying to build one around 1970 (at least the article was 1970. It said they had been working 6 years, and had a ways to go. Apparently too far to go).
That’s not to say that using two stages wouldn’t fix the compression issue, it would probably over-compensate for it (roughly multiplying the two compressions, so obviously at least one would be pretty low). I imagine that such made the actual rotor pressure so high it simply killed the seals.
BMW was working on hydrogen combustion engines until the EPA refused to grant them zero emission vehicle certification due to microscopic amounts of pollutants (besides the water, obviously).
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.
+1 to that.
That, to me, is also the appeal of the higher performance EV’s – instant torque at any RPM.