► Sleek profile, looks production ready inside
► Set to capitalise on CX3 and CX5 success
► Koeru means ‘go beyond’ in Japanese
Mazda says the Koeru crossover is only a concept. But Mazda’s Frankfurt show car looks remarkably production-ready to our eyes, with no outlandish exterior surfaces and only the merest concept car detailing on the inside. So really the only question is, what is Mazda going to call the new model – CX4 or CX5 Coupe?
Looks a bit big, though…
Although our initial understanding was that Koeru was intended to demonstrate a bridging model between the existing CX3 and CX5, in the metal it actually looks too big to be an inbetweener. In fact, you may be wondering if it isn’t some kind of preview of the next CX7, but that’s perhaps in part due to the low roofline, which makes the Koeru look deceptively lengthy. Really it’s a similar size to the CX5, and the rest is a visual trick played by a set of 21-inch wheels and the flattened proportions.
So to us it now looks more like a future CX-5 Coupe. And in some justification for such a tag, Mazda isn’t shying away from promises of performance. As well as looking pretty, the shape is said to deliver ‘outstanding aerodynamics’ and high-speed stability, while the structure is supposedly ‘ingeniously rigid’.
Engines?
There are no powertrain specifics just yet, except the expected Skyactiv references; maybe it’ll get a reprised of the 2.3-litre turbo petrol, but we doubt it. The interior, which closely resembles the look of Mazda’s most recent production cars, appears to feature an automatic shift lever but any production version would surely offer manual gear selection too.
The Koeru looks so close to production that we’d be surprised not to see the real thing next year – perhaps in 12 months’ time at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. With the CX3 and CX5 selling well, it would hardly be surprising if Mazda is aiming to boost its SUV and crossover offerings. The Nissan Gripz may not be going it alone.