The latest addition Mazda’s burgeoning crossover/SUV clan got its formal reveal this week at the Beijing Auto Show. Previewed last fall in Frankfurt as the Mazda Koeru Concept, this compact 5-seat hauler hit the stand in production form retaining virtually all the key styling cues seen on that engaging one off.
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Sharing a good deal of its platform with the marginally smaller CX-5, the new CX-4 displays a more coupe-like take on the automaker’s Kodo Soul of Motion design language that includes a sleeker roofline and D-pillar treatments. Like the CX-5 it will be available with a 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter SkyActiv 4-cylinder gasoline engines, 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmissions and in front or AWD configurations – the latter pairing being exclusive to the larger engine.
The cabin of the new CX-4 also borrows design and hardware elements from various Mazda family members to create an environment strong on functionality and user-friendliness, easily accessible with loads of usable cargo space. Buyers will be able to fit the new CX-4 with Mazda’s i-ActivSense safety/driver-assist technologies and Mazda Connect infotainment systems.
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Sadly, the new Mazda CX-4 is currently slated for sale only in China, where it arrives in showrooms this June. Mazda believes the CX-4 is destined to play a major role in helping bolster its position in that critical market. But given the increasing popularity of small, stylish crossovers here in America, we hope it rethinks that exclusivity angle and gives the CX-4 a chance to do the same for it here, as well.
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