This is Mazda’s new compact SUV. It’s a brand new model, with new engines on a new chassis, its name is CX-5. It will compete against the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V with a strong argument: better fuel economy. This is the result of the Skyactive technologies that Mazda has been working on for several years. New gasoline engine, new diesel engine, both fully optimized for a lower fuel consumption with a shared and unique characteristic: a 14:1 compression ratio.
On a spark-ignited engine, I’ve seen that before on some race engines. But this is a world’s first for a production unit. It’s even more impressive for the diesel, where such a low value is totally unheard of. It would have been thought impossible barely 10 years ago. Today, typical diesels run a 16/18:1 compression ratio, but it was 19/22:1 a decade ago. The result is nothing but incredible. According to preliminary figures, this diesel Mazda CX-5 would be about 20% more efficient than an equivalent RAV4 or CR-V.
Full data will be revealed at the car’s unveiling in Frankfurt. If this proves to be true, we’ll have to think of Mazda as a green tech leader…
A diesel again, if only they could bring it to America!
US buyers want more vehicles like this smaller SUV with both gas and diesel power plants. If you make them we will come (Buy Them)!
I’ve thought of that many times, I fail to understand why there are so few diesel cars in America. But I think it’s changing recently.