Mazda has inadvertently confirmed what we already suspected: Australia’s most popular SUV will soon be available with a turbocharged petrol engine.
Homologation documents filed by Mazda Australia and viewed by motoring.com.au suggest the Mazda CX-5 will soon be offered here with Mazda’s 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder.
The development is hardly a revelation, since the same engine has done duty in the seven-seat CX-9 large SUV for the past two years and was recently extended to the Mazda6 sedan and wagon.
The engine was a key foundation in the CX-9 winning the 2016 Carsales Car of the Year award, and had been tipped to power a hot hatch version of the Mazda3 before the company delayed plans to relaunch its MPS performance sub-brand.
Mazda Australia declined to confirm any changes to its current CX-5 line-up, the relatively new second generation of which was only recently upgraded for 2018. However, its Australian department of transport filings more or less make the update a shoo-in.
Expect to see the turbo-petrol engine reserved for higher grade variants of the CX-5, given the homologation papers show it will be offered only in six-speed automatic and all-wheel drive form with 19-inch wheels and a sunroof, suggesting it will be available for GT and Akera grades.
The timing of the powertrain’s arrival is up in the air as well, but Mazda is expected to launch the new variant as early as possible to protect the CX-5’s sales lead in Australia’s biggest and most competitive SUV segment, so it could arrive in Australia as early as December or January.
The 2.5-litre turbo engine’s arrival would take the total number of CX-5 powertrains to four, including 2.0- and 2.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol and 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinders.
The ADR documents show it delivers the same 170kW of power (and therefore likely the same 420Nm of torque) as in the Mazda 6 and CX-9 – ample oomph for the lighter CX-5.