FOLLOWING THE UNVEILING of the 2010 Mazda CX-9 update at the New York Motor Show in April, Mazda has announced that a refreshed, diesel-engined version of the CX-7 will appear at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.

The most obvious styling update to the CX-7 is found up front, with the SUV now wearing the same smiling visage as the updated CX-9 and other Mazda siblings.

The Euro-market model shown at Frankfurt will feature Mazda’s 2.2 litre turbo-diesel engine, fitted with a Selective Catalytic Reduction system, cutting emissions by 40 percent.

CO2 emissions for the new diesel-powered CX-7 are rated at 199g/km, and fuel economy is 7.4 l/100km. The current petrol engine achieves 10.2 l/100km, with emissions rated at 243g/km.

Locally, the CX-7 is currently offered exclusively with a turbo-charged 2.3 litre inline four-cylinder petrol engine with direct injection.

Steve Maciver, Public Relations Manager for Mazda Australia confirmed to TMR that the facelifted CX-7 and CX-9 are destined for Australia, but remained tight-lipped on engine options.

“I can confirm that we will be getting the facelifted CX-7 and CX-9 in the last quarter of this year, but I can’t confirm a specific date yet. As for powertrain options, we won’t reveal details at this point,” Mr Maciver said.