Mazda Developing New CX-5 Compact SUV: Report

Mazda is set to enter the increasingly popular compact SUV segment next year. According to Britain's Autocar magazine, unnamed but senior sources at Mazda have let slip that the new model will be named CX-5.

Arriving late 2011, Mazda's new 'crossover' will be taking on the likes of the Mitsubishi ASX and the Nissan Dualis.

The report adds that the CX-5 will draw its styling inspiration from the Nagare-inspired Kazamai concept revealed in 2008, though how this plan meshes with Mazda's apparent retirement of the Nagare design language is unclear. (Perhaps this is where unnamed sources are revealed as mere media spin-artists.)

However it is styled, any next-generation compact SUV from Mazda will likely be powered by the carmaker's new Sky-G petrol and Sky-D diesel engines, paired with the new Sky-drive automatic transmission.

The upcoming Range Rover Evoque has also reportedly moved minds at Mazda to consider three- and five-door versions of the CX-5. With Mazda looking to become the "Japanese Alfa Romeo," there may be some merit to this approach.

For now, Mazda has offered no official word on any new models in the compact SUV segment. If a late-2011 launch is on the cards, we should expect to see test cars somewhere roaming the roads in coming months.