2012 Mazda5: First Look
- Competes with: 2012 Ford C-Max
- Looks like: The Mazda5 is getting Mazda’s new, adventurous styling treatments
- Drivetrain: 157-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder with a manual or automatic transmission
- Hits dealerships: 2011
Mazda announced today that it will show off a significantly refreshed 2012 Mazda5 at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Nov. 17. The new car will sport a new 157-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine mated either to a manual or automatic transmission, the automaker says. This powertrain should offer slightly more power than the outgoing engine.
The interior looks completely new, featuring a driver-oriented cockpit similar to the one found in the new Mazda3. Outside, the Mazda5 adopts a lot of the design language originally seen on the Hakaze concept and the Shinari concept, including a pronounced wavy styling line across the side profile and almond-shaped taillamps. We can’t see the front of the US Mazda5, but we’d expect it to look like the refreshed 2012 Mazda5 that’s already on sale in Europe and Japan. It features Mazda’s new signature smiling grille.
The six-passenger MPV is one of the only small family-haulers on the market, now that the Kia Rondo has been discontinued and since Chevrolet decided not to bring the Orlando here as originally planned. Ford is expected to bring a Focus-based MPV to the market, called the Ford C-Max late in 2011. We’ll have more info once the Los Angeles Auto Show gets under way.
Japanese 2012 Mazda5
