cars news 10: Three-Row Mazda CX-8 Crossover Announced for Japan

Mazda has cooked up a new crossover for the Japanese market called the CX-8. The three-row CUV will be smaller than the CX-9 we have here to better fit Japanese roads. Mazda has so far only revealed the crossover’s interior, but the automaker does give a few specs about this Japan-only model.

Mazda says the CX-8 was designed specifically to suit the Japanese market and is for customers who need more than five seats. The automaker also states that the CX-8 will be the flagship of its crossover lineup in Japan, as the CX-9 isn’t sold there. The CX-8 measures roughly 193 inches long, 72.4 inches wide, and 68.1 inches tall, with a wheelbase that’s 115.3 inches long. Those dimensions make the CX-8 about as wide as the new CX-5 with a wheelbase that’s identical to the CX-9’s. The CX-8 is 6.4 inches shorter in length than the CX-9 and 4.8 inches narrower. The CX-8 will offer seating for six or seven passengers, depending on the configuration.

“It has the looks, performance, and high-end feel customers expect from a Mazda, and even adults can sit comfortably in the third row,” said Mazda president and CEO Masamichi Kogai, in a release. “Mazda aims to create a strong emotional connection with customers, and we will achieve this by continually advancing our lineup to offer all customers our unique combination of driving pleasure and outstanding environmental and safety performance.”

The CX-8 will be powered by Mazda’s 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D turbodiesel engine, which will be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Mazda is set to finally bring its diesel engine to the U.S. in the CX-5 later this year, but don’t expect the CX-8 to be brought over as well since we already have the larger three-row CX-9. We still don’t know what the CX-8 looks like, but Mazda says the crossover will incorporate its Kodo design language.

Images of the Mazda CX-5 and CX-9 shown below.

Source: Mazda