Next Mazda CX-5 rendered

When the third-generation Mazda CX-5 arrives within two years, the replacement for Mazda Australia’s top-selling model will bring a new rear- and all-wheel drive platform and a range of electrified four- and six-cylinder engines, plus a plug-in hybrid option for the first time.

Wrapped in a sleek new design previewed by this render from Japanese website Best Car, the all-new 2023 Mazda CX-5 will borrow its ground-breaking new platform and powertrains from the next Mazda6.

According to Best Car, the new Mazda6 will debut by mid-2022, followed a year later by the new CX-5 before mid-2023, then redesigned CX-8 and CX-9 models employing the same technologies.

For the next Mazda CX-5, that means the shift from front-drive to rear-drive for base models, making them unique in the mid-size SUV segment, plus a rear-biased AWD system and a plug-in hybrid powertrain to battle the top-selling Toyota RAV4 – the only SUV that’s more popular in Australia right now.

Mazda’s ground-breaking new rear-drive/inline-six platform has been well documented and was previously expected to first appear underneath the next-gen Mazda CX-5 in 2022.

As part of a 10-year product plan, Mazda will electrify its entire model range by 2030 and promises three fully-electric vehicles (EVs), five plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and five hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) by 2025, all 13 of which could come to Australia.

Also in 2025, Mazda will introduce its first dedicated EV platform, developed with Toyota and dubbed ‘SKYACTIV EV Scalable Architecture’, which can be changed in length, width and battery capacity to form a variety of future EVs.

But even Mazda’s upcoming premium RWD/AWD platform – and therefore the next Mazda6, CX-5, CX-8 and CX-9 – will benefit from a range of electrified powertrains based around a new 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine family.

These include an inline petrol six with 48-volt mild-hybrid (MHEV) tech delivering about 210kW/340Nm, a PHEV powerplant based around the same SKYACTIV-G engine, a SKYACTIV-X version with SPCCI compression-ignition technology and a turbocharged range-topper offering at least 260kW.

The petrol powertrains will be supported by an upsized new 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel (SKYACTIV-D) delivering about 210kW/600Nm with the same MHEV tech.

Interestingly, Best Car says a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder SKYACTIV-G petrol engine with 48V MHEV tech is also being developed for small cars like the Mazda3, as well as an all-new 1.5-litre SKYACTIV-X three-cylinder petrol engine for the next Mazda2.

And further afield, Mazda is expected to spread the MX-30’s upcoming rotary range extender powertrain right across its range, giving it an EV line-up that would be unique in the marketplace.

The Mazda CX-5 has been a smash hit since it arrived Down Under in 2012, becoming Australia’s favourite mid-size SUV that year and the most popular SUV – period – between 2013 and 2019, after which the second-generation CX-5 (launched in early 2017) was overtaken by the latest RAV4.