SPY PICS: Mazda’s new CX-5 in action

The replacement for Australia's top-selling medium SUV, the Mazda CX-5, has been spotted testing on public roads in Germany.

The camouflaged CX-5 you see here doesn't reveal a whole lot more than we saw last month, when a similarly disguised CX-5 was spied at a service station is southern California.

However, it's clear it borrows heavily in terms of exterior design from the new CX-9 large SUV, which is also expected to donate much of its upmarket interior design, quality and technologies.

Indeed, the next CX-5 is likely to bring – as standard – many of the CX-9's safety advances, including forward/reverse Smart City Brake Support, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, in addition to the current CX-5's iACTIVSENSE safety suite.

While autonomous low-speed emergency braking should be fitted to all models, matching Volkswagen's new Tiguan, upstream models may – like the flagship CX-9 Azami – bring high-speed AEB, adaptive LED headlights with automatic high-beam, driver attention alert and lane-keeping assistance.

Apart from the more premium interior and extensive safety and features list, Mazda is also working to introduce HCCI (compression-ignition) technology for its next-generation (SKYACTIV II) petrol engines, but it's understood these won't be introduced until around 2020, in time for the 2017 CX-5's midlife facelift.

Nevertheless, efficiency gains will come via improved aerodynamics and weight reductions, which should lower the fuel consumption of the new CX-5's four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, which will again be available with six-speed manual and automatic transmissions and both front- and all-wheel drivetrains.

Beyond 2.0- and 2.5-litre petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engines, it remains to be seen whether the new CX-5 also scores the CX-9's new turbocharged 2.5-litre petrol four, which could power a top-shelf sports variant.

Mazda Australia will be hoping the new CX-5 can carry on the success story of the current model, which is still outselling competitors such as the Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-TRAIL and Hyundai Tucson, notching up more than 25,000 sales last year.

Given its importance in the US (and the fact the current (facelifted) model was revealed there in 2014) expect the MkII CX-5 to make its world debut at this year’s Los Angeles motor show in November, before going on sale Down Under next year – five years after the original's release in 2012.