What you see here is the picture of a totally undisguised upcoming 2018 Mazda CX-8 which has been shared on social media and that, of course, caught our attention. By some comment, we see that many believe that this here is actually the long rumored seven-seater CX-5 variant. As you probably recall Mazda previewed their new SUV just last month with only one picture that showed a three-row, six seat version with two bucket seats in the middle row, while the new CX-8 will be offered with six- or seven-seat configuration options.
According to all indications it will be shorter than Mazda CX-9, and that’s by 115 mm, and it will be 129 mm narrower, but it will still be in the same medium SUV category as CX-5, despite using the wheelbase of a larger vehicle. As you probably know there were a lot of pleas that asked for a turbocharged unit in the CX-5 but since that didn’t happen, the 2.2 L diesel unit with 173 HP and 325 lb-ft of torque from it will be transferred as the same option for the CX-8. One more thing is that this engine will most likely wear SkyActiv D badging.
Fans and potential buyers across the world have been disappointed with the notion that this vehicle will be a Japan-only model, but since this one is spotted in California, it opens a possibility of testing for export potential. If this pans out to be true then on the Australian market, the 2018 Mazda CX-8 would be a huge success especially after the fact that CX-5 is destroying the competition like Nissan X-Trail and the Mitsubishi Outlander over there.
When you look at the new 2018 Mazda CX-8, you can easily mistake it for a CX-9, especially when you have the rear-end treatment and chrome strip running across the tailgate, which are almost identical. The overall design treatment of the new CX-8 is a hybrid one that uses some features from the Mazda’s medium, while others from large SUVs. This is seen in the rear quarter window which looks slightly longer despite the same appearance as the one on the latest CX-5.
