Should Mazda Offer the CX-70 as a Fortuner, Everest Fighter?

As far as future products go, this is purely a flight of fancy. But with Mazda’s collaboration with Isuzu already producing the all-new BT-50, what could a potential 7-seater SUV based off the upcoming mu-X possibly look like?

Imagined by the folks over at caradvice.com.au is this: the CX-70—a body-on-frame, three-row SUV that will compete against the Everests and Fortuners of the world.

The Australian-based website imagines the name because it’s in cadence with Mazda’s new double-digit model designation for the CX-series starting with the CX-30.

To keep costs down, the imagined CX-70 will share key design elements with the mu-X such as the main body structure, doors, and greenhouse. It will also share the same 3.0-liter turbo diesel powertrain. However, as with any proper platform sharing arrangement, it will get an entirely new front-end, quarter panels, hood, and tailgate.

With that, the digital artist who imagined the CX-70 grafted on the all-new BT-50’s front-end, while also giving it its own unique front bumper treatment. At the back, it gets the same chrome strip design feature found in Mazda’s other 7-seater SUVs—the CX-8 and CX-9.

Sadly, the CX-70 will remain purely in everyone’s imagination for now. 

Back in 2016, when they first announced their collaboration with Isuzu, Mazda’s Executive Officer for Emerging Markets Business, Hiroshi Inoue gave a flat-out “no” when asked whether they were developing their own 7-seater pickup-based SUV.

At the time, Inoue-san believed that globally competitive products such as the CX-5 will help Mazda compete in the segment. Having said that, they’ve since started offering the CX-8 too as an alternative to pickup-based SUVs. Of course, this is in line with the company’s strategy to offer a premium line-up for customers.

Given the increased popularity of 7-seater body-on-frame SUVs in the Asia and Oceania region, we don’t know whether Mazda has changed their mind since. Regardless, if they do consider building a three-row PPV, this imagined CX-70 would be a good place to start.

Source: caradvice.com.au

Source: Car Guides PH