Facelifted Mazda CX-7 crossover model to debut in Frankfurt

MAZDA will be premiering the facelifted CX-7 crossover at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, and the revised vehicle will feature the company's new "family face" as seen on Mazda6 and Mazda3.

The European market model being presented will be in diesel form, featuring a MZR-CD 2.2l turbodiesel engine, and the revised CX-7 will debut as the first Japanese passenger car to have a diesel engine fitted with a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system, which cuts NOx emissions by 40 per cent.

This technology will be offered exclusively to European customers when the model goes on sale in October. The SCR system doesn't eat into space, and the updated CX-7 will offer the same 455l of luggage space as found on the previous gasoline engine version; refills of the system's AdBlue liquid are required only during scheduled maintenance.

The facelifted CX-7 crossover is an update to the original CX-7. The exterior design features revised front and rear fascias with the front adopting the larger five-point grille design similar in appearance to recently redesigned RX-8, MX-5 and Mazda3.

New interiors included redesign gauges including blackout meters that feature three-dimensional dials and a 3.5 inch super-twisted nematic (STN) monochrome and 4.1-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) colour Multi Information Display (MID) positioned at the top of the instrument panel, Bluetooth compatibility, Blind Spot Monitoring System.

The original CX-7 is a mid-size crossover SUV model from Mazda, the production version of the MX-Crossport concept car.

The CX-7 is built in Hiroshima, Japan, starting in early 2006. The CX-7 was shown publicly for the first time at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show in January. The CX-7 went on sale in spring 2006 as a 2007 model.

The Star/ANN