Mazda in North America has revealed the new CX-30 Turbo, which uses the same 186 kW turbocharged 2,5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine as the hottest Mazda3.

Like the hatchback, this CX-30 Turbo seems likely to be limited to North America ... in the short term, at least.

In new CX-30 flagship, the Skyactiv-G 2,5 Turbo engine delivers 186 kW and 434 N.m when run on 93-octane fuel (or 169 kW and 420 N.m when fed 87-octane petrol). As with the Mazda3, the engine sends its grunt to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.

Set to hit the market in the United States by the end of 2020, the CX-30 Turbo is further set apart by “subtle” exterior updates such as black 18-inch alloy wheels, larger tailpipes, gloss-black side-mirror caps and “Turbo” badging.

Interestingly, the flagship variant will furthermore gain extra safety kit, such as a “smart city brake support reverse” function with rear cross-traffic braking. There’s also traffic jam assist, which provides steering inputs in “certain situations” when using the adaptive cruise control.

As a reminder, the standard (naturally aspirated) CX-30 was scheduled to launch in South Africa early in 2020 but has yet to arrive. When we last asked in July, Mazda Southern Africa simply told us “at this stage no timing can be confirmed”.

In addition, the Japanese firm’s local arm told us the “turbocharged engine [in the Mazda3] is only offered to the North American market for the next few years”.

Original article from Car