Next month at the Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda will be showing off the TAKERI – it will be the global debut for a mid-sized saloon concept car that is looking pretty darn close to being production-ready. The TAKERI showcases KODO, the new design language of the capital letter-happy Mazda Motor Corportation.

KODO means “Soul of Motion” and the designers have worked to bring this fluid approach to aesthetics to functional cars, such as the TAKERI. SKYACTIV technology, Mazda’s green ideas, which includes regenerative braking, new lightweight structure, stop-start function and the efficient new SKYACTIV-D diesel engine – all without sacrificing performance or ride comfort.

As well as the TAKERI, the new CX-5 crossover will be making its Japanese debut at the Tokyo Motor Show, also equipped with the full range of SKYACTIV technology. The slick – yet still distinctively Mazda – KODO design language is also present in the CX-5. It has a lightweight body – part of Mazda’s campaign to shave weight off cars across the entire range and a choice of economical petrol and diesel engines and fuel-saving transmissions. The new CX-5 will be on sale in the UK next year.

Joining the CX-5 for its Japanese debut at the Tokyo Motor Show is the SHINARI concept car – your correspondent was lucky enough to see this bad boy in Japan last year and can report that it is a stunner. It is a sleek coupe that will not only inform the design of Mazdas to come, but will hopefully make it into production without deviating too far from the eye-catching concept.

By Georgia Lewis

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