Mazda characterizes the concept as a “unique and daring interpretation” of one of the fastest-growing car segments. The name Koeru comes from the Japanese for “exceed” or “go beyond,” and it seems almost certain that the car points toward a production model that might arrive within the next year.
Building on the company’s dramatic Kodo design language, the Mazda Koeru concept has a long, low silhouette that screams station wagon rather than crossover, but a raised ride height and black fender cladding clearly identify this model as the latter. At 181.1 inches long, the Koeru is a five-passenger model that measures about 9 inches shorter than today’s CX-9, and only about 2 inches longer than the two-row CX-5. And at just 59.0 inches tall, the Koeru is significantly shorter than either of those models and only 2 inches taller than a Mazda3 hatchback, helping to give the large concept a very athletic appearance.
Out front, Mazda’s familiar grille sticks out from the angular nose, with chrome trim around the bottom of the aperture and along the lower edge of the front fascia. The sloped hood leads into a dramatically raked windshield, with blacked-out A- and B-pillars to produce a semi-floating-roof look. Chrome roof rails further the signals that this is an active-lifestyle model. Out back, the car essentially forms a boomerang shape, with a steeply angled windshield and a mostly vertical lower liftgate. Large, round chrome exhausts poke out from beneath the rear bumper. Character lines on the body sides are subtle, without the sharp creases seen on many of today’s concept cars, and follow the trends sent out by production models like the Mazda3, 2, and CX-3.
