An adorable-looking hatch and a 500-horsepower rotary PHEV — Could these signal Mazda’s future?
In terms of exterior styling and exterior design, Mazda has been knocking it out of the park for the past decade across multiple generations. As far as powertrains are concerned, though, the automaker has mainly stuck to formula with attempts at branching out toward electrification (remember the MX-30?) not exactly hitting the mark. Now, we’re getting another take on its pursuit of the future at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, as Mazda debuts its X-Coupe and X-Compact concepts.
And just to be clear, that’s “Cross”-Coupe and “Cross”-Compact to you. The silver X-Coupe, a sleek-looking four-door, offers up an evolved take on the brand’s design language, with a striking front and rear fascia accented by super-thin lighting, as well as long and low hood and roof lines.
It’s not just about looks, however. The X-Coupe is packing a truly new-era propulsion system, if Mazda actually gets brave enough to put it into production. This car does have a rotary engine (!): a twin-rotor setup mated to an electric motor and battery pack as part of a plug-in hybrid system. In total, this arrangement produces a hearty 503 horsepower, with Mazda claiming this car can also drive nearly 100 miles on electricity alone. And even when that runs out, the turbocharged rotary runs on fuel made from microalgae, as part of the brand’s attempt to keep the “joy of driving” alive while also reducing their cars’ carbon footprint.
Both these concepts, in typical Mazda fashion over the past several years, have ruthlessly simple-but-elegant interiors that pull your eyes toward a few crucial elements. This time around, though, the X-Coupe has what looks like a large display seamlessly integrated into the dashboard, while still retaining an actual gauge pod. Even if they’re digital too, it’s nice to see an interior that’s not totally, utterly, stupidly dominated by screens, screens and more screens.
The X-Coupe may have an interesting powertrain, but just look at the X-Compact.
Then there’s the Mazda X-Compact concept hitting the Japan Mobility Show — and it truly lives up to that name. At just 150.6 inches, it’s ten inches shorter than the last-generation Mazda 2, let alone the already compact Mazda 3 hatchback (not to mention a full four feet shorter than the X-Coupe). It is also, objectively speaking, freaking adorable.
I get not everyone would want that in their small car. If they did, the Fiat 500 would be selling like hotcakes, instead of just a few hundred a month. Nevertheless, while the styling language closely tracks with the coupe, the proportions and decently aggressive (to a point) front end just make it look fun. And the back has a unique and distinctive look, as well.
So I may be Mazda fan-boying a bit, but the X-Compact concept brings a blend of angles and smooth lines that give it some presence despite its small stature, instead of just going buck wild with angles, creases and slashes to make it hyper-aggressive to the point of lacking any meaningful character you could actually connect with, were Mazda to actually put this into production (don’t hold your breath on that, by the way).
The company didn’t offer up a lick of detail about the propulsion here, unlike the X-Coupe. That said, the smooth front end and smaller intake area on the lower fascia may suggest a small-displacement hybrid, or perhaps it could do a rotary hybrid here as well — the packaging would make a lot more sense for a car so tiny.
Once again, Mazda isn’t going buck wild with displays for the X-Compact Concept. Instead, there’s a small cluster behind the flat-bottom steering wheel, while the driver can plug in their smartphone to the right of that gauge to act as the de facto infotainment system. You also still get a traditional gear lever, though it is an automatic setup.
Mazda mentions the X-Compact as a “model designed to deepen the bond between people and cars.” How exactly does it plan to do that? Well, if the letters “A” and “I” popped into your head there because everyone and their mother is jumping on the bandwagon, you’re right on the money. Through what the company calls “empathetic AI”, Mazda’s aim for the future is to bring owners closer to their cars by way of natural conversation and an emotional connection, “much like a heartfelt relationship”. The car of the future won’t just wish you a happy birthday, after all.
Of course, we won’t see either of these cars make it into production lock, stock and barrel. Instead, what we’re looking at here is a vision — or, in this case, another vision — of what Mazda contends the future of motoring will be. Whether you’re actually excited for that or not, the styling and tech on display here may well inspire the company’s next generation of models in the coming years and decades.
It’s not just tomorrow’s world that Mazda is showing in Japan, however. It also brought the updated Mazda CX-5 to the Japan Mobility Show so you can get an idea of what the brand’s doing in the here and now. Roman and Tommy are on the ground in Tokyo, and we’ll have more updates on Mazda and other automakers’ offerings on the TFLnow, TFLoffroad and TFLEV YouTube channels.
