Mazda has been attempting to sell diesel versions of the 6 sedan and CX-5 SUV in the US for a few years now, but the company has reportedly found it difficult to find the correct mix of low emissions and sporty character. The Japanese automaker has yet to officially announce any diesel models for the US market, but strangely the EPA's fueleconomy.gov website already has information regarding a CX-5 diesel. A diesel CX-5 may be closer to production than we initially thought, but the fuel economy is less than stellar.

The site lists a 2.2-liter four-cylinder automatic trim in both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations. The FWD model achieves 28/31/29 mpg city/highway/combined while the AWD model drops those numbers slightly to 27/30/28 mpg. These aren't terrible numbers for an SUV, but they are barely an improvement over the 2.5-liter gas model which can achieve 25/31/28 mpg city/highway/combined with FWD and 24/30/26 with AWD. Amazingly, the diesel engine offers zero benefits in highway fuel economy and only a 3 mpg gain in the city.

Perhaps Mazda's idea for the CX-5 diesel is to offer it as a sort-of performance upgrade. The diesel engine is expected to produce around 170 horsepower, which is less than the 187 hp offered in the 2.5-liter gas engine. The big difference is the torque - the diesel is expected to make around 300 lb-ft while the gas engine has only 186. Our biggest question is why Mazda wouldn't just rely on the 2.5-liter turbocharged SkyActiv engine from the 6 and CX-9. This engine produces 310 lb-ft of torque and a meatier 250 hp. Not only is this engine already approved for emissions in the US, it has a very diesel-like power delivery. In any case, these figures for the diesel CX-5 comes as a big surprise.