This is the new CX-4 compact crossover, but don’t get too excited folks – it is for the Chinese market only, for now at least.

Revealed at the Beijing motor show, the newbie looks like the bigger CX-5 albeit, you guessed it – more compact in dimensions. It is 175mm lower in height (1,535mm) than the CX-5 but in fact 78mm longer (4,633mm) and it keeps the same 1,840mm width and 2,700mm wheelbase. So, hmm, it isn’t as compact as we thought it would be but that said, it sure looks good.

It reminds us a little bit of the Koeru Concept from last year’s Frankfurt motor show and clearly continues with Mazada’s Kodo – Soul of Motion design philosophy what a sporty silhouette which is highlighted by a rakish roofline. It also has a slanted rear window while the front end is dominated by the Japanese brand’s familiar trapezoidal grille with chrome surrounds and flanked by sharp headlights featuring LED technology and fog lamps. The rear features a stylish spoiler which includes the third brake light, fog lights in the lower section of the bumper and sporty twin exhaust tips. It rides on a set of 17in wheels - larger 19in wheels can be had too. Moving to the cabin and you’d be forgiven for thinking you stepped into a Mazda 3; it looks identical in there. That’s not a bad thing as the cabin of the 3 is pretty neat but we had hoped for something a little different. Still, there are a few changes to help tell them apart; for instance, the centre console ditches a conventional handbrake for an electronic unit. But the rest of it looks strikingly similar – it even has the same the steering wheel, 7.0in touchscreen infotainment system, dual-zone climate control switches and heads-up display. On the safety front, it’ll pack six airbags, Advanced Blind Spot Monitoring (ABSM) system with Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), and Smart City Brake Support (SCBS).

Chinese buyers will be able to choose between two engines when the car is launched; a 156 horsepower, 202Nm of torque 2.0-litre four-pot and a peppier 189 horsepower, 252Nm of torque 2.5-litre four-pot mated to six-speed automatic transmission with Mazda’s ‘Intelligent All-Wheel Drive’ system. The smaller motor has a claimed fuel consumption of 6.2 litres per 100km while the 2.5 has 7.2 litres per 100km.

What do you reckon – should Mazda bring the newbie to our shores too?