With the Mazda6 sedan on its last legs, the Zoom-Zoom automaker is rolling into its home exhibition at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show with the Takeri concept you see here.

The midsize sedan concept adopts Mazda’s latest Kodo design language in a conventional three-box shape that could provide a preview of what to expect from the next 6. The show car packs the company’s SkyActiv-D diesel engine (a 2.2-liter twin-turbo four-cylinder with a lowered compression ratio for a 20% improvement in efficiency over a conventional oil-burner) with stop-start engine management and regenerative braking – a new feature for Mazda.

The Takeri show car will be officially unveiled (along with the CX-5 and Shinari concept that make their Japanese debuts) when the doors open at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center on November 30. In the meantime you can check out the images in our high-res gallery and read the full press release after the jump.

Want to give yourself a headache? Go out and shop for a new compact sedan with the stipulation that it must have seating for up to five passengers and a highway EPA fuel economy rating in the high-30-mpg range or better. You won’t have to look hard, because it seems nearly every automaker is jumping into an already crowded segment and delivering this type of vehicle. Without much effort, we can alphabetically list the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus,Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla. Spend a bit more time, and the list opens up even wider.

Sticker prices, fuel economy numbers and warranty terms are objective and indubitable. Driving dynamics, styling and passenger comfort, in sharp contrast, are subjective. To differentiate itself from the crowd, and win consumers over on both fronts, Mazda has worked hard to deliver a competitive compact that is objectively frugal and subjectively stylish while still being fun to drive.

It won’t be long before we get our first intimate taste of the all-new Mazda CX-5 compact SUV at its world premiere in Frankfurt, but we now have some interesting news about the North American variant, courtesy of Hideaki Tanaka, manager of the CX-5 program.

During the first press test drive event of a pre-production model, Tanaka told Autonews that the CX-5 will arrive in the States early next year, adding that while Mazda has not finalized pricing and packaging, it will likely carry a base MSRP of around $20,000, close to $3,000 less than the larger CX-7 ($22,785 with delivery).

In the U.S. the CX-5 will compete against the likes of Honda’s next generation CR-V (expected this fall), the VW Tiguan and the Hyundai Tucson.

At launch, the new compact crossover model will be offered with a modified version of Mazda’s SKYACTIV-G gasoline 2.0-liter engine, which in Europe is said to be rated 165HP and around 150 lbs.-feet of torque.

Mazda engineers told reporters during the presentation that the U.S. spec four-cylinder will likely feature a lower compression ratio (13:1 instead of 14:1) so it can run on 87 octane regular gasoline, and as a result, output may be lower.

Mazda has announced that orders for the subtly revised Mazda Demio, or Mazda2 as is known overseas, in its first month of being available in Japan have far exceeded their initial target. Specifically, from June 30, when the Demio became available, until July 31, orders have reached 13,500 units, more than double Mazda’s initial estimate of 6,000.

And that’s only private customers, excluding rental or dealer test drive models. The Demio is also the first Mazda model to exceed 10,000 registrations in a single month since March 2004.

As expected, the new 13-SKYACTIVE model accounts for the vast majority of sales, since it has been the model of choice for 70% of the orders, surpassing initial projections of 60%.

Mazda’s senior managing executive officer in charge of domestic business, Nobuhide Inamoto, said, “Mazda is extremely grateful for the strong support from so many customers who have pushed sales of the facelifted Demio well beyond our sales plan. Mazda’s next-generation SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY is also proving popular and we are confident that it will have a positive impact on our overall sales in Japan.”

“Following the Demio, we will continue the rollout of our breakthrough SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY with the facelifted Mazda Axela (Mazda3) this fall and the all-new Mazda CX-5 next year”.

Demio’s customers are mostly single men and women, as well as people over 40 who are downsizing to a smaller, more efficient cars. They cite the reasons for their choice as the Demio’s fuel economy (as low as 3.33 lt/100 or 70.6 mpg in the Japanese driving cycle), its advanced technology and its quiet cabin..

When we think of mid-size crossovers, words like “comfort,” “convenience” and “roominess” are the first things to spring to mind. For some CUVs, those are accurate descriptions, but the Mazda CX-7 also has to fulfill a Zoom-Zoom promise. For the past 11 years, Mazda’s mantra has meant that driving excitement must be injected into every vehicle it builds, whether it’s a roadster like the MX-5 Miata or a minivan like theMazda5.

Athletic handling is a no-brainer for sports cars like the RX-8, but crossover owners typically expect creature comforts, utility and a smooth ride. We’ve been won over by the CX-7′s sporty genes before, but the crossover field is far thicker and more talented than it was back in 2007 when the CX-7 first hit the scene. Does this Mazda softroader still strike the right balance? We spent a week getting reacquainted with 2011 CX-7 Grand Touring to find out.