Mazda has said the CX-5, which features a 2.5-liter in-line 4-cylinder engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission, is the first completely new product — not a carry-over scrap from a previous Mazda or another manufacturer — since the Cosmo was introduced in 1967.

If I were an executive at Mazda, I’d be doing some serious headhunting over at Subaru.

That company, once a weird northern phenomenon — the Japanese equivalent of Saab — is now crushing its own sales records year after year, gunning for 400,000 sales by year-end.

And kudos to them. They deserve it.

But Mazda also deserves more sales than it’s getting. Should not Mazda be at least as popular as Subaru? I argue that it should, and I submit the CX-5 as proof.

The CX-5 is Mazda’s first new crossover since the company’s breakup with Ford in 2008. While the CX-5’s predecessor, the Tribute, was a lightly disguised Ford Escape, the CX-5 shares not a bolt with the current Escape. Mazda says it’s the first completely new product — not a carry-over scrap from a previous Mazda or another manufacturer — since the Cosmo. Which, if you’re not up on your Mazda history, was introduced in 1967.

Upon its introduction late last year, the CX-5 was available with only a 2-liter, 155-horsepower four-cylinder, an engine that is available with either a six-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual. I drove the latter and loved it; manual-transmission crossovers are uncommon, and Mazda’s stick shifts are among the best on the road.

But I suspected, given the public apathy for manuals, that this wasn’t really a representative CX-5. And according to Mazda, it’s not: The manual-transmission version accounts for just 3 percent of CX-5 sales.

The current high-volume model, introduced this year, uses the larger, more powerful 2.5-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder. Fuel economy suffers slightly — about a mile per gallon compared with the 2-liter automatic model — but the added power is well worth the penalty. Buyers seem to agree, as the 2.5-liter accounts for 81 percent of sales.

I drove a fully decked-out 2.5-liter Grand Touring AWD and found it to epitomize the challenge facing the company. It’s an outstanding little crossover, but its appeal lies in Mazda’s mastery of the nuances — the feel of the steering wheel in your hands, the chamfered smoothness of the motor, the tightly dampened body motions as you navigate a twisty road. There’s nothing you can slap a number on and cry “Best! Superlative!” and yet you emerge from a drive wanting to convert anyone who will listen.

All of the company’s vehicles are like that, really. From the Mazda 3 to the Mazda 6 to the big CX-9 people mover, they’re all masters of the intangibles, the interaction between power and grip and the response of the controls.

Even Mazda’s signature engine technology, Skyactiv, is a collection of small, worthy upgrades (high compression ratio, friction reduction, direct injection) rather than one killer app.

I’m sure Mazda marketers would rather offer the CX-5 Blammo Turbo — “So much power you’ll spin the tires off the rims or we’ll buy you a sandwich!” — but instead they’re left trying to extol the virtues of a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold and an automatic transmission that uses a torque converter and a clutch.

I feel your pain, Mazda. By the way, the redesigned Ford Escape offers as much as 240 horsepower. Blammo!

The CX-5, though, weighs a couple of hundred pounds less. May I interest you in some finesse?

I hope so. Because you don’t have to understand every facet of Skyactiv to realize that the CX-5 captures some of the driving magic that BMW once held the patent on.

When Ford cut Mazda loose, I was curious to see how the dissolution of that relationship would affect the post-breakup Mazdas. It seems the company knows perfectly well what kind of cars it wants to build. Now it just needs the world to notice.

How much?: $29,665 base, $31,890 as tested, with Soul Red paint ($300) and the Grand Touring tech package ($1,625) that includes navigation, keyless ignition, high-intensity headlamps and a precollision emergency braking system.

Is it thirsty? With a federal rating of 24 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway, the CX5 2.5 AWD is thrifty enough, but can’t touch the 35 mpg highway rating for the mileage-champ 2-liter model with a manual gearbox.

2014 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring AWD

Base price: $29,665

As tested: $31,890

Type: AWD crossover

Engine: 2.5-liter four-cylinder (184 horsepower, 185 pound-feet of torque) with six-speed automatic transmission.

Mileage: 24 mpg city, 30 mpg highway