To recall, Soul Red Crystal is the first of Mazda’s Takuminuri paint series. It’s a more advanced version of Soul Red that has 20 percent color saturation and 50 percent more depth.

The paint retains a simple three-layer structure comprising clear, translucent, and reflective coats. Changes to the paint’s translucent layer incorporates a highly saturated red pigment for a richer red. In addition to high-brilliance, extremely thin aluminum flakes, the reflective coat features light-absorbing flakes that intensify shaded areas and make it possible to achieve a depth of color that previously required two layers.

Moreover, the aluminum flakes were made a uniform size, the consistency of the paint was enhanced, and a technique to shrink the volume of paint during the drying process was employed. This results in even, smooth coverage of the aluminum and light-absorbing flakes on the car’s body and more precise control of light reflection, making for a substantially deeper and more vivid color.

For 2025, Toyota is making the Corolla Cross available with Mazda’s Soul Red Crystal in the United States. When selected for the Nightshade grade, it’s paired with a Jet Black colored roof too. Aside from that, the specs echo the ASEAN Corolla Cross GR Sport grade with its numerous black exterior accents, dark-accented LED projector headlights, and red contrast stitching to its interior leather.

Although an unlikely candidate to get Soul Red Crystal, it makes sense since the U.S. market Corolla Cross is assembled in a joint Mazda-Toyota factory in Alabama. Toyota may have received this once Mazda exclusive shade (including the corresponding painting technique), but the CX-50, which is also built in the same plant, does receive Toyota’s strong hybrid system lock, stock, and barrel. So, win-win?