High hopes for Mazda3

Mazda is leaving nothing to chance with its new Mazda3. Style, efficiency and creature comforts have been given equal airtime in the new car's development program.

Sold in 120 countries – and ranked Australia's best-selling car for the past two years – Mazda3 racks up 30 per cent of Mazda's sales around the world in any given year. And the manufacturer is confident the new '3' has what it takes to maintain that sales momentum.

The new model was officially revealed late last month in a carefully staged global event. But now the manufacturer has let the world's press get behind the wheel of the new Mazda3 in California. A full review of the new car will be published on motoring.com.au in coming days.

Locked and loaded for its nearest rivals in the turbulent small-car segment, the new Mazda3 will feature the full gamut of SKYACTIV fuel-saving elements already introduced with the Mazda6, as well as connectivity and interactivity previously reserved for high-end luxury cars.

Power for the new Mazda3 will come from a selection of engines. The mainstays will be 2.0 and 2.5-litre 'SKYACTIV-G' four-cylinder petrol engines but a 2.2-litre diesel is also on the way. And for the first time a hybrid variant of the Mazda3 is in the works – exclusively for the Japanese domestic market so far, but with a possibility of reaching Australia too.

In other markets there will also be a 1.5-litre petrol engine available, but this is definitely not planned for Australia.

Both the petrol engines nominated for the local market have already been introduced here in the CX-5 and feature the unique 4-2-1 exhaust configuration the current Mazda3 SP20 SKYACTIV has lacked for ultimate fuel economy.

As we reported last month, output for the two engines will be 114kW/200Nm for the 2.0-litre and 138kW/250Nm for the 2.5. Mazda claims that the new 2.5 produces over 10 per cent more power and torque than the 2.5-litre MZR engine in the current Mazda3. In the mid-range this rises to as much as 15 per cent more, yet the new engine is 10 per cent lighter. Fuel consumption will be less than 6.0L/100km for the 2.0-litre Mazda3, says Mazda Australia Public Relations Manager Steve Maciver, and the fuel economy of the 2.5-litre variants will range from 6.0 to 6.5L/100km.

Both engines will drive to the front wheels. A six-speed manual transmission or optional SKYACTIV-Drive six-speed automatic will be offered. As in the Mazda6, the latter employs damper clutch lock-up for the torque converter from low speeds to improve efficiency.

The new car has a couple of other clever design and engineering elements to eke the last kilometre out of every drop of fuel. One such device is the active grille shutter, which has been pioneered on some European Ford models. In the Mazda this contributes to drag coefficient numbers of 0.275Cd for the hatch, or 0.255Cd for the sedan. The shutter closes at higher road speeds to reduce aerodynamic drag and thus reduce fuel consumption.

Mazda has also specified i-ELOOP, introduced with the Mazda6, to recover energy lost through braking for the purpose of recharging the car's battery, which also saves fuel over time. The energy is stored in a capacitor to power electrical devices without necessarily drawing 'parasitic' power from the engine via the alternator. However, Australian-spec cars won't be fitted with the fuel-saving facility. According to Maciver it's a matter of keeping the car's landed cost low for competitive pricing.

"We believe we've got to introduce a car that's competitive in every respect," he told motoring.com.au. In the case of i-ELOOP, the local product planners felt it was unnecessary in light of the new Mazda3's fuel economy figures that were "already near the top of that segment."

However, the new Mazda3 will come with the i-stop system that kills the engine while waiting at traffic light and restarts as soon as the driver lifts the foot off the brake pedal.

The electrically-assisted steering also keeps fuel consumption lower and the manufacturer has developed a lighter, more compact system for the new Mazda3, with a steering ratio of 14.0:1. Not only does it promise to reduce fuel use, but it complements the rejigged suspension that enhances cornering, straight-line stability and ride comfort.

Wheels for the new Mazda3 will range from 16 inches (for steel wheels with full covers and 205/60 tyres) up to 18-inch alloys with 215/45 tyres. Brakes are disc on all four wheels, ventilated at the front.

Style has been a major influence in the design of the new Mazda3, but the car's body has also been engineered for weight reduction with increased stiffness (by 30 per cent) through use of high-tensile-strength steels for added safety and reduced Noise, Vibration and Harshness. The company has also focused on improving the field of vision from the driver's seat by relocating the base of the A pillars nearly 10cm aft and shifting the mounting points for the exterior mirrors from the A pillars to the door skins.

Exterior colours will number eight, with three of those comprising Soul Red Metallic and two new colours, Titanium Flash Mica and Deep Crystal Blue Mica.

Inside, the major instrument display features a single, centrally-located analogue dial, with digital readout displays either side. Three-dimensional-style metallic numerals appear in the centre dial, which also pulses red around the circumference when the driver opens the door.

Mazda designers have opted for a symmetric pedal array, with an 'organ-type' accelerator pedal, as part of the driver-oriented position behind the wheel.

Interior decor includes piano black gloss and satin chrome finish for some trim materials.

Seats, which are trimmed in a choice of cloth (black or sand), leatherette (black only) and leather (black or almond), have been redesigned to provide more room in the cabin – particularly rear-seat kneeroom and front-seat shoulder room.

According to Mazda, the new '3' delivers "highly competitive" cabin quietness, despite adopting lighter material for the dash insulator and floor mats.

Safety equipment for Australia includes six-airbags (including side curtains), active front headrests and front seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters.

With its strong blend of core engineering qualities and its appealing equipment levels, the Mazda3 will be hard to overlook in the local small car segment when it arrives in Australia from February next year.

Steve Maciver has ruled out a "$19,990" starting price for the new car, but also says that Mazda doesn't want to position the car too far upmarket at "$22,000, $23,000". It sounds like Mazda will raise the price of the entry-level Mazda3 in Australia, but it will remain close to its current starting price of $20,330.

And provided Mazda can hold local prices more or less where they have been, the new car will pose a mighty threat to others in the segment, including Toyota's Corolla, which is shaping up to wrest the 3’s best-selling crown already this year.

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