Mazda3 Turbo still on the agenda for Oz

There's an engineering backlog at Mazda, and that has placed in jeopardy the prospect of the highly desirable Mazda3 Turbo reaching Australia in the near future.

That was the word from the Japanese car-maker at the local launch of the Mazda MX-30 hybrid SUV in Victoria this week.

The 2021 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo hatch and sedan was released in North America late last year, packing a 186kW/434Nm 2.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and a range of chassis upgrades.

But so far Mazda’s first small performance car – and its first rival for the Volkswagen Golf GTI – in almost a decade has not been confirmed for right-hand drive production and therefore Australian availability.

“Mazda3 Turbo exists in the US and there's the same engine in the CX-30 as well,” explained Mazda Australia marketing and product director Alastair Doak.

“Unfortunately for us it's still on the wish list; there's just [a lack of sales] volume and right-hand drive – the usual issue.

“There is some engineering that would be required to balance all those things, the investment...,” said Doak.

There are few technical hurdles to overcome in converting the Mazda3 Turbo (and its production line) for the Aussie market – in theory.

Mazda would presumably want to conduct dedicated hot-weather and durability testing for the turbocharged 2.5-litre engine in the right-hook Mazda3, even though it should pass without major changes.

Smaller engineering programs don't necessarily leap-frog larger programs, however, especially if the larger programs promise a more lucrative outcome. And what looks like it might be a simple exercise may not actually be so simple.

“Right-hand drive [from] left-hand drive isn't always easy,” Doak said.

“[There’s also] just the resources they're bringing [to] these large architecture [programs for] the market as well, so it's still on our radar but there's no plan for it at the moment.”

The immediate hurdle for the hot Mazda3 to overcome at present therefore appears to be the ongoing development of the new rear-wheel drive platform and six-cylinder mild-hybrid powertrain for the next-generation Mazda6 and CX-5, including its potential CX-50 ‘coupe’ spin-off.

With those two programs not due to launch until 2022, that could push out any possible local introduction for the Mazda3 Turbo to 2023 or possibly later still.

Keep an eye out for our first Australian review of the Mazda MX-30 next Wednesday (March 31).