No sky for 2
SKY technology off the radar for Mazda's top-selling Light carMazda will not bring its new SKY technology powertrains to its top-selling 2 Down Under… At least not until the next all-new generation car arrives very late this decade.
That's the opinion of Mazda Australia boss Doug Dickson.
In Iceland along with a small contingent of Aussie press including motoring.com.au for prototype drives of the new CX-5, Dickson said that it was unlikely the carmaker's latest generation powertrain and chassis technologies would be incorporated across the Mazda2 range until an all-new car appeared.
Though Mazda Japan sells a SKY direct-injected version of the 2, Dickson told motoring.com.au that there was "no indication that the version would be made available to us [Mazda Australia] at this time".
"The difficulty with B [Light] cars is that [new car] customers don't see B and C [Small, i.e. Mazda3] cars as different [classes]. They see small cars, some which are more expensive than others. So it's hard to make a small car [make financial sense]," Dickson explained.
"We don't necessarily need anything special to promote the 2. It's well respected and its fuel consumption is good… Does the extra cost of SKY [powertrain technologies] make financial sense? Probably not."
Mazda will launch a single SKY-engined version of the Mazda3 in the next few months. This will feature the maker's new ultra-high compression ratio, direct-injected atmo 2.0-litre SKY-G petrol engine, mated to a choice of six speed manual or auto boxes. It will also feature auto-stop start.
The majority of Aussie Mazda3 variants will retain their existing conventional powertrain packaging, however. Dickson said any rollout of SKY technology into 2 would also be "a more gradual process".
The CX-5 will be the first new generation Mazda to feature the full suite of SKY-ACTIV technologies when it arrives Down Under next year. motoring.com.au is unable to comment on any details about the prototypes being driven in Iceland until an embargo is lifted next week.
With the Mazda3 still some years off replacement with its first all-SKY version, it will be the Mazda 6 that will be the next all-SKY model to follow the CX-5. The all-new Mazda6 is likely to debut late in 2012 with early versions reaching Australia in early 2013.
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