SPY PICS: New Mazda3 owes nothing to next Focus

Mazda is expected to unveil its next generation of Mazda3 small car at the Los Angeles motor show in November -- and it won't be waiting for the next generation Ford Focus platform.

The master spy photographers at Carparazzi have forwarded these pics of production-ready cars undergoing testing in the US. The vehicle was caught by a tourist who recognised the star quality of the new car as it was refuelling.

Other media outlets -- and the blokes at Carparazzi -- report that the new '3' will be built on the next generation Ford Focus platform due 2010. The Carsales Network's Mazda insider begs to differ, saying the new '3' will be based on the current '3' and will hit the market well before the new Ford surfaces.

That the new '3' is based on Mazda's current model has precedent. Rather than use Ford's new generation Mondeo platform for the latest Mazda6, the Japanese company instead chose to cut and shut its existing architecture. Look to the new '3' for a repeat dose of this logic.

The pictures confirm that the new Mazda3 adopts the big brother Mazda6's front wheel arches and a swage line from the Mazda2 light car. For the most part though, the roofline and broader styling details indicate the new model will retain visual links to the current car. We would go further and posit that the hard points and at least some of the upper body architecture will be shared with the current car.

Following the precedent of the new models of Mazda2 and Mazda6, we would expect the new Mazda3 to be lighter and to boast better internal packaging, from the company's 'less-is-more' school of thought.

A six-speed manual transmission was fitted to one of the cars pictured and -- from Carparazzi's analysis of the pics -- this appears to be a 'Grand Touring' sedan, fitted with heated seats, satellite radio and an MP3-compatible audio system with a built-in hard drive.

According to Carparazzi, the 2.3-litre engine of the MPS model may expand to 2.5 litres in this generation of Mazda3. Carparazzi expects the 2.0-litre engine to remain fixed at that capacity, but enjoy an improvement in power to the tune of perhaps as much as 10kW. Our source at Mazda downplays massive power gains for the new model, but 10kW sounds plausible, if only to keep up with the pace of change in the small car segment.

Carparazzi tells us that the Mazda3 was due to go on sale globally during the latter half of 2009, but has been brought forward. We believe that Mazda is aiming for an Australian launch around the middle of the year, with the car possibly being previewed first at the Melbourne International Motor Show for 2009.

-- with Carparazzi

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