June17
The Mazda3 is widely considered one of the best in its segment, and our spy photographers have spotted the next iteration of the highly-touted sedan. This all new sport compact was originally due to go on sale sometime in the last half of 2009, but will now hit showrooms in the summer of 2009 as a 2010 model year car.
The new Mazda3 will showcase the new styling direction that will eventually spread to the entire Mazda lineup, Laurens van den Acker, Mazda’s design chief, said recently.
While this particular prototype is covered in yards and yards of olive drab camouflage, we can see an impressive pair of projector headlamps up front and angled tail lights in back. Overall, once the camouflage comes off, we expect a much more sporty design to be revealed.
From the interior photos, we can see this 3 sedan is packing a 6 speed transmission. That’s one more gear than the current model. We can also see buttons for heated seats, satellite radio and an MP3 hard drive. That probably tells us we’re looking at a Grand Touring sedan prototype.
The new Mazda3 will ride on the next-generation global Ford Focus C1 platform and is expected to be longer and wider than the current model.
Under the hood, Mazda’s MZR line of motors will get a bump in power and further tweaking for fuel savings. Expect the current 2.3L motor to be bored out to around 2.5L. That should give it a 20-30hp bump from the current 156hp rating. The 2.0L base motor probably won’t see an increase in displacement, but a 10 to 15 horsepower increase is likely.
June 17, 2008
May 16, 2008
Ready to see this baby uncovered, the center stack looks to be a step above the mundane Mazda6’s. Hopefully, they are still offering a wagon version if not then this is still going on the shopping list for a daily driver.
If Mazda is smart, they would actually push this engine to the point where it out powered the Honda Civic Si and Jetta 2.0T. Hopefully, they will offer more than black leather on their top trim model.
Actually, the current European 2.0 liter petrol Mazda 3 HAS the 6-speed manual transmission, as did the old generation Mazda 6 with 2.0 liter and 2.3 liter engines.
Ungainly lump. Stick to the hatchback
Hopefully this one will make it to North America from Japan and not the Ford factory here. Whenever Ford gets their hands on a Mazda, the resulting car gets dumbed down, decontented, or loses bodystyles like the hatch.
i like Mazdas , always did since the 2000’s, and this baby looks good to me.
One more thing I just thought of : This is supossed to go against the new Cobalt. Hahahahahaha !!! Hahaahahaha !
Mazda 3 is on top of the game among compacts. Considering cost of fuel in a year (lets assume it will go up only 10c a months not 39 like current) it will be better served with just 2.0 L engine. It also would differentiate 3 from 6. Otherwise they are getting close to each in dimensions and 3 was always leader in performance. The current hatch is the best in class (the class is not that big
)
Mazda — it’s amazing what that company does with such little resources.
I agree, creative little yellow people.
>One more thing I just thought of : This is supossed to go against the new Cobalt. Hahahahahaha !!! Hahaahahaha !<
Whats your point? The next Cobalt is going to be a world car, and if the Malibu is any test it will be world class.
steve333, there are a lot of cars in Europe same category as Malibu, and most of them are better. Including GM’s own Opel. Opel is original Malibu. Sad to report bad news, but Malibu only outguns Camry, that does not make it world car contender. It is much better then one before, but one before was POS.
This one looks great, even under wraps. The one thing I didn’t like about the existing 3 sedan is the bobbed tail look. This one has a nicer rear end. My first Mazda was a 2002 Protege 5 that my wife loved. Now we are a 2-car Mazda family. This one may be worth trading the Tribute or 6 in for, given the new 6 my not have a 5-door in the future. And BTW, I hope the bean counters at Ford keep their hands off this one. And new Colbalt, don’t make me laugh. GM’s getting better but their not in the same league.
Out of all the asian companies I actually respect Mazda. As has been said they do a lot with less and this should reveal good things for the next Focus.
I see a few of these near my office as Mazda’s field office is located near me. That thing can scoot too. The driver was getting onto the 55 south fwy and when he got on the onramp he gunned it and that thing railed the onramp with ease.
Mazda’s are great driving cars, I had the pleasure of driving the MS3 a few weeks ago and now I’ve been craving Mazda. The only problems I had were interior color and the fact that it only came in 6sp manual form. Working long hours and driving in Atlanta traffic doesn’t exactly inspire the “zoom zoom” feeling of wanting to shift gears and the dark interior made me feel as if I were crawling into a hot cave. Other than that the car itself was amazing, this new one should push the envelope even further. It looks like it will offer Xenon headlamps, hopefully they have employed other weight saving measures to get better fuel economy out of the car including offering this with the 6sp AT. I have wondered since Mazda doesn’t have a luxury division of its own, will start to push their cars upscale like the rest of the industry?
http://www.leftlanenews.com/mazda-3-future.html#comment-381637
I’m with Steve333 on that, what’s that suppose to mean? The Cobalt is neither class leading nor a trend setter, it has a long way to go before it’s even considered a contender to the other players in the field.
I want to see it with the wraps off… it looks similar to the Mazda 6 the rest of the world save for NA gets. God knows our versions of the new 6 look much better than the crap Mazda & FMOCO created for your shores. [9.23 pm not am]
If only the NA Focus could have AT LEAST ended up like the Mazda 3 (or even better - the Euro Focus)
I don’t know about the suggestion of just offering it with the 2.0L. N.A. spec cars usually has higher displacement engine, so a dual engine option with a 2.0L and 2.5L is on the money. Not buying the cannibalizing Mazda6 theory either. This is a continuation of the current format: Mazda3 with two choices of 4-cyl engine, Mazda6 with the higher displacement 4-cyl and a V6. Both cars have sold well. If Mazda6 buyers worry that much about sharing an engine with the little brother, they’ll just buy the V6. The Mazda6 is big enough to be different from the 3. The trend is that people are buying smaller cars, which are also cheaper to buy, own and operate. Giving the choice of two 4-cyl engines in the compact is smart because you get the power of a mid-size sedan in a smaller package.
As to the design, it looks fine, but I am not sure about the front grille with the little we can see.
“Early this morning, our spies got the first good look at the upcoming 2010 Mazda3. This all new sport compact was originally due to go on sale sometime in the last half of 2009, but will now hit showrooms in the summer of 2009 as a 2010 model year car.”
First of all LLN… is it fair to really say that “your spies” got a look at this new Mazda, when in reality you only obtained these photos from a company which goes out to take these pictures and then sells them to any number of publications?? Secondly… doesn’t pretty much all of the summer (minus ten or so days in June) fall into the last half of the year?? So basically you’re saying that the Mazda3, which was originally due out in the last half of 2009 is still set to be released… in the last half of ‘09, is that correct??
Anyway… out of all the Japanese manufacturers, Mazda is the only one I like and actually have a certain amount of respect for. I really wish that they had gone forward with their plans to establish a luxury nameplate back in the 90s… I think they could have not only given the others a run for their money in terms of technology and innovation, but they would have torn Lexura a new one with regard to styling. It’s not like they didn’t have a good foundation by which to start from… The Millenia was originally developed to be the entry-level Amati (Mazda’s never realized luxury marque)… and frankly, I always thought they were a terrific little car. But unfortunately for everyone, they totally missed the boat on all of that.
I keep saying this: my girlfriend has a Mazda3, and it handles like demonspawn. 3-series can eat a dick. For sheer playfulness and tossability, this car reigns supreme.
People who buy the 3 (compact sport) and 6 (mid-size family sedan) are in different categories anyway, so the cannibalization between the two is out of the question. Secondly, the 2.5L adds 20-30 horsepower& the right exhaust configuration adds another 10-20 hp or so, could we be seeing a 200hp Mazda3 in the near future? It would definitely make it more than a match for the Civic Si and GTI, since it already out handles both at it’s current level. I mentioned before that Mazda doesn’t have it’s own luxury division would they be bold enough to go after some of the Acura TSX and Audi A4 sales with this new model as well?
Hard to improve on something close to perfection for this class, but Mazda seems to being a good job with their other cars like the Mazda2 and the Mazda6.
That will be one kick-ass machine!
Too bad Ford doesn’t have the brains to knock it off.
The Focus should have been this good years ago.
Friggin Ford!
DrFill
Well DrFrill, the USA’s Focus will merge with the European one in about 2010-2011, so it will be good, till then we get the Fiesta. We also get all the Euro-Focus derivatives, like the C-Max and the Kuga.
I keep saying this, and no one listens: the Euro Focus is available RIGHT NOW as the Volvo C30. Same frame, same suspension, T5 turbo motor, same steering rack, same ride height, same weight. I think Mazda should use a light hand in reworking the 3, it really is a neat little car and they don’t want to screw it up. The car they should dump is the 6, it has never really shaped itself into the Accord/Galant fighter it needs to be. Twin screws on the RX-8, bump the displacement to 1.6liters, put the T5 5-cylinder turbo into the Mazdaspeed 3, and be done with it. Mazda’s lineup is too small for them to have much wiggle room.
The Volvo is expensive, and Mazda uses its own engines exclusive to it (excluding the 3.7 liter V6). The Mazda6 is a great seller and does not need to be ditched, and the new one should raise sales. The Mazdaspeed3 is fine with the engine it has.
NoNameDenton, Mazda’s motors are, with the exception of the Renesis, all shared with the greater Ford Motor Company.
Its MZR series of motors replaced the Zetec series at Ford and are now the smaller (2.3L and below) Duratec models.
It’s AJ V6 motor is a Duratec30.
It’s new MZI V6 is a Duratec37 (which was actually a Mazda improvement on the Duratec35)
10 years ago, yeah, every motor Mazda made was unique to it. And while that was good for their smaller motors, their V6s sucked. Ford recognized Mazda made better small motors than they could, Mazda recognized Ford made better V6s than they could, so they traded — Ford got to replace their Zetec i4s used in the ‘States with the MZR 2.0 and 2.3 (and we’ll probably see even smaller versions like the 1.8 used in the Fiesta) and Mazda got to replace thier lackluster K-series V6s with the Duratec30 and now the Duratec35 which they refined into the Duratec37.
The Renesis and the DISI versions of the MZR (used in the ‘Speeds and the CX-7 and pretty extensively different than the base motors) are the only ones that Mazda doesn’t share with the group. And that’s probably not so much a case of them not sharing as no one else particularly needing.
You can get the Volvo for $22k, that isn’t an unreasonable amount.
Good luck finding a C30 for just $22k. That’s a super-duper base model, they don’t keep many of those on the lots, and the options for the C30 are OUTRAGEOUSLY priced. Leather will set you back $1200 — heated and power seats in the front another $1500. No one’s gonna want to pay $23K for a stripped-down, base-model hatchback.
If you want a T5 2.0 and just a couple basic options like leather, power, and a sunroof you’re looking at OVER $30K on the MSRP. Load it up with Nav, HIDs, and (God Forbid) an Automatic (all available options on the Mazda3) and you’re talking about a $35K car. No, you’re not gonna pay MSRP for a C30, but you’re also not gonna knock 10 grand off it either.
Option-for-option, a comparably-equipped Mazda3s is about $10,000 cheaper than the C30.
SigmaHyperion, the inline 4’s were designed by Mazda and used by Ford, not to mention Ford uses different tuning on the engines anyway and there are some differences in the engines, look it up.
Mazda and Ford engines usually share the block and the heads, that is about it.
Hopefully Mazda reapplies the same formula it used to make the first gen so successful. There’s a new Civic/Lancer/Corolla/Sentra now and even the current one is a class leader, but it’s no time to get complacent.
I’m really looking forward to this car.
I wish Mazda would make a coupe version of the Mazdaspeed3. That would sell
I hope they make it lighter like the new Mazda6, Mazda2, when they updated the MX5 etc.
All Ford’s Duratec i4 engines are simply rebadged Mazda MZR engines. European Focus, Mazda 3 and Volvo C30, and S/V40 for that matter, share the same chassis, tuned differently. Mazda’s the best handling of them all, in my opinion.
As for Ford small MPV (C-max, is it?), it is essentially a Mazda5, again, same chassis
BTW, Mazda is now the only part of Ford that makes profit, Volvo is in red and as has been reported, Ford contemplates selling it.
Go Mazda.
The C-Max has much different sheetmetal and engines and the engines are not rebadged there are differences.
I agree, Deanster. A coupe Mazdaspeed3 would be incredible.
Somehow this sedan does not look like sedan at all. It does look like a wagon or hatch with a hump. Which probably does not matter, since I observe much more 5 doors on the road then sedans.
The only thing the Mazda3 sedan and wagon really need is about 2 inches more rear leagroom. Other than that, great cars.
BORING BORING BORING
I just hope the offer two different leather colors this time around, since they have offered the sand-beige Alcantara seats in the Axela since the beginning of the 09MY in other countries.
http://www.zercustoms.com/photos/2009-Mazda3-Axela/2009-Mazda3-Axela-4.jpg.html
I think the US customers would appreciate the lighter interior especially in the summer months in some states where temperatures are scorching.