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Although officially set for the LA Auto Show in November, the Sydney auto show welcomed the all new 2010 Mazda3 today. Mazda says the new car will have two four-cylinder engines for the U.S. market, a 2.0 liter and a 2.5 liter (the latter probably producing in the neighborhood of 170-175 horsepower). The 2.0 liter will feature direct injection (at least in Australia, so no reason to think it will not come to the U.S. too). The car still rides on some variant of the Ford Focus/Volvo S40 platform, though it’s unclear how much Mazda modified it for this version of the Mazda3. We do know the sheetmetal is all new and so is the interior. We’ll bring you more info as it comes to us – and will be covering the LA Auto Show live from the floor!
It would be nice if Mazda were to offer a sub-2.0L for those of us interested in saving a little more fuel. Once of the huge advantages of the Corolla and Civic is that they offer frugal-if-pokey powerplants.
I’m also deeply concerned about the lack of hatchback shots. I dearly hope they don’t Focus the hatchback.
Cue the Jeopardy music about the hatchback. Mazda’s comment on the 5-door is appropriately vague:
the five-door hatchback version will be revealed in line with Mazda’s global sales schedule.
I like it. Mazda has the best, most consistent design in the industry.
Yippee! Another car that bears a striking resemblance to a live-bearing aquatic pet.
I just bought a base 2008.5 model for $14800. The front of this new one looks nice, but the whole thing looks bigger. The current model already feels too big to me. I can sit in the back seat with plenty of legroom. It’s like a family car. If they fix a few things, I may consider trading up though. The immobilizer light is maddening. Unless you have the engine on it flashes at you constantly; I find it insufferable. The seat fabric needs to be better quality; softer in particular. The parking brake should be a little closer. Improve the quality of the sunshades. Offer cruise control on the cheapo models as those are all I buy. Regardless I hope this is successful as Mazda deserves it; it’s sad to hear that they have to dump so much on the fleets.
psarhjinian : From what I’ve read, the 2.0 is actually quite frugal. From looking at real world figures, a lot of people are cracking 40mpg easily. I haven’t had mine long enough to test it, and I’m waiting until it gets 1000 miles on it to do so. I will say that it has a very tall 5th gear; it keeps the revs nice and low while cruising on the interstate.
@psarhjinian
If they offered that, people would buy it, thrash it out of necessity, and whine about the poor gas mileage.
They’re better off including a trip computer with MPG readout than offering an underpowered engine. Less power doesn’t mean higher MPG, but using the throttle more judiciously (and having a properly geared transmission) does.
I like the front quite a bit, but the taillights (like on the new 6) are pretty ugly.
I like it. No ugly for ugly’s sake (read: BMW, Acura), but not bland either.
And Mazda’s kept weight gain in mind — the non-US Mazda6 is lighter than the previous one. I can’t wait to hear the specs and see the hatch.
I like how they addressed the huge gripes on the sedan for its paltry trunk space… and they probably addressed the 2nd row complaints of no leg room with a longer wheelbase. And I’m sure this thing weighs another 200 lbs over its predecessor. And thus begins the fat-i-fying of one of the greatest C-Segment cars ever made.
If people really wanted a fuel-miser car, then they would stop complaining about its diminutive size and poor acceleration when they buy it. Instead, they buy the car expecting it to be small and large at the same time. So the subsequent iterations have to accommodate those complaints. To do otherwise would draw snarky comments about how the carmaker is not listening to customer feedback.
holydonut:
To do otherwise would draw snarky comments about how the carmaker is not listening to customer feedback.
No snarky comments from me. I’ve advocated several times that manufacturers just ignore what customers and market research says.
Consider what happens when things go terribly, horribly wrong in letting customers having too much of a say:Here
holydonut :
Sadly true. If the size increase is as much as the new Mazda 6, I’m not even interested.
The front end looks a little too busy compared with the rest of the car, but overall its a step up from the current gen 3, both in design and engineering (c’mon, a lighter car is OBVIOUSLY a better car). Can’t wait to see the hatch and the Speed3 version, and hopefully Mazda gives the next Speed3 AWD.
I don’t know if it is the first car on Ford’s new C2 platform or not. But, if it is, I can surmise that it hasn’t gained much if any weight, and that 2.0DI should be more frugal than anything you can get currently from Honda or Toyota (unless Mazda tunes the drivetrain for performance rather than frugality).
One goal of the C2 program was to create a slightly longer wheelbase chassis that actually weighed less than the current C1. For the engine, I assume it is essentially the same DI engine that Ford is planning on using in the next-gen Focus which is supposed to be rated around 40 mpg highway.
“Mazda says the new car will have two four-cylinder engines for the U.S. market, a 2.0 liter and a 2.5 liter”
Awesome! And only for the US market! Will the 2 liter be in the front or the Back? Didn’t C&D build a twin engined Honda years ago? Guess they were ahead of their time.
@ psarhjinian
It would be nice if Mazda were to offer a sub-2.0L for those of us interested in saving a little more fuel
What size would be the right size? Europe gets a 80hp 1.4 as the entry level engine and a 105hp as an option, als well as the 150hp 2.0. They also have a PSA-sourced 1.6 diesel and a Mazda-sourced 2.0 diesel. (which sucked and was the reason for me not to buy a 3)
Looks great IMO. Mazda has taken steps to put all its vehicles on weight watchers, no guarantee that it doesnt gain, but hopefully not by much. It seems to me that the US hatch was fairly successful. It is my belief that the hatch version of the current 3 got all the looks. Perhaps the hatch was demanded in lower numbers, but I really dont think they ran into any problems moving them. The hatch makes a lot of sense in a C segment car, hopefully it returns.
…and will be covering the LA Auto Show live from the floor!
Cool. Are you guys going to cover the 2010 Mustang unveil?
As for the 2010 Mazda3, here’s hoping we get the hatchback, too…
I’m also hoping they improved the safety ratings with this model. I’m all for fun, cheap cars; but I’d not like to get t-boned in the last model.
Looks great so far! Chassis doesn’t need much tuning, maybe a slightly more compliant ride without sacrificing the handling…is that even possible?
Can’t wait to see the wagon, but I’ll just keep running my 06 until another kiddo comes around. Do to it’s high sales, there is no reason for Mazda to not bring it back…it’s being tested and pictures can be found at http://www.autocar.co.uk . The 6 wagon didn’t return do to a new chassis but mainly because it was such a slow seller.
I’ll add my name to the people concerned with the lack of hatch shots. I imagine they sell pretty dang well, I see lots of Mazda3 wagon/hatches around the Twin Cities metro area, though I don’t have the sales numbers to prove my assertion.
This is a damn good-looking car. It’ll be very interesting to see the fuel economy numbers. If they’re good, this’ll go on the list (along with the Malibu, Cruze, new Focus and Fit) of my potential 2010 new-car buys.
I’m also hoping they improved the safety ratings with this model. I’m all for fun, cheap cars; but I’d not like to get t-boned in the last model.
Hallelujah and amen. That’s the one issue keeping me from buying a 3i sedan. Otherwise I’d have one already or buy one in the next hour or so. What would keep me from this one is price. I fear they won’t be had for less than 18000.
To the people who’ve griped about the 3 getting bigger:
All it does it move the 3 up a little in the model lineup, leaving more room for Mazda to bring in one of the smaller models they’re already selling elsewhere. The new model will “Fit” quite nicely, then.
“The car still rides on some variant of the Ford Focus/Volvo S40 platform”
Hold on…its built on the same chassis as the current car? Didnt we all rip Ford a new one when they did that to the Focus?
@arapaima
I thought they had remedied that with the million airbags they added.
yournamehere:
“The car still rides on some variant of the Ford Focus/Volvo S40 platform”
Hold on…its built on the same chassis as the current car? Didnt we all rip Ford a new one when they did that to the Focus?
The current 2008 Mazda3 is based on the current european Focus, the second generation Focus.
The current US model Focus is based on the original 1st generation Focus.
I’m sort of hoping they will offer a choice between the 2.0 and the 2.5 engines with the hatch. Given that the curb weights of the current sedan and hatchback are pretty close, I would guess the new car will have a similar difference. Even though I didn’t see a HP figure for the 2.0, it’s probably similar to the current 2.3, so performance shouldn’t suffer while offering better fuel economy.
The current car is already at the top of my shopping list for a new car, but I could wait for the ’10.
“The current 2008 Mazda3 is based on the current european Focus, the second generation Focus.
The current US model Focus is based on the original 1st generation Focus.”
correct. but my point still stands. The Mazda is nothing more then a facelift.(new body on the same chassis) granted its more successful then they were with the Focus. But still.
Front end is too smiley.
The other thing I want them to lose on this model is that annoying button on the ignition that you have to press to remove the key on manual tranny models. Old Nissans used to have those, and they suck hard. Actually, I haven’t driven a newer Nissan with a manual, so maybe they still do. You have to simultaneously press the button and twist the key and pull it out. On motion, one hand. No reason to have it.