Less is more: New 'Car as Art' Mazda3 debuts at Los Angeles

Friday, 30 November 2018

Mazda has revealed a new Mazda3 hatch and sedan at the Los Angeles motor show. We are there to check it out.

Less will prove to be more for a new fourth-generation Mazda3 scheduled for New Zealand launch in the middle of next year.

The car, which will be available as a hatch and sedan, has just been unveiled at the Los Angeles Motor Show.

Something quite special about the new Mazda3 is the minimalist approach its designers have taken with the car's looks. There are simply no hard edges. Instead - and this is particularly the case with the hatch - the bodies are smooth and unadorned.

And underneath the bodies there will be some special things going on, too.

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While lower-grade models will be powered by upgraded versions of existing conventional 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre petrol engines, the top models will introduce Mazda's new SkyActiv-X petrol unit, which thanks to a process called Spark Controlled Compression Ignition combines the free-revving benefits of a petrol engine with the efficiency and torque of a diesel.

The minimalist theme continues inside the new Mazda3.

Thanks to the fact SkyActiv-X will be the first mass-produced petrol compression ignition engine, it also promises to be highly economical. While no official figures are yet available, it is understood it will offer 133 kilowatts of power and 222 Newton metres of torque, while moving average fuel consumption down into the low 5 litres per 100 kilometres or even lower.

If this is the case, carbon dioxide emissions promise to get below 100 g/km, which will add real credence to a Mazda claim last year that SkyActiv-X will help the brand reduce average 'well to wheel' CO2 emissions to 50 per cent of 2010 levels by the year 2030.

It's all very exciting. And that caused some frustrations for journalists at the big LA show - because Mazda officials didn't want to talk about SkyActiv-X, instead focussing solely on a 'car as art' theory in relation to the design of the new Mazda3.

In an interview, Mazda's chief designer Yasutake Tsuchida said this theory is all about how a vehicle looks when it is moving. For this reason the Mazda3's designers have removed all hard character lines and creases from the bodyshell, and concentrated instead on developing bodyside undulations that show off various reflections when the vehicle moving.

'With the current Mazda3 we use lines to help create a feeling of movement, but with the new model we will achieve this via reflections on the body surface,' he said.

This is particularly the case with the hatchback, which instantly became one of the standout cars at this year's LA show. Its smooth lines are highly reflective and emotive, particularly along the doors and around a large C-pillar area. With the sedan the effect is not so much, but it remains an elegant vehicle all the same.

Asked whether this reflective design philosophy was risky, Mr Tsuchida said it wasn't.

'The champion of the hatchbacks is the Volkswagen Golf, which sells in very big numbers largely because of its rational design. Meanwhile the Mazda3 is a small player with less than 2 per cent of the world market.

'If the Mazda3 sold in the same volumes as the Golf, there might be risk in our latest design move. But we're small enough to introduce unique design elements - so it's not a risk at all.'

Mind you, in the motor industry 'small' is a relative term. Since the first-generation Mazda3 was launched in 2003, more than 6 million units have been sold in a total of 130 countries.

That popularity includes New Zealand. Mazda3 enjoyed instant success when first launched, and its best years were 2010 and 2011 when it sold at a rate of 3500 units a year which made it the most popular Mazda.

These days this popularity has waned a little in the face of competition from SUVs, particularly the CX-5 and smaller CX-3, but it still sells at around 2500 a year.

Mazda New Zealand's general manager of sales and marketing, Glenn Harris, said because of the surging popularity of SUVs he doesn't expect next year's arrival of the new model will create any major boost in Mazda3 sales.

'The train's already left that station with the advent of SUVs,' he said.

'But having said that, this new car is still a very important model. It's the first to debut Mazda's new-generation bodyshell design, and it's the first to take on the SkyActiv-X powertrain. I'm confident it will receive a very good reception when it arrives in New Zealand.'

Harris is likely to be right. Mazda3 already has a solid Kiwi fan base, and they're likely to recognise the car for what it is - an excellent new offering from a niche manufacturer that has a tradition of pushing the vehicle design and technology envelopes.