New engine ups fuel economy by 20%, Mazda says
Production of Skyactiv-X scheduled to start next year
IRVINE, Calif. – Proving there’s new life in the old internal-combustion engine, Mazda has come up with a motor that it thinks will delight drivers at the gas pump.
The Japanese automaker is introducing a new generation of engines for its cars and SUVs that will get up to 20% better gas mileage and fewer carbon dioxide emissions. That’s on top of the previous generation, which had a 30% improvement.
The goal, set in 2008, was to cut vehicles’ fuel use in half by 2030.
The first step was engines Mazda called Skyactiv. That design, now widely used in Mazda vehicles, applies higher compression inside the cylinders to deliver power more efficiently to the wheels. The next step is Skyactiv-X, due to go into production in 2019, that will push compression higher by making the engine work in a new way.
“These aren’t baby steps,” Mazda spokesman Jacob Brown said. “This is something new and different.”
The project shows the effort automakers are putting into making conventional engines that can hold their own against more expensive fuel-saving technologies, such as electric- or hydrogen-powered cars.
Mazda isn’t alone. Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti, just introduced a new engine technology, starting on its QX50 SUV, that can vary the amount of movement of a piston inside a cylinder based on driving conditions, with the goal of saving gas.
At an event at its research headquarters in Irvine, south of Los Angeles, Mazda officials showed off vehicles with the new technology. While engine technology isn’t as flashy as a sexy new convertible — Mazda has one of those, too, the MX-5 Miata — it does give a smaller brand a point of distinction in the U.S. compared with Japan’s Big 3: Toyota, Honda and Nissan.
The results aren’t that startling behind the wheel. Don’t expect a big difference in the way the vehicles drive, officials cautioned. If anything, the engines should have more torque, which gives cars engines more passing power on the highway.
For now, Mazda executives won’t talk about models the new engine will go into or exactly what they project the fuel economy will be in those vehicles. The current Mazda3 sedan, however, is rated at 31 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving. A 20% improvement could boost it to as much as 37 mpg.