What on Earth happened to the Mazda3?
One of the big reveals at this year’s Los Angeles Motor Show last week was the next-generation Mazda3 hatchback and sedan.
As even anyone with less than a passing interest in motoring would be able to gauge, the Mazda3 has been a phenomenal success for the Japanese manufacturer since it debuted in 2003. They’re everywhere and you’re as likely to see one with a photocopy service and repair company’s logo up the side as one wearing tasty aftermarket alloys and a ski rack on its roof.
Fizzy mechanicals matched with solid design and a practical size has seen the “3” become one of the best-selling privately-owned passenger vehicles of the past decade-and-a-bit. It also represents Mazda’s backbone in terms of sales worldwide, with more than six million sold globally.
So, a new one is no small thing.
What a shame, then, that the new one isn’t finished.
Well, it can’t be, right? The latest evolution of the manufacturer’s “Kodo” design language seems to suggest that — especially down the sides of the hatchback — there is simply no styling at all.
It’s just a big expanse of nothing. The “3” has gone from excitingly angular to an amorphous appliance-like blob; like someone within the design department saw the Tesla Model 3 and thought, “Ah yep, that’s it!”
Yes, yes, there is plenty of talk about the model’s trick new engine tech, especially the Skyactiv-X which brings betterburning compression ignition tech to a petrol engine. But the Mazda3 has always been a looker as well and the latest one, in our opinion, doesn’t further things along at all.
According to the breathless marketing bumpf, the latest evolution of the “Kodo” design language is all about “reflection”. We only hope lead designer Yasutake Tsuchida takes some time to reflect on what exactly he’s been doing for the past couple of years.