Mazda unveils all-new Mazda3
WHEN you’re dealing with a small but passionate car company who has literally chosen to take the direction of creating their cars as pieces of art, you just know that you’re bound to be blown away by the amount of fervor and energy spent in the development of its latest products. And iconic to its objective of coming closer to its new holy grail — which it now likes to call
‘Mazda Premium’ — is the company’s latest offspring — the all-new Mazda3. I believe this most likely will not have been the first time you’ve heard about the new car; it’s been spoken about for months with peppy anticipation — and for good reason. The Mazda3 has always been a core model in the Mazda global lineup. It has always reflected the latest advances in the brand’s vehicle engineering and manufacturing — and has made its mark as the most successful Mazda model in the local market.
It is no wonder then, that customers cannot wait to see the leaps and bounds that this new 7th-generation (4th in the Philippines) product would have made from the outgoing model. And as Bermaz Auto Philippines’ president and CEO, Steven Tan, declared during the official reveal of the all-new Mazda3 in White Space Makati last Tuesday, “The rise of the 7th-generation Mazda3’s qualities towards the realization of ‘Mazda Premium’ is not just linear (when compared with the previous generations of M3’s)... it is a leapfrog (or a spike) towards achieving ‘Mazda Premium.’”
Tan explains, “Mazda has raised the standards of quality, craftsmanship and safety to never-before experienced levels in this class. Through exquisite design, superior finish, refined quietness and engaging vehicle dynamics, owners of the all-new Mazda3 will surely experience class-above driving pleasure.” He also describes how this is a bold, new step for Mazda as they set out to deliver their promise of providing their customers with the true, premium driving experience they deserve.
And bold, indeed, are Mazda’s latest moves. The Mazda3 is the company’s first production model to exude its evolved Kodo: Soul of Motion design philosophy. In embracing this latest design direction, the car has now been stripped of its character lines — banking on the ‘less is more’ or minimalist concept of Japanese beauty. And yet, the absence of the traditional lines now leaves behind a metal canvas of infinite, impermanent art — showcasing the dance of ever-changing reflections on the vehicle’s body, based on the constantly changing angles of light. Therefore, every environment, and every hour of the day, would express a different artwork on the moving body. And that, in my opinion, is one of the profound and courageous moves Mazda’s design team has taken to the game — demanding that their engineers be able to replicate and mass produce metal bodies with such intricate, smooth specifications, and daring to disrupt what the traditional definitions of car design are.
As Mazda program manager, Kota Beppu explains, “The new Mazda3 cannot be a car people select as a compromise.” Their ideal is that the Mazda3 must in fact — and in spite of being a humble C-segment car — rise above categorization and become ‘an object of universal desire.’
A lot of research into the human form has also been put into the development of the 7th-gen Mazda3. They like to refer to this special approach as their ‘humancentric’ vehicle design. Towards its fulfillment, are many, tiny details — such as how the new cushion and design of the seats keep the human pelvis in an upright position, thereby maintaining the natural S-curve of the spine, and always keeping the driver’s head in its most natural position possible, in order to prevent or at least reduce driving exhaustion, even while doing fast corners on a racetrack.
The new, large and soft armrest right next to the driver — which covers a large-capacity console box — is a delightful addition to the car’s overall, more premium feel. Much of the interior surfaces are soft to the touch, and upscale to the senses.
Just like with the exterior, visual noise is earnestly reduced around the instrument panels and the dash. Some of the related components are now smaller, and combined with one another to form more singular structures.
Interestingly, Mazda’s speaker layouts were considered even before the car’s engine and chassis layout study. This paved the way for the creation of Mazda’s unique speaker layout, which they pride themselves as having an architecture completely independent from those of standard audio manufacturers.
Aside from meticulously enhanced insulation around the door panels, the car is now also bestowed with better engine insulation and improved dampers, which perform more efficiently to soften any high-distortion energy. The vehicle is now constructed with significantly fewer holes than it once had (to eliminate as much noise as possible), and is even fitted with sound-absorbing upholstery made from fine, fibrous materials which trap sound energy and dissipate them as heat. Even the special floor mats and headliner material were chosen specifically because they also help absorb sound.
There are also several enhancements to the car’s SKYACTIV vehicle architecture, now also incorporating G-Vectoring Plus (GVC+) as part of the package, for the first time.
The all-new Mazda3 comes in Sedan and Sportback body styles and in five distinct trims and prices: 1.5-liter Elite Sedan at P1,295,000, 1.5-liter Elite Sportback at P1,320,000, 2.0-liter Premium Sedan at P1,495,000, 2.0-liter Premium Sportback at P1,510,000, and 2.0-liter Mazda3Speed Sportback at P1,590,000.