All-new Mazda3 gets global launch

If the global launch of the all-new Mazda3 hatchback could be described using only one word, connection would be that word. Because this car is destined to form a bond with owners around the world.

In the C segment, which represents around 25 per cent of the European passenger car market or some 3 million vehicles per year, this is no trivial matter. Virtually every carmaker on the market is competing for a piece of the pie. To survive here, you really need to offer something special.

The choice of locations for today’s event is therefore no accident. The new Mazda3 is designed to deliver an insightful, spir­ited and stylish automotive experience – just like the cities hosting its launch. London, St. Petersburg and Istanbul: three pivotal European centres at diver­gent corners of a diverse continent. That’s the sort of people this car is built for, and Mazda is convinced that its sophisticated charm and considerable wherewithal are going to make some positive connections.

Because what Mazda has done is taken its award-winning sports compact and all-time bestseller and redefined it, bringing together the best of Mazda tech­nology and design to build a car that makes a connection and then consistently exceeds expectations.

The new Mazda3 is built to be better than the competition. But it’s more than that. Mazda paid painstaking attention to those elements that are most fundamental to customers, like performance and packag­ing, build quality and comfort.

And from the broad, powerful stance to the boldly lean, rhythmical body shapes, the “KODO – Soul of Motion” design (see boxes) is indeed striking. Its dynamic expressions allude to an exhilarating experience behind the wheel, and the SKYACTIV Technology below its skin de­livers across the board with lightweight engines, transmissions, body and chassis.

Get behind the wheel and the new Mazda3 does exactly what the driver commands, cornering with unfaltering precision – no understeer, no correc­tion necessary – and loyally delivering feedback in what is a genuinely fulfilling experience. Acceleration is just as lin­ear, from zero to redline, thanks to highly efficient SKYACTIV powertrains combin­ing extreme compression petrol or die­sel engines with crisp, smooth six-speed automatic or manual transmissions.

But in spite of its remarkable perfor­mance, the new Mazda3 should manage some of the best fuel economy and CO2 emissions in the segment. Sporty and loads of fun yet economical: That’s Sus­tainable Zoom-Zoom for you, Mazda’s ambitious approach to environmentally friendly cars that compromise neither on driving pleasure, safety nor reliability. It’s what produced i-stop – the world’s fast­est idle-stop system – and i-ELOOP, Mazda’s state-of-the-art brake energy re­generation system. And Mazda Proactive Safety, a defence-in-depth approach utilising the i-ACTIVSENSE range of cut­ting-edge active safety technology to help prevent accidents in the first place, then protecting people and minimising damage should one happen nonetheless. In a nutshell, the new Mazda3 marks a new milestone on the Sustainable Zoom-Zoom roadmap.

This is also the model chosen for the launch of Mazda’s freshly coherent next-generation interior. The forward-looking Zoom-Zoom layout features cockpit and passenger zones designed to promote enjoyable stress-free driving and a re­assuringly relaxed atmosphere for pas­sengers, yet still connect occupants with one another. Inside the compact-look­ing cabin exterior is a wealth of room that is best or near best-in-class in most respects. An unrestrictedly tasteful space, everything is located for the best – and safest – operation possible. Active Driving Display, for example, a head-up display that puts the most vital information directly in the driver’s line of view, or the rotary commander, redesigned to enable effortless blind operation of infotainment features.

Speaking of connections, the new Mazda3 also marks the debut of the company’s new mobile connectivity concept, mak­ing it one of the first in the segment to go online. For Mazda, it’s about making cars more attractive in every way, possi­ble including doors that open with silky smoothness and panel gaps reduced to a minimum. If the first look arouses the senses, this meticulous focus on detail will keep you coming back.