Mazda3 SkyActiv on Sale This Year With 20% Fuel Economy Improvement, Diesels in 2012
Revealed today at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Mazda has confirmed that the SkyActiv-equipped Mazda3 will arrive at dealers in the U.S. and Canada this Fall. In addition, a diesel SkyActiv engine will be available a year later, with Mazda joining Volkswagen as the only non-premium automaker to offer a diesel in a passenger car.
Robert T. Davis, Senior VP for Quality, Research and Development at Mazda made the announcement and provided a few more details on the new technology and the SkyActiv gasoline engine, confirming that it is a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder that makes use of direct injection.
Compared to the current Mazda3, the SkyActiv model will achieve a roughly 20 percent improvement in fuel economy, with 15 percent coming from the engine itself, while an additional four to seven percent improvement is attributed to the new SkyActiv-drive transmission.
Davis commented that price makes electric and hybrid technology prohibitive and so Mazda is pursuing improvements to its internal combustion engines and will look to add start-stop systems and cut weight in the near future. Speaking to reporters he explained that Mazda will deliver the fuel economy of a B segment car in the C segment, the fuel economy of a diesel engine in a gasoline one, and the fuel economy of a hybrid in a diesel.
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With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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