Mazda 3 saloon unveiled at LA Auto Show

By Ben Pulman

Motor Shows

19 November 2008 17:00

Mazda has officially unveiled its new 3 four-door saloon at the LA Auto Show today, revealing the car in full and releasing more technical details. A five-door hatchback (favoured in Europe) will be shown at the Bologna motor show in December 2008, and form the basis of a hot MPS model.

The current 3 is Mazda’s best-selling vehicle, accounting for one third of the Japanese manufacturer’s sales (and a total of 1.8 million units over the past five years). The hope is that the latest 3 will do even better.

Mazda clams its new Mk2 3 is fully re-engineered and completely redesigned, with input from Japan, Europe and the US. This is a proper ‘world car’.

The design is an evolutionary step rather than anything all-new, with the front tweaked to copy the five-point grille found on the facelifted MX-5 (click here for CAR’s exclusive first drive of the new MX-5). The nose also features two vertical air intakes placed out on the edges of the car, designed to enhance the 3’s width, while a crease runs down the bonnet and reappears on the boot. Overall the design is smart, but it’s hardly the ‘Nagare flow’ concept car-inspired looks we were hoping for.

Mazda claims the 3’s interior is ‘sporty yet highly refined’. So that means a sweeping dash, a large instrument cluster and key controls placed at the same level as the steering wheel and gear stick. It’s part of a design apparently based on Mazda’s Human Machine Interface concept.

New tech for the Mazda 3 includes an Adaptive Front Lighting System with self-levelling bi-xenon headlamps and three-position electric memory seats. These seats automatically move into place depending on which key opens the car.

By Ben Pulman