In an interview with Australia’s drive.com.au, Mazda Global boss, Akira Marumoto, said the Hiroshima based automaker will instead make quality and comfort its main focus points with the new 3, as opposed to developing it for entry into a new segment.
“Mazda is a small player and if [you are asking whether] that segment has a high particular priority for Mazda my answer would be no. Therefore we not planning for MPS in the future,” he said.
At the same event, Marumoto officially ended speculation as to whether a rotary successor to the RX-8 will happen, saying that the highly lauded RX Vision Concept shown in Tokyo three years ago was only meant to showcase the next generation of Mazda’s Kodo design language instead of becoming a production reality.
“I am receiving this question [whether we can make a rotary engined sports car] maybe 100 times, and I will not commit. Nothing has been decided,” he said, adding that he also has no desire to introduce a fully-electric model despite Mazda having confirmed that the rotary will make its comeback albeit as a range-extender generator on future hybrid models.
“I don't want to make such car, I prefer the smell of gasoline,” Marumoto said of electric cars, further adding that no Mazda will ever made without a steering wheel in spite of the brand remaining committed to autonomous driving.
Elsewhere though, the brand’s Senior Brand Communications Manager, Drew Cary, confirmed that the 3 will come with the option of Mazda’s i-Activ AWD system for the first time, this despite having offered all-wheel drive on the Japanese equivalent Axela since its introduction in 2003.
Based on the details obtained by carscoops.com, the system will work in conjunction with the G-Vectoring Control Plus setup to provide an even torque distribution, while also being “fully capable of responding faithfully to the driver’s intentions, regardless of the driving scene”.
While Mazda is expected to make the new 3 available in South Africa next year, it remains highly unlikely that the i-Activ AWD system will form part of the local range.
