| Mazda3 And CX-7 At Geneva | ||
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(Wed 04 Mar 09) Mazda has used the Geneva Show as the venue for a trio of world premieres, two of them within the 3 range.
The one mostly likely to make the heart race is the new Mazda3 MPS (pictured). This car uses the same 256bhp 2.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine as the previous MPS, though combined fuel economy has improved to 30.7mpg and CO2 emissions have dropped to 217g/km. As before, the 0-62mph time is 6.1 seconds and top speed is limited to 155mph. The new version gets wider and lower-profile tyres (225/40) than the old one did, and according to Mazda this makes it handle better, though we hope some much-needed attention has also been paid to the suspension damping. Another Mazda3 making its debut at Geneva is the i-stop. This uses a two-litre direct-injection petrol engine, and on the face of it seems to act in the same way as other start-and-stop cars in that the engine is shut down when the car comes to rest and gets going again when the clutch pedal is pressed.
What makes i-stop different from the many apparently systems flooding on to the market is the fact that it doesn't rely entirely on the starter motor. Instead, part of the restart process involves injecting fuel into one of the cylinders and igniting it, something which normally happens only when the engine is turning. Mazda claims that this means the restarts are quicker (0.35 seconds) and quieter than normal, though since the system can only work in a direct-injection petrol engine it's never going to be fitted across the whole range. The most obvious change to the CX-7 is that it's had a facelift - and quite an early one, considering the thing hasn't been on sale for two years yet. The reason for the change is simply that Mazda wanted a more "corporate" look for its sporty SUV, but it's also taken the opportunity to strengthen the bodyshell, fit new dampers for better stability and ride comfort (not that either of these was a problem before), and fit a Rear Vehicle Monitoring system (to help make motorway lane changes safer) and an Emergency Stop system which flashes the hazard lights if the driver brakes hard from high speeds.
More important than any of this, though, is the fact that Mazda has also introduced a diesel engine as an alternative to the existing 256bhp petrol used in the MPS versions of the 3 and 6. The diesel is a 171bhp 2.2-litre unit which slows down the CX-7 somewhat (top speed 125mph, 0-62mph in 11.3 seconds) but vastly improves the fuel economy and CO2 emissions, which now stand at 37.7mpg and 199g/km. This still won't make the CX-7 especially cheap to run, but it should increase its appeal among UK buyers to a considerable extent. Mazda Gallery Previous: Big Engine For Small Toyota Next: Chinese Makers At Geneva |
