Mazda3 update brings new names, boots sedan
/The SP25 arrives to replace the GTX, Limited turns into a Homura.
REVISION to the Mazda3 family means saying sayonara to the sedan and welcoming new names for two established hatchback models.
What has previously sold as the GTX now promotes as the SP25, with that sports-hinting identification bringing with it a blackout exterior design.
Meanwhile the trim level that until now has been associated with the Limited identification now goes by Homura, a designation that until now has attached to the premium-minded CX60, CX80 and CX90 sports utility models.
The Homura brings enough additional equipment over the previous Limited - notable additions are heated leather seats, a sunroof and a 360 surround view reversing camera - to become the only Mazda3 to deliver with a price rise in 2025, albeit of a modest $200, taking it to $51,490.
The range-topping $54,490 Takami remains, with the only revision being that it now only furnishes with burgundy leather.
Like the entry $38,890 GSX, which remains unaltered, Takami is a 2.0-litre model, but it alone has a hybrid assist, taking power and torque to 132kW and 224Nm, whereas the GSX has 114kW/200Nm.
The $42,990 SP25 and Homura have a 2.5-litre four cylinder, with 139kW/252Nm.
The electric assist lends Takami the lowest fuel economy and CO2 out of any Mazda3, with 6.1 litres per 100km and 150 grams per kilometre cited. The base 2.0-litre is close behind, however, with 6.6L/153g (a benefit of cylinder deactivation) and the 2.5-litre produces 7.3L and 171g.
Still absent from NZ market fare is a phone app-involved connected car service recently rolled out in Australia.
This adds a built-in SIM card to allow the vehicle to automatically call emergency services in the event of a collision.Drivers can also locate their vehicle, remotely check items such as tyre pressures, lock or unlock the car, flash the headlights, set a geofence, or set a curfew.
Mazda NZ has not discounted the potential for this in the future, but a spokesman added: “We do not have any connected vehicle capability across our range at this time.”