CX-5 family adds second turbo model

New sports-themed SP25T is a $2800 cheaper alternate to full-out Takami

NOW there are two – derivatives of Mazda’s top-selling CX-5 sports utility, that is, with a fiery turbocharged 2.5-litre petrol engine.

One outcome of a mild refresh of the model line is that the 170kW and 420Nm SkyActiv-G 2.5T that has previously restricted to the flagship $61,795 Takami is now also under the bonnet of a new introduction to the family.

At $58,995, the SP25T is effectively a Takami that presents with a bit less plush – so, no leather or sunroof - than the top dog and a slightly sportier ambience, the pair being mechanically identical and both delivering a maker-cited 0-100kmh time of 7.7 seconds.

The engine’s outputs are 30kW/168Nm more than the naturally aspirated 2.5-litre petrol engine offered in mid-spec models.

Mazda NZ says a feature of the SP25T trim is a blackout theme – appropriate, the brand feels, in a country where the national sporting colour is black.

The exterior elements include black metallic alloy wheels and piano black exterior mirrors, while the interior gets black deluxe leatherette/suede seat trim along with a black decoration panel. To set off the black, red stitching has been added to seats and steering wheel.

David Hodge, Mazda NZ managing director, believes the SP25T grade will add to the CX-5s’ solid reputation. 

“With the blackout features it will appeal to New Zealand motorists who want all the great features of the CX-5 but in a sportier package.  It will certainly make a statement on the road.”

Other changes to the CX-5 line up include the addition of privacy glass to GSX models and turbo badging on the SP25T and Takami grades. All models now feature wireless Apple CarPlay as well as Android Auto, though via USB.   

One revision that has appeared overseas will not get here until year-end. That’s the adoption, in high-end models, of a 10.5 inch Mazda Connect infotainment display. For the interim, the upgrade cars will maintain the previous line’s 8.0-inch interface.

The enhanced screen has been on US-market CX-5 models since last August and has a faster processor.

Mazda3 Turbo breaks cover, but …

The much-rumoured hotshot Mazda3 has been revealed. It’s exciting. Don’t let it get to you.

 RIGHT out of left field … and, unfortunately, at this stage only likely to be built in left-hand drive.

 That’s the news about the much-anticipated Mazda3 Turbo, whose existence was finally properly confirmed today in an announcement that also makes clear just Canada, Mexico and the United States are the only cited markets.

Mazda New Zealand has reinforced this, saying prior to the unveiling (but subsequent to an early sneak peak out of Mexico): “With regards to the Mazda3 Turbo, we currently do not have any information on availability of this vehicle for right-hand drive markets.” Asked, in wake of today’s announcement, if it had anything fresh to say, it said it had not.

What makes that news all the harder to take is that the first Mazda3 hot hatch – and sedan (cos it’s coming in both shapes) – since the MPS seems perfectly baked.

 In addition to releasing the two images here, Mazda USA has also provisioned enough technical info about a product they’ll have on the street within a few months to make it patently obvious it’s even more pumped than was first conjectured. 

Though intrinsically the same unit running in the CX-5, CX-9 and Mazda6, the model’s 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine has been retuned to produce 186kW and 434Nm. As against 140kW/252Nm in the CX-5 and 170kW/420Nm in the larger models.

Regardless of all the extra mumbo, those outputs relate unevenly against obvious rivals already working the scene here – basically, less power than a lot but generally more torque.

The Hyundai i30 N makes 202kW/378Nm, the newly-arrived Ford Focus ST has 207kw/420Nm, the Honda Civic Type-R cracks out 228kW/400Nm and VW’s Golf GTI and Golf R respectively deliver 180kW/370Nm and 213kW/380Nm.

The Mazda is four-wheel-drive and, interestingly, will avail purely with a version of the six-speed automatic that’s staple fare in Mazda product here.

The images don’t give too much away about the appearance pack, but enough is shown to suggest it’s quite subdued, save for the addition of some additional black exterior elements, such as a front splitter and rear spoiler.

CX-30 optimism remains though some orders lost

The CX-30 releases into a different market environment Mazda had forecast just a few weeks ago.

ACCEPTANCE this year’s new car market might crash and deliver just half the 2019 volume hasn’t destroyed Mazda NZ’s confidence, yet will steer sales expectation. 

In discussing hopes for the CX-30 compact crossover, which stands as the first new car to launch nationally since the Covd-19 lockdown enacted, the brand has admitted some would-be buyers have already u-turned and pulled out of deals.

The Mazda3-based five-seater priced from $41,490 to $50,990 will become available from next Tuesday, a timing that synchs in with a relaxation in national restrictions that allows resumption of car sales, though with caveat of this being contactless. So, no showroom visits and a continuation of social distancing which demands care when handing over new cars to customers.

The release is subsequent to a dismal forecast from the Motor Industry Association. The national body representing new vehicle distributors is predicting the new car and light commercial count this year could be 40 to 50 percent lower than last year’s count of 154,763 units 

The industry is also anticipating potential of hugely diminished fleet interest, mainly from the crucial rental sector, which appears to have skidded to a sudden halt as result of tourism freeze.

Nonetheless, Mazda NZ is putting on a brave face. It still sees some business sector opportunity for CX-30, moreso than comes with its other crossover contenders, notably from small to medium businesses.

Even so, it will be mainly reliant on private buyer interest in its new model which, as essentially an elevated version of the Mazda3 hatchback becomes the fifth crossover Hiroshima offers and places above the CX-3 and below the CX-5 that has been their best-selling model for some time.

In an online presentation today, Mazda NZ’s managing director, David Hodge, and his manager of product and sales planning, Tim Nalden, signalled that as much as CX-30 is ‘right’ for the market – aiming at the compact crossover category that was showing best growth prior to the coronavirus emergency - market conditions could not be more challenging.

The Auckland-domiciled operation has passed on sharing volume expectations for the car and admits that an original launch timing stymied by the lockdown has been so disrupted by the ensuing national situation that much pre-crisis forecasting has effectively been rendered useless.

Yet that wasn’t just his brand’s dilemma; Nalden hazards the entire car business is in the same situation.

“If you asked anyone (in the industry) what the forecast will be, I doubt anyone will be able to give an accurate reading.”

The market is all but impossible to read. “I suspect you will see that change, day by day, week by week, month by month as we work through this ... at the end of the day, who knows?”

The MIA’s sobering assessment of 2020 has come from canvassing opinion from all new vehicle distributors here and has since been supported by an Infometrics forecast, issued yesterday, Hodge says.

Nalden says Mazda NZ has lost orders for Mazda product, CX-30s included, since lockdown hit. He and expected more cancellations to come. This after such strong interest in CX-30 that 50 percent of the initial shipment had been spoken for during January and February.

“Yes, we have had some orders cancelled … and that is simply just potentially reflecting the state of the economy and anxiety around job security and also the propensity to be able to spend money.

“I would be surprised if 100 percent of all of the deposits currently on our vehicles are retained. 

“I think it’s just natural that we can’t expect everyone to stay there, nor should be expect to force people to have to follow through (on deals) if their financial position has changed.”

Hodge has reinforced that Mazda NZ will extend vehicle warranties if they expire during the period of the lockdown, and look after vehicles that have become overdue for their servicing.

As coronavirus continues to spread across the world, car makers are taking the extreme measure of plant closures, mainly in China, South Korea and Europe – though several there seem to be looking to restart soon – and in America, where makers have extended shutdown periods.

Japan’s car industry seems to have been spared the worst in that only factories outside of their home country have been hit. Domestic assembly lines, including those in Hiroshima that makes CX-30 and most other core passenger product for NZ, are still operating. The bigger question hangs over the supply of part from third-party providers. China is the primary provider of components for the world’s car makers; the epicentre of that industry is, ironically, the place where coronavirus was first identified, Wuhan. 

Nalden says supply to New Zealand remains good and the stock count here is healthy.

“We've had a month without any selling, so naturally stock is higher than usual.”

Added Hodge: “Mazda has good stocks of new vehicles that should last us at least three months. But going forward, it is obvious the vehicle supply pipeline will be disrupted.”

Longer term, Nalden anticipates the situation in respect to ‘indent’ models – the industry parlance for variants of such low volume they are secured through placing customer orders at the factory - and also for supply in the medium term could yet become less clear. 

“While our factories in Japan and Thailand are still operational, each factory is running less staff and reduced shifts (for social distancing) and consequently outputs are lower.

“Also, given each country around the world is at different stages with the pandemic, component supply is less assured than normal.”

On top of this, the shipping lines are altering schedules, as volumes have changed markedly for all automotive brands.

This report includes additional reporting by Rob Maetzig

CX-30 snuggles close to sister models

The latest addition to Mazda’s already well-configured crossover family touches into siblings’ patches.

WHEN space is tight, muscle in – that’s the tactic Mazda has employed with it its latest addition to the CX family.

In advance of an on-line discussion tomorrow where strategies are expected to be outlined, the Auckland domiciled brand has released specification and pricing detail of its CX-30 five-seater elevated crossover hatch. 

The information confirms it will initially foot three versions, with a Takami flagship following in the second half of 2020.

Those here now have drivetrains already used elsewhere in the family - though CX-30’s versions of the SkyActive-G petrols are finessed for slightly different outputs – whereas the Takami will introduce the new SkyActiv-X tech.

The coupe-like styling delivers a new spin on the established Kodo styling. A more modern platform and enhanced versions of the driver assist and comfort tech that comes in other Mazdas also feature.

Also interesting is the price positioning of the base GSX front-drive, with a 140kW/200Nm 2.0-litre engine, and a pair of 140kW/252Nm 2.5-litre all-wheel-variants, badged GTX and Limited.

The recommended retails of $41,490, $44,990 and $50,990 further cement that, in order to make room for a car that would have been called CX-4 - had that designation not gone to a model developed purely for China - the product planners had to work beyond the clear air that existed between the CX-3 and CX-5, which defy the CX-30’s ‘first ever’ marketing tag (insisted because it goes a bit more coupe-like) by very obviously being sister cars. 

The newcomer’s potential to pluck sales from each camp has always seemed strong – it’s bigger and better-kitted than the CX-3 and more modern and arguably more stylish, inside and out, than the CX-5 and nips ahead on core safety and assist considerations. Any advantage with the latter should be a fleeting, as updates to CX-5 have been announced in other markets.

However, the pricing plan is bound to raise interest, as it establishes the newcomer with a foot in each existing camp.

Consumers eyeing up the entry CX-30 will note it is $205 cheaper than a CX-3 Takami but otherwise dearer than the less well-provisioned editions of the smallest Mazda rock hopper.

Consideration against the CX-5 reveals more to think about, as the incursion is more pronounced.

Keeping comparison to just petrol all-wheel-drive options seems only reasonable – there are two CX-5s with a turbodiesel, but that engine is not on CX-30’s horizon. 

Anyway, if customers chasing the most expensive CX-30, the Limited, are looking to see how it stacks up against CX-5, they’ll see it basically sits midway between the base and Limited editions of the larger model.

So there’s that to consider. Then there’s the size. The CX-30 was developed through recognition some customers think the CX-3 is a bit too small and the CX-5 a bit too big.

If actual dimensions are required to get a true feel for where it stands, then note that at 4395mm long and 1795mm wide, the CX-30 is 120mm longer and 30mm wider than a CX-3 and 155mm shorter, 45mm narrower and 150mm lower than a CX-5.

A first appraisal – prior to shut down – showed it’s roomier than the smaller car, more snug than the larger, but by less of a margin. Basically, it eats the CX-3 as a four to five seater, but is so close to being up to CX-5 level that it will create significant discussion about rear seat, head space and lower leg room.

Same goes when comparing cargo room. CX-30’s seats-up boot space of 317 litres above the boot floor is a useful 53L over the CX-3, while using underfloor storage brings the total to 430L on most variants. That’s just 12 litres short of the CX-5’s cited capacity. 

As for spec?  Yes, the GSX and GTX grades are more workmanlike, inside and out, but really only stand apart by having cloth trim (whereas the Limited steps up to black leather) and smaller wheels with less sporty tyres.

That first look suggests cabin environments are common and all variants have blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and lane keep assist, radar cruise control with Stop and Go, rear cross traffic alert, reversing camera, traffic sign recognition and smart brake support. 

but the latest Mazda Connect infotainment system, with integrated satellite navigation plus phone-mirroring technologies Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, via an 8.8-inch wide-screen centre display, spans the family.

A high plaudit from our only recognized safety auditor, the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme, also goes to all models. ANCAP has given it a record near-perfect 99 percent score for passive safety in adult occupant protection and a five-star rating.

When it comes to considering how they perform, everything might come down to driving feel rather than outputs, because the one common link between all three is under their bonnets. 

The 2.0-litre in the CX-30 is also employed by the CX-3 – where the state of tune is lower - and entry CX-5, where the outputs are identical to those claimed for the new car. 

The 2.5-litre engine in CX-30 only otherwise goes into CX-5. It makes the same torque output in either application and there’s just 1kW power difference. All have six-speed automatics. The CX-30 all-wheel-drive system is like that in the CX-5 2.5 

With all this going on, Mazda NZ managing director Dave Hodge is patently not understating anything in proposing that this latest and fifth crossover has had to “create its own space in the small SUV segment”

Nonetheless, in comment sent out ahead of the on-line conference he suggests CX-30 will be able to chart its own course with confidence through having “the practicality of an SUV combined with coupé-like styling and dynamic handling inspired by its small car sibling, Mazda3.”

Proposing the car as complete package for customers looking for a practical, stylish vehicle without compromising on performance, he suggests it will do well simply from having a more modern interior than the CX cars positioned on either side of it and also from touting the most advanced systems and technology. 

Integral to CX-30’s drive experience is Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control Plus (GVC Plus) which sets out to enhance handling stability by using brake and engine control to help the vehicle respond to sudden steering inputs and give the driver confidence when cornering.

The CX-30’s 2.5-litre also have cylinder deactivation, which contributes to fuel economy by shutting-down the outer two cylinders when driving at constant speeds, and the all-wheel-drive has 27 sensors that monitor environmental and vehicle conditions at a computation rate of 200 times per second to predict traction requirements before wheel slip occurs.