gwilliams6

New Mazda 3 Turbo Gets 227 HP, 310 lb-ft of Torque, and AWD, but no manual transmission.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...0Non%20Openers

wannawankel

needs MT for 10% of sales

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

no surprise seeing as how Mazda can’t build a beefy manual transmission if their life depended on it

ASH8

BEEFY, lol the Skyactiv Auto Trans ain't that bulletproof either, I don't give a stuff what anyone says lightweight in "mechanicals" the parts that move (Engine, Trans, Diff) comes at a cost and that is long term reliability past 100K....but in the quest for fuel efficiency, lighter cars, no punishing taxes like in Europe for car makers, this is what we get.

MAZDA you bloody dopey idiots, this TURBO engine (POWER) should have been released at the start of the BP Mazda 3 model cycle, not 18 months~ later.
WHEN will you bloody learn, particularly in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Asia.
If it does not comply in Europe so be it, you can still build and market and sell a car that does not fit European Regulations for their 1 litre turbo ****-boxes that wear out faster than grannies knickers, so the EU misses out.... Hopefully UK will come to their now independent senses.

While I am at it Mazda can you make a car with DECENT Paintwork that Lasts past 8 years without clear coat/pain bleaching out, and stones chipping off this 100 micron (total) ultra thin paintwork starting body rust.
AGAIN you want to be premium but forget about the exterior, go around an measure the thickness of paint on a BMW, AUDI, MB on the hood, roof and trunk, I have and they are twice as thick as any Mazda in some cases more, even a few Toyota's and KIA have thicker paint finishers I tested.
Owners would pay an extra $50-100 bucks for REAL PPF....not Dealer applied rubbish.

UnknownJinX

As Team has said, the current MT probably won't be sufficient and they will have to R&D one that can pair up to the AWD system, as well as the higher torque level. Not worth it.

Mazda is killing off all MT cars in North America except for the MX-5(obviously).

As for power, this is actually a little overkill IMO for a compact Sedan that's not a hot hatch. To me, they could have turbocharged the 1.5 L engine and replace the 2.5 with that, which can help with the European emission standards.

ASH8

Mazda USA Link..https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/pre...d-performance/

Ask the many, many of USA ND Owners who have had broken Manual Trans in the original MY of MX-5 sometime trice.
Unusual that 99.9% of these 6 Speed Manual Trans failures were in USA Owner/Drivers.
Yes the US are hard on cars which is good.
Remember the 6 Speed manual Trans Mazda Part Number worldwide are identical, therefore so is the genuine renewed part.
Mazda boasted at the ND launch that they made this ND 6MT Trans about 50 lbs Lighter than the outgoing NC unit.
As I said light is not always right.

I recall (memory) there were about 2 ND Trans failures in Germany, one in UK and Australia.

On the SKYACTIV 6 speed Auto Trans, the original 18 month production run had a huge failure rate as the main locking nut was poorly torqued, in CX-5, Mazda 3, Mazda 6 and early CX-9. The Auto Trans would get to a point when bearing failure started and screaming Trans with car at about 3000 RPM. The Skyactiv 6MT in FWD appears to be pretty reliable so far.

hornbm

iTrader: (1)

One thing to consider about the power numbers, is those are the numbers for the skyactive turbo engine when running on 87 octane. The power output is likely higher when running on premium fuel, as that is how it works in the rest of the lineup with the skyactive turbo motor.

UnknownJinX

Here is another thing with manual trans: turbo and manual trans don't exactly play nicely. You lose boost every time you shift as you need to let off the gas. So on top of the faster AT shifts, you now also have to rebuild boost after each shift. There are ways around it, though, like no-lift shift, but I don't see any family cars that come with this stock, while some sports cars do(I know Camaro 2.0T does).

You get 250 BHP and 320 lb-ft at peaks on 93 AKI octane. 23 BHP and 10 lb-ft bump.

gwilliams6

Yes the numbers will be higher on 93 octane. they say abut 250 hp and 325 ft-pounds torque on 93 octane.

neit_jnf

They offer manual awd in other markets so, would it be possible to convert one to manual? legal?

UnknownJinX

Too much effort and money to make it worth it IMO. The other thing is that I don't think they make a MT for the 2.5T specifically, and I wouldn't be surprised if the manual trannies go grenade with somewhat close to double the peak torque.

I would buy a hot hatch(Golf R is AWD and available in a stick) and call it a day. Mazda is moving away from sporty and more to luxury. Even the 2.5T itself is not a sport engine - go look up the dyno graphs and you will see that it almost acts like a diesel or an old pushrod engine. The top-end torque drop is not even funny. If Mazda doesn't give you what you want, vote with your wallet and show your dissatisfaction.

hornbm

iTrader: (1)

Its not that they don't make a manual for the 2.5T, they don't make a manual for the AWD system. Every car that has the 2.5T has AWD standard on that trim with the exception of the Mazda 6.

However, its likely that the manual couldn't take the torque of the 2.5T, so both are probably true to a point.

UnknownJinX

Is there one outside of North America? Never heard about one.

And there is also the question of how to swap out the final drive on an FWD/AWD. Personally I would think that the NA gear ratios will probably be too aggressive for a turbocharged engine and you could use taller gears. In an RWD car, you can just swap out the rear diff, but it gets more involving in an FWD/AWD car.

ASH8

And then those geniuses come up with this..
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2021...etails-photos/

2021 Mazda 3 Revives the 2.0-Liter Base Engine Option

The weaker four-cylinder should drag down the 3's price of entry, as well as its straight-line acceleration.

Then it will be 2.0l dropped for 2022 MY., anyone want to put a wager on it.

ASH8

https://carbuzz.com/news/mazda-celeb...the-edition100

gwilliams6

Just dumb, they wont sell more by doing this, just reducing the brand to bland again. Amazing

gwilliams6

Pretty sad when your 100th anniversary car is an econobox. There is no real hope for this Mazda beyond mediocrity. No showroom excitement left in this brand. None.

UnknownJinX

It would make sense if they are still trying to compete with Civics and the likes, but if they want to go more upbrand, yeah, strange move.

Well, there is the MX-5 100th anniversary edition.

And what are you expecting... Mazda themself said Mazdaspeed is childish, so very unlikely something like that will come back.

ASH8

Yep, I am fecking disgusted how this brand is being run, in Australia it was #2, now going in a crap heap after retiring CEO was replaced with some looser with ALL at Mazda Australia who hate him, they actually hate working under him, a control freak egomaniac.

This is what happens when JAPAN will not let Managers manage, all they have are YES men looser who tell them what they want to hear.

MNAO Advertising agency account is run again by morons who just take the **** out of the brand, for MAZDA not to advertise what they have, oh like top class safety equipment well before other brands, just astounds me.
Advertising executives don't think safety sells.

Same here down under, Buying customers only find out about what Mazda has to offer IF they go into a showroom floor, or may read online.

Every bloody time MAZDA squanders their class leading advantage.
Who in their right mind thinks adding a 2.0 ****-box buzz-box engine to the Mazda 3 ...I really do give up.

Oh and don't forget MAZDA removing the info Touchscreen on the 3 and CX-30 and soon New 6 if there is one or whatever they will call it (Vision 6)...frankly I think a 6 SEDAN is a dumb idea, never going to sell in the numbers to make money from, every other car brand including Volvo has a touchscreen. The old 3 and 6 were/are down over 30% and the new 3 is no better.

wannawankel

ASH8 - yes "strategery" + flexible + nimble matters. You have to get all those right to have success. Ford's Bronco will be another example - can they create that Miata spark that leads people away from the Jeep trough to the old memorable Bronco (goes anywhere and has gobs of Powah).

gwilliams6

How many two seaters can Mazda sell to save the brand in America.? At one time you have both rotary and Mazdaspeed cars in the showroom at one time together. You brought people in and then could sell them something for the family also. Folks could share in the zoom-zoom feeling. Gone now.

Bladecutter

Hopefully Mazda doesn't listen to you, because I am looking forward to the new Mazda 6.

You are right that Mazda and its advertising sucks.
So many months ago, my coworker, who I helped her when she was buying her Mazda CX-5, bought a new Subaru Ascent kind of out of the blue.
I asked her why she chose it over the CX-9, and she said "I forgot that Mazda made the CX-9, and never thought to go test drive it."

That's an issue.
She drives her CX-5 to work every day for 4 years, loves it, and when her family buys a new vehicle (replaced husbands Yaris), she doesn't even think about Mazda offering in the vehicle class they bought.

UnknownJinX

Rotary is not coming back so I wouldn't count on that anymore.

As for Mazdaspeed, your guess is as good as mine. Audi has the RS3 and MB also has a hot hatch offering, and no one calls them childish or anything stupid like that. The 2.5T has a lot of tuning potential on the table. You can easily squeeze out 300+ BHP with a 2.5T engine.

gwilliams6

I agree rotary not coming back. But my point is that if you dont' have some halo cars to get folks in the doors, then you don't even get the opportunity to sell them something also for the family. Mazda will never have the advertising budgets of bigger Japanese and Korean makers, so they have to attract attention in more ways. IMSA racing might help a small bit, but folks cant relate those purpose-built race cars to anything roadgoing. I owned a Madaspeed3 GT and it was not for kids. When I bought my 2008 40th Anniversary RX8 and my 2008 Mazdaspeed3 GT my Mazda dealer had them both and the MX5 in the showroom along with the SUVs and sedans and hatches. The halo of those performance vehicles brought folks in the doors. Seems those times are gone for good for Mazda, end of the zoom-zoom.

UnknownJinX

There are for sure some halo cars they can do for not much money. A Mazdaspeed 3 just needs a manual trans at this point. They sell a diesel CX-5 with AWD and MT in the UK, so they just need to tweak the gear ratios to make it work. Tweak the suspension and engine tuning, and there you go.

Adding a turbo to the MX-5 also shouldn't be crazy. Doesn't even need that much boost given how light the car is. If it has the same power as the 2.5T we see now, that thing would be pretty quick.

Oh well, there are aftermarket options if you want to make that happen.