2012 Mazda3 Skyactiv: Enough power to be fun
— -- Mazda's banking a lot on a new technology template it developed, marketed as Skyactiv.
The technology mainly involves a revised way to design and tune an engine and transmission, but also will include weight reduction and different chassis-tuning as Skyactiv evolves.
The goals: better performance, better mileage, lower emissions, more fun.
First full-blown Skyactiv vehicle will be the 2013 CX-5, a small crossover SUV new to the Mazda line and due in showrooms in February. Test Drive reviewed the CX-5 last month.
But the freshened 2012 Mazda3, on sale since October, is first to use the interesting Skyactiv engine/transmission combo, and that's what we tested: a sedan with automatic transmission and hatchback with manual.
The engine's more powerful than the base, non-Skyactiv engine, so gets off on the right foot.
The 3 uses the same new 2-liter four-cylinder gas engine coming in the CX-5, but tuned differently for the 3. It's still rated the same 155 horsepower and 148 pounds-feet of torque as the CX-5.
The Mazda3 Skyactiv with automatic transmission delivers a 40 miles-per-gallon highway rating in government tests, giving Mazda a great advertising peg.
Before we move on, here's a clip 'n' save item for Mazda3 shoppers, or buffs, trying to sort out which engines are in which models. Even Mazda acknowledges that it's confusing:
•2-liter, four-cylinder Skyactiv engine (155 hp) comes in the Touring and Grand Touring sedan and hatchback. Mazda puts a vivid blue engine cover on Skyactiv engines, should you need visual verification.
•2.5-liter MZR four-cylinder (167 hp, carried over from 2011) is in the Touring and Grand Touring sedan and hatch, but with a broader standard-equipment list than the Skyactiv models.
•2-liter MZR (148 hp, carried over) comes only in the Sport sedan.
•2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (263 hp, carryover) powers the MazdaSpeed3 hatchback.
OK, back to the Skyactiv models.
•They have enough power to be fun, even though the 3 is heavy for its size.
The engine serves enough of its scoot at low speed to make the manual transmission car easy to drive in town. Not much risk of killing the engine in a careless moment.
Skyactiv engines are tuned according to Mazda's linear principle. You get power proportional to how much you push the gas pedal. Most modern cars exaggerate, giving a lot of response with the first little throttle movement, to appear more powerful than they are. That's called "aggressive tip-in." They have little punch left for high-speed passing and merging.
Mazda's approach probably costs it a good first impression among shallow shoppers but is more satisfying to attentive drivers over time.
The Skyactiv engines sound cranky when first started. That's due to the Skyactiv tuning to lower emissions when the engine's first fired up, a dirty time in an engine's life. The sound smooths out very quickly as the engine warms.
The Skyactiv-equipped cars enjoy Mazda's attention to handling precision, a laudable obsession that makes almost any Mazda fun. The 2012 updates include more welds and some different materials to stiffen the chassis. Only Skyactiv and 2.5-liter cars get the stiffening.
They also get improved transmissions. While the base Mazda3 comes with either a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic, the Skyactiv models have six-speed boxes.
Trending Reader Picks
ABC News Live