Official 2012 Mazda3 Specs & Features and Pricing

[TheMAN]

it's a real mazda motor and not a ford

[Alex2000]

Looking forward to Mazda3 2012!!

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Looking forward to Mazda3 2012!!

This just in....

Pricing announced.. Full pricing will be posted tomorrow, however for now..

The 2012 starting price will be $700 less than the 2011 starting price..

Base GX with A/C will have an MSRP of less than $17,000

GX with Convenience will have an MSRP of less than $18,000

2012 GS will be $1100 less than 2011 GS

2012 GT will be $730 less than the 2011 GT

[greatwhiteshark]

Looking forward to Mazda3 2012!!

...and MazdaSpeed3 2012!!

[gar_lei]

...and MazdaSpeed3 2012!!

+1 for mazdaspeed 3 2012 pricing and also the release day?

[henryko]

+1 for mazdaspeed 3 2012 pricing and also the release day?

+2!

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Pricing added.. as for when.. they will be in about 4 weeks.. depending on trim.

[Fuyuzora]

Pricing added.. as for when.. they will be in about 4 weeks.. depending on trim.

Thanks for the update Jeff.

2012 Mazdaspeed3 - MSRP: $29,695

2011 Mazdaspeed3 - Starting at $23,700

I know the American trim is bit more bare than its Canadian counterpart (front & rear lamps, for instance), but come on Mazda... $6,000 extra just because we live in Canada? Sigh.

Disappointing. Was hoping the 2012 MS3 would at least gain a little ground toward parity relative to the 2011 MS3 pricing.

[TheMAN]

New released info for the Skyactive-G 2.0:
155hp @ 6000rpm
148lbs/ft @ 4100rpm
110 amp alternator
12.0:1 compression ratio, runs on regular gas (JDM one will have 14:1 most likely, and EDM one will be 13:1 probably)
"PE-VP" engine designation code

engine has dual VVT, meaning now the exhaust cam also varies timing
roller rocker arms and HLA valvetrain to reduce friction losses... no more solid buckets
engine runs in miller cycle in order to improve combustion, lower pumping losses, lower emissions, and reduced dynamic compression ratio
of course, the engine also uses direct fuel injection and a 4-2-1 header as heavily advertised in their promotion websites

I can only speculate that the new Axela will have i-stop technology combined with their SkyActive-G engine, which will probably be called the "PE-VPS" designation code... this technology has already been combined with the new Demio's (Mazda2) "P3-VPS" engine... there's no reason why mazda will take it away in the upcoming 2012 JDM and EDM 3s because they already have i-stop in some of their current models

new C66M-R 6-speed SkyActive-MT manual transmission
ratios:
1st gear 3.363:1
2nd gear 1.947:1
3rd gear 1.300:1
4th gear 0.971:1
5th gear 0.795:1
6th gear 0.645:1
Final Drive 4.105:1
Reverse 3.385:1

new FW6A-EL 6-speed automatic SkyActive-Drive transmission
ratios:
1st gear 3.552:1
2nd gear 2.022:1
3rd gear 1.452:1
4th gear 1.000:1
5th gear 0.708:1
6th gear 0.599:1
Final Drive 3.591:1
Reverse 3.893:1



with how efficient this engine is and how much time mazda spent developing it, I don't have any doubt that this will make it a worthwhile purchase... if I was looking for a new car now, I'm definitely going to wait for it! There's no reason to go with the existing L-series "MZR" Ford engines that have minor issues... the Skyactiv engines are completely Mazda with ZERO Ford influence from what I can tell... but we'll know for sure once they are here and we can put it under a microscope

hope this tech info will sway some of you guys to go Skyactiv!

[Elusivellama]

^ Thanks for the info. I'm very, very interested to see if the SkyActiv tech will make its way into the 2.3L DISI turbo engine. Perhaps not in higher compression ratios since a turbo is involved, and obviously not in direct-injection because it's already there... but maybe in a different piston design, dual VVT, improvements to reduce frictional losses, etc. The 2.3L DISI may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but from what I've gathered it is still a solid design.

[TheMAN]

I think it will eventually be replaced... Mazda has stopped doing anything with the MZR now that Mazda is Mazda and no longer have to answer to Ford
rumor has it, work on the SkyActiv 2.5 is under way... there's no doubt it'll make it's way to the larger Mazdas such as the CX-7 and 6

[TheMAN]

In a proactive move to maintain Mazda3’s class-leading positioning, the SKYACTIV-G engine, SKYACTIVDRIVE
AT, and SKYACTIV-MT were pulled forward into the 2012 Mazda3
- With SKYACTIV-G, Mazda3 achieves a class-leading compression ratio of 12.0:1 to deliver 15%
greater low-rpm torque, 10% greater peak torque, 5% greater peak power output, 21% better fuel
economy
- SKYACTIV-Drive uses both multi-plate clutch and torque converter to combine the best attributes of
automatic and manual transmissions
- SKTACTIV-MT delivers nimble shift feel as well as better fuel economy

[Sean80]

Thanks for the info! My wife and I will definitely be purchasing one of these when they finally arrive. (Hopefully soon, I'm not sure her Sunfire is going to make it much longer)

[Thrizzl3]

GX doesn't come with skyactive? we have to get the GS for that?

[Elusivellama]

I think it will eventually be replaced... Mazda has stopped doing anything with the MZR now that Mazda is Mazda and no longer have to answer to Ford
rumor has it, work on the SkyActiv 2.5 is under way... there's no doubt it'll make it's way to the larger Mazdas such as the CX-7 and 6

I would love to see a completely in-house twin-scroll turbo engine built by Mazda using SkyActiv concepts. My guess is that they'll develop the SkyActiv versions of the 2.5L and the V6 first, then make a 2.0L turbo along the same lines as that Hyundai 2.0T and Ford Ecoboost 2.0L - pushing much the same numbers as the 2.3L DISI but with better fuel economy. This certainly seems to be the trend out there, smaller displacement with more efficiency gains.

[sw33tb3rry]

Yes, on all vehicles..

incidentally, the speed now comes in Aluminum..

Celestial Blue dropped from all car lines.

Thank goodness i still got my hands on one.... i absolutely love the celestial blue

[TheMAN]

Sky Blue is the replacement colour and I think it looks stunning!

[Nova 3 GT]

Wow I'm impressed: the skyactiv-G is almost equal to the 2.3L in terms of HP and torque

[xtracrispy]

Wow the new sport GS looks to be an incredibly good value.. you're basically paing $500 on top of the GX convenience, and get the bigger engine along with the aesthetic mods.

It'll be interesting to see how much Mazda charges for Sky though; sure you save gas money, but the up front cost has to be less than the gas savings to make any sense

[SonicBoy]

What do you think about the front end?

click <== downloads the US Smart Start guide

Back to the round lights.

You can also see where the the BSM (Blide Spot Monitoring) Icon is for the GTE models.

[xtracrispy]

Wow significant price reductions... 2012 looks amazing!

[TheMAN]

looks fine to me.... I always liked how some of the new 3s looked, it definitely took some getting used to though

the skyactiv axela just got released yesterday and as I said a couple of weeks ago, the engine is called "PE-VPS"... my guess was right!
the japanese will only get the skyactiv-drive (automatic) transmission and manual is not an option... this engine replaces the LF-VDS motor that was sold in their existing i-stop models... only the 4WD still uses the LF-VE and it looks like its days are numbered

[Jeff-TheBiz]

First peeks at the New look..

At first glance the front is very subtle.

But the black inside I feel cheapens the over all look... IMHO.

[TheMAN]

I agree... still looks cheap
can't wait to see how the skyactiv model looks... the pics I saw look promising... just some subtle differences that makes a world of difference

[SonicBoy]

Wow! That Indigo Blue really rocks!