This Is What Mazda EPA MPG Results Will Look Like With Skyactiv-X HCCI Engines (Asterisk, Fine Print, Subject To Change)
Mazda announced on August 8th what had long been rumored. The small Japanese automaker has successfully overcome the remaining issues which held at bay mass production of gasoline compression ignition.
Essentially, Mazda’s Skyactiv-X engines, due first in the next-generation 2019 Mazda 3, is intended to bring diesel-like ignition to small, supercharged four-cylinder engines, along with diesel-like fuel economy. However, the gas-fired Skyactiv-X engines will be wildly cleaner than diesel powerplants. Mazda has said in the past that these HCCI engines will likely limit the need for continuously variable transmissions. We also learned, with Mazda’s latest pronouncement, that the company’s Skyactiv-X engines will be significantly torquier than their Skyactiv-G predecessors.
If Mazda can live up to its pronouncements — the company says the engines are “still under development and figures are subject to change” — it’ll be a win for both the environment and driving enthusiasts. And because Mazda also claims a 20-30-percent improvement in fuel efficiency, it’ll be a win for your bank account, as well.
We wanted to see exactly where Mazda’s alleged fuel savings will put Mazda’s current products on the EPA’s miles per gallon scale, so here are the results of some quick math.
One column below shows the fuel economy ranges of Mazda’s current six-model U.S. lineup. We’ve opted to show the combined figures only to avoid cluttering with too great a quantity of numbers. Another column shows the same Mazda products with a 25-percent (the average of Mazda’s claims) reduction in fuel consumption. An extra column shows where current class leaders are positioned.
Naturally, rival automakers have just as much license as Mazda to make fuel efficiency advances over the next two or three years, so don’t assume the figures in the competitors’ column will hold through 2017.
Mazda2017 EPA MPG Range CombinedWith Skyactiv-X 25% Improvement (MPG) Class-Leading CompetitorMazda 328-3237-4337 *Mazda 628-3037-4052 **Mazda MX-5 Miata293930 †Mazda CX-329-3139-4231 ††Mazda CX-526-2735-3634 °Mazda CX-923-2431-3229 °°* Presently, the Mazda 3 rival with the greatest combined mpg is the Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, rated at 37 miles per gallon combined. The Hyundai Elantra Eco has a combined rating of 35 mpg, as does the Honda Civic with a 1.5-liter turbo.
[Image: Mazda]
Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.
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- Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh I'd rather they have the old sweep gauges, the hhuuggee left to right speedometer from the 40's and 50's where the needle went from lefty to right like in my 1969 Nova
- Buickman I like it!
- JMII Hyundai Santa Cruz, which doesn't do "truck" things as well as the Maverick does.How so? I see this repeated often with no reference to exactly what it does better.As a Santa Cruz owner the only things the Mav does better is price on lower trims and fuel economy with the hybrid. The Mav's bed is a bit bigger but only when the SC has the roll-top bed cover, without this they are the same size. The Mav has an off road package and a towing package the SC lacks but these are just some parts differences. And even with the tow package the Hyundai is rated to tow 1,000lbs more then the Ford. The SC now has XRT trim that beefs up the looks if your into the off-roader vibe. As both vehicles are soft-roaders neither are rock crawling just because of some extra bits Ford tacked on.I'm still loving my SC (at 9k in mileage). I don't see any advantages to the Ford when you are looking at the medium to top end trims of both vehicles. If you want to save money and gas then the Ford becomes the right choice. You will get a cheaper interior but many are fine with this, especially if don't like the all touch controls on the SC. However this has been changed in the '25 models in which buttons and knobs have returned.
- Analoggrotto I'd feel proper silly staring at an LCD pretending to be real gauges.
- Gray gm should hang their wimpy logo on a strip mall next to Saul Goodman's office.
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It's pretty amazing how the worlds automakers continue to pour billions into ICE and gearbox development whilst knowing that the electric car is getting closer to the mainstream all the time. There must be a real opportunity for a company like Cosworth with a pure focus on engine development to step up and roll out new types of engine on an almost annual basis if the worlds automakers decided to centralise more investment with a company like them. Think of all of the recent advances we've seen from cylinder shut down capability to this. If a company like Cosworth focused on engine design it could outsource the part manufacturing to regional hubs and then get car companies to use existing facilities to do assembly. It's the way chip maker ARM operate so why not the car industry?
Mazda is still fighting the last war. Our next car purchase will be a Tesla Model 3, not a Mazda 3. Our Mazda 5 might last long enough to be replaced by a Tesla Model Y. If it doesn't last long enough, we will replace it with an Odyssey which had Honda Sensing. Honda has them beat as a value purchase, and also as a cheap cheerful car which handles well (especially in the Civic w/ Honda Sensing vs the 3). I want to root for Mazda, because our Mazda 5 is a 90s car done right. But Mazda's lineup is already obsolete, and it's going to be much more so driving assistance technology and electrification hit the mainstream when the Model 3 deliveries begin in earnest. Between the Model 3 and the Civic, I just don't see Mazda lasting in their niche -- unless their crossovers start to sell in extra-amazing numbers...