Mazda3 Hatchback Cars 2010

Mazda has officially taken the wraps off its five-door hatchback version of the redesigned Mazda3 at the Bologna Motor Show today. As you can see in the gallery of new high-res pics below, the Mazda3 five-door gets the same swoopy sheetmetal as its four-door brethren, including the super happy smiley front end face. What's new is an extended roofline that drops down at a steep angle to create a wagon-esque profile. With a D-pillar that kinks up at a swept back angle, the look is very similar to that of a Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix that's been stepped on by a giant. The new cargo capacity will no doubt be appreciated by families who can put every extra cubic foot to good use, and if the current generation Mazda3 is any indication, this will also be the basis for the Mazdaspeed model.



At the moment, all the specs for the new Mazda3 five-door hatchback are for the European market, so don't expect its new 2.2L and carryover 1.6L turbo diesel engines to be available in the U.S. Europeans will also have a choice of 1.6L and 2.0L gas engines, though we expect the U.S.-spec model to offer the same 2.0L and new 2.5L four-cylinder engines as the sedan. Check out the official press release from Mazda after the jump for more details and the high-res image gallery below for more shots of the new Mazda3 five-door hatchback

Next Generation 2010 Mazda3 Sedan Spy Photos & More

The current version of Mazda3 has been in service for past five years. So as expected, Mazda is busy preparing the second generation Mazda3 which will be launched in spring of 2009 as a 2010 model. The spy photos you see here are of the new Mazda3 prototype being tested. Heavy camoflage hides much of the model, however the overall body profile is quite visible and appears to have a more aggressive stance.

The car, when it’s revealed in a few months, hopefully at 2008 Paris Auto Show will share design cues from its sporty big brother, the Mazda6. This saloon shows off a sportier outline, and under the camouflage, there appears to be projector headlamps, new aggressive tail-lights and dual exhaust pipes.

The new Mazda3 sedan just like the hatchback will sit on the next-generation Ford Focus C1 platform and will be longer and wider than the current car. Under the bonnet of the new Mazda3 expect a revised version of the successful 2.0-litre engine, bringing improvements to power and, crucially, slight reductions in fuel consumption. The sportier version of the Mazda3 is likely to adopt the 2.5-litre engine from the latest Mazda6. These will be mated to a new six-speed transmission system as opposed to the five-speed found in the current generation.

Source: Drive
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