It looks like we won’t have to wait until the Los Angeles Auto Show to find out more information about the next-generation Mazda 3. Recently, our spy photographers managed to spot a lightly disguised unit in hatchback guise out in the wild, complete with an interior that looks production ready.
If you’re a fan of the Kai Concept, you’ll be glad to know that Mazda’s finished product very closely resembles the show car that debuted at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Based on these photos, many of the cues that were present on the concept have managed to make their way onto the production model, albeit with some revisions.
The front end of the vehicle features a much larger grille compared to the outgoing model, while a downward sloping bonnet leads to a pointed nose in the style of the Kai. Another cue shared with the preview car are the sharper headlamps, which are comparatively smaller than those on the third-generation car.
In profile, the new Mazda 3 is almost a carbon copy of the Kai, right down to the design of the five twin-spoke wheels and placement of a roof spoiler. The presence of camouflage makes it hard to tell if the formed body panels from the concept made it into production.
On the Kai, the design creates transitions between light and shadow without the need for a distinctive character line, a an effect that is also replicated on the Vision Coupe – another concept that served as a preview for Mazda’s second-stage Kodo design language.
Focusing on the rear, the oversized vent/diffuser element seen at the bottom of the Kai has been remove entirely on the production Mazda 3, and with it comes a more sizeable rear hatch plus actual space for a number plate holder. The circular taillights are retained but are shaped more conventionally, although the “bump” on the outer circle has been inversed and downplayed here.
The new Mazda 3’s cabin, like the exterior, borrows heavily from the Kai and is an exact replication of what we saw in a leaked illustration. From the driver’s seat, there is a completely new steering wheel design and the three-section instrument cluster makes a return. The latter differs from before in that there are now three circles, and the one in the middle is a digital screen flanked by analogue dials.
Controls for the climate control are minimalistic in appearance, and feature a digital screen in the middle of the dashboard, in line with the vents on the passenger side (driver side vents are angled). Just above is a dedicated section for a display screen, which appears to be hooked up to an overhauled version of the marque’s MZD Connect infotainment system.
Just like the concept, the front occupants are separated by the centre console, which houses the controls for the infotainment system, and in this instance, what is likely a six-speed manual gearbox.
On that mention, the Mazda 3 could be powered by the company’s SkyActiv-X compression ignition engine, which could be joined by existing powerplants. The C-segment model will also be the first to benefit from the next-generation SkyActiv-Vehicle Architecture.
While we may have garnered a lot of information from these spyshots, we’ll only be able to get complete information when the Mazda 3 makes it global debut in Los Angeles in a few weeks’ time. Like what you see so far?
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature of 6500°K
GALLERY: Mazda Kai Concept
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Damn excited! <3
Nahh ..Suprima hothatch way more excited.
Betui. If i have the money, i’ll rather upgrade to another Proton than Jepunis.
Yeah pushimg pedal hard just to get max torque is so yesterday
Mazda design now less Alfa-ish and getting more Seat-ish
Whoah, dats one shehxxay steering wheel, the next best looking hatch in the segment , besting
the corolla . Wow, japan is taking back the designers crown again.
Just normal , nothing sexy
Nice design. But too low slung, not practical for Msia potholes infested mudfloods bumpy uneven road conditions.
Looks awesome.
Hope that the interior space is improved.
You pointed out to main drawback for me, during last time when I was deciding on buying a C-segment.
I doubt that look at the door for back seat so darn small. Not a car for big guy like me.
Basher said if you want big space better buy bus
Disappointed with the cluster meter. Totally different from the leaked version in March
Sweet manual transmission
HUD now on windscreen. But i dont see paddle shifter
No paddle shift? Suprima better
How did u manage to spot the paddle shifter and miss the 3rd paddle for clutch
The car is a manual, of course there is no paddle shifter.
With Sky Active manual gear, can easily smoke Honda Civic Turbo with better performance and FC ratios..
lovely manual, and just glad to see the return of red leather….
Mazda’s design is getting more serious these days. Hope theyve improved the lazy gearbox setup during initial go. Cramped backseat hv improved a bit during the current gen if not mistaken. Any news whether there will be MPS version? Hope it comes with auto tranny option
The aircon vents for the driver doesn’t look good. While on the passenger side looks like 80’s European car aircon vent design
should follow mazda 6 aircond vent design
Very much agree!
Looks more like a FL than all-new..most Jap automakers retain the platform and engine for at least 2-3 generations nowadays
retaining platform is not always FL. if you rework the whole car leaving the platform and engine, that’s not FL.
tldr, all-new and FL is both technically incorrect for this. same as the saga 3.
Mazda this day is getting more and more advance in term of design wise. Look at CX5, no more chrome which looks hideous. I salute Mazda for more improvement and refinement. The way it look for all vehicle available in Malaysia especially new one’s. Gorgeous and very European taste. Indeed we need something more from other country taste because asian taste for car design is bored.
When talking about chrome only one model pops up in my mind…the hideous new Alphard
Haha. That’s true, bling2 Alphard.
Why toyota always got big braces. Toothache?
Alphard is for Ah Pek. Ah Pek loves chrome
Hmmmmm…personally, i think the current interior looks better. This one somehow looks dated
Interesting design
All I see is the CX-5 face. Do you see that?!
So fugly it looked like designed by Proton
More like Toyota
Looks like a volvo v40. Sexy.
Nothing worth to look at. I skip this
The back is going back to the 80s Mazda design. I like it.