The Mazda3 has been awarded the World Car Design of the Year, a recognition that maintains Mazda’s success in this category.
The annual World Car Awards are decided by a panel of 86 automotive journalists from across 25 countries. The win for Mazda in this acclaimed category marks another triumph for the Japanase carmaker’s “Kodo – Soul of Motion” design philosophy. This comes as the icing on the cake for a company that celebrates a centenary this year. The Mazda3 is the second Mazda car to be named World Car Design of the Year, following the Mazda MX-5 in 2016.
Introduced in 2010, Mazda’s unique Kodo design philosophy is noted for its ability to breathe vitality into a car and has been the driving force behind the multiple award-winning styling of the current Mazda range. Launched in 2019, the new Mazda3 was the first vehicle to showcase the latest developments in the company’s ground-breaking Kodo design language – a more mature rendition targeting greater styling prestige through the elegance and rigour of a minimalist, less-is-more aesthetic inspired by the purest traditions of Japanese art and the beauty of space between objects.
Powering the Mazda3 is a 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G petrol engine making 122 hp. Mazda are among a rare breed of manufacturers who stayed away from turbo-petrol engines and downsizing, arguing that a smaller engine, boosted to do a larger engine’s job would end up being less efficient under load. Thus, the Skyactiv unit in the 3 features cylinder-deactivation and is exclusively matched to front-wheel drive with a choice of automatic or manual transmission across all five trim levels on the hatchback model.
Mazda aren’t that well-known a name in India, apart from their involvement in the commercial vehicle business a few decades ago. Their notable models are mainly the rotary-engined RX-7 and its successor the RX-8, seen in several videogame franchises. The Mazda MX-5, or Miata in some markets, is still widely acknowledged as a proper sports car that can be acquired without breaking the bank.
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