How many people r going to buy the new model ND

[Dre]

That SKYACTIV term gets thrown around a lot. Just strikes me as a buzzword with no real meaning. The engine makes a few more torques and a few less greenhouses so mazda dealers go around chanting SKYACTIV like a bunch of parrots.

/rant

[Nevyn72]

That SKYACTIV term gets thrown around a lot. Just strikes me as a buzzword with no real meaning. The engine makes a few more torques and a few less greenhouses so mazda dealers go around chanting SKYACTIV like a bunch of parrots.

/rant

Well to be fair, SKYACTIV is basically a design philosophy.
It means to reduce weight and improve efficiency (of components and operation) in the overall design for a better vehicle.

This is a departure from the trend of recent decades of steadily increasing size, weight and power adopted by most manufacturers......

[Danny]

Skyactiv or as Chapman of Lotus fame said, "just add lightness to go faster".

Those four red models look great when put into the context of their era. No regardless of their era they all do it for me.

[Guran]

Will I buy an ND? Abso-bloody-lutely! Can't wait. I'm most interested in the 1.5L version because it'll probably be the lightest, simplest & cheapest and the most rev-hungry engine. It won't be overly quick, but that won't worry me - I always had a ball driving by NA6.

All this talk about dimensions has prompted me to do a bit of analysis.

Wheelbase
ND is 15mm shorter than NC, but 50mm longer than NA/NB.

Length
ND is shortest of the lot! 60mm shorter than NA/NB and 80mm shorter than NC. At appears most of that length is taken from the rear, so expect a very small boot.

Width
ND is widest of the lot! 50-55mm wider than NA/NB and 10mm wider than NC. The cabin should feel a fraction wider/roomier than all previous models.

Wheel Track
No data is available yet for ND, but I estimate it'll be around 1500mm front / 1505mm rear (match the width to track difference of NC). ND track should be 75-90mm more than NA, 65-85mm wider than NB, and 10mm wider than NC.

Contact Area = wheelbase x track
This is basically the area of the tyre footprint on the road. The ND and NC will be almost identical at 3.48sqm, compared with 3.21-3.23sqm for NA/NB.

Wheel base/track ratio
This is a measure of the wheelbase relative to the track. ND has the shortest relative wheelbase (1.54 ratio), compared with 1.56 for NC and 1.59 for NB and 1.60 for NA. This should translate to improved yaw moment of inertia, hence improved steering response, turn-in ability and controllability at the limit.

Body Area = length x width
ND (6.77sqm) will be midway between NC (6.87-6.91sqm) and NA (6.66sqm) / NB (6.68sqm). As mentioned above, most of the that difference is in the length with a shorter boot.

Overhang = length - wheelbase
The ND has really short overhangs, 110mm less than NA/NB and 65mm less than NC. This should translate to lower yaw moment of inertia due to less weight outside the footprint.

Kerb Weight
This is great unknown at the moment, and for me it's the most exciting part. Mazda are saying the ND is "more than 100kg" lighter than NC. If we assume the comparison is with the 2.0L NC soft-top, then the 1.5L ND could come in at 1105kg - 120kg = 985kg. That's 30kg more than NA6, almost identical to NA8A, 60kg less than NB8A, 100kg less than NB8B. Very exciting stuff! The 2.0L ND is likely to be a little heavier because the engine is a bit chunkier and it'll probably come with other high spec items that add weight. I'm guessing it'll be very close to 1000kg.

Power
Again, this is another great unknown at present.

The 1.5L Skyactiv-G in the Mazda2 is rated for 85kW at 6000rpm in Europe (detuned for 91RON in Australia). Photos of the ND tacho show a 7500rpm redline (7200rpm on NC2), so peak power should come at higher revs than in the Mazda2 and NC2. Around 95kW at 7200rpm with 95RON seems a reasonable guess.

The 2.0L Skyactive-G in the Mazda3 is rated for 121kW at 6000rpm in Europe (detuned for 91RON in Australia). Again, peak power is likely to come in at higher revs on the ND. Around 125kW at 7000rpm with 95RON seems a reasonable guess.

Performance
Weight/power is the main thing for 0-100km/hr times. Based on my estimates above, ND should have about 10.4kg/kW for 1.5L and 8.0kg/kW for 2.0L. So the ND 1.5L should be quicker than NA6 (11kg/kW), similar to NA8 & NB8A (10kg/kW), but slower than NC soft-top (9.4kg/kW) and NB8B (9.6kg/kW). The ND 2.0L should be considerably quicker and getting close to SP (7.5kg/kW).

Anyway, I hope this gives people some food for thought. Like I said, a fair bit of it is guesswork, but I suspect it's pretty close to the ballpark.

[Blesif]

That's a great analysis! I, too, am not afraid of the 1.5 and it is definitely on my radar as my first (and last) new sports car purchase. And it will be going on the track.

[markwid]

I have got a white 2.0 penciled in for sometime in 2016 when all the hoopla of new car launch has died down and hopefully initial issues ironed out.

[rjastra2]

Well to be fair, SKYACTIV is basically a design philosophy.
It means to reduce weight and improve efficiency (of components and operation) in the overall design for a better vehicle.

This is a departure from the trend of recent decades of steadily increasing size, weight and power adopted by most manufacturers......

Yet their vehicles are not any lighter than their competitors. New 308 starts at 1090kg, Mazda 3 1271kg

The new 2 and 3 have all grown in size externally but has seen reduced interior space compared to the outgoing model.

[michelin man]

Will I buy an ND? Abso-bloody-lutely! Can't wait. I'm most interested in the 1.5L version because it'll probably be the lightest, simplest & cheapest and the most rev-hungry engine. It won't be overly quick, but that won't worry me - I always had a ball driving by NA6.

All this talk about dimensions has prompted me to do a bit of analysis.

Wheelbase
ND is 15mm shorter than NC, but 50mm longer than NA/NB.

Length
ND is shortest of the lot! 60mm shorter than NA/NB and 80mm shorter than NC. At appears most of that length is taken from the rear, so expect a very small boot.

Width
ND is widest of the lot! 50-55mm wider than NA/NB and 10mm wider than NC. The cabin should feel a fraction wider/roomier than all previous models.

Wheel Track
No data is available yet for ND, but I estimate it'll be around 1500mm front / 1505mm rear (match the width to track difference of NC). ND track should be 75-90mm more than NA, 65-85mm wider than NB, and 10mm wider than NC.

Contact Area = wheelbase x track
This is basically the area of the tyre footprint on the road. The ND and NC will be almost identical at 3.48sqm, compared with 3.21-3.23sqm for NA/NB.

Wheel base/track ratio
This is a measure of the wheelbase relative to the track. ND has the shortest relative wheelbase (1.54 ratio), compared with 1.56 for NC and 1.59 for NB and 1.60 for NA. This should translate to improved yaw moment of inertia, hence improved steering response, turn-in ability and controllability at the limit.

Body Area = length x width
ND (6.77sqm) will be midway between NC (6.87-6.91sqm) and NA (6.66sqm) / NB (6.68sqm). As mentioned above, most of the that difference is in the length with a shorter boot.

Overhang = length - wheelbase
The ND has really short overhangs, 110mm less than NA/NB and 65mm less than NC. This should translate to lower yaw moment of inertia due to less weight outside the footprint.

Kerb Weight
This is great unknown at the moment, and for me it's the most exciting part. Mazda are saying the ND is "more than 100kg" lighter than NC. If we assume the comparison is with the 2.0L NC soft-top, then the 1.5L ND could come in at 1105kg - 120kg = 985kg. That's 30kg more than NA6, almost identical to NA8A, 60kg less than NB8A, 100kg less than NB8B. Very exciting stuff! The 2.0L ND is likely to be a little heavier because the engine is a bit chunkier and it'll probably come with other high spec items that add weight. I'm guessing it'll be very close to 1000kg.

Power
Again, this is another great unknown at present.

The 1.5L Skyactiv-G in the Mazda2 is rated for 85kW at 6000rpm in Europe (detuned for 91RON in Australia). Photos of the ND tacho show a 7500rpm redline (7200rpm on NC2), so peak power should come at higher revs than in the Mazda2 and NC2. Around 95kW at 7200rpm with 95RON seems a reasonable guess.

The 2.0L Skyactive-G in the Mazda3 is rated for 121kW at 6000rpm in Europe (detuned for 91RON in Australia). Again, peak power is likely to come in at higher revs on the ND. Around 125kW at 7000rpm with 95RON seems a reasonable guess.

Performance
Weight/power is the main thing for 0-100km/hr times. Based on my estimates above, ND should have about 10.4kg/kW for 1.5L and 8.0kg/kW for 2.0L. So the ND 1.5L should be quicker than NA6 (11kg/kW), similar to NA8 & NB8A (10kg/kW), but slower than NC soft-top (9.4kg/kW) and NB8B (9.6kg/kW). The ND 2.0L should be considerably quicker and getting close to SP (7.5kg/kW).

Anyway, I hope this gives people some food for thought. Like I said, a fair bit of it is guesswork, but I suspect it's pretty close to the ballpark.

Great analysis Guran and yes plenty of food for thought. At the end of the day I agree that the "fun" factor is the dominant factor and yes a revvy smaller engine may be just the ticket.
Thanks for your interesting perspective.
Kind regards,

[Nevyn72]

Looks like journo test drives and reviews will be released from their embargo in Europe on Friday.
Apparently they're being 'played' with today!

Hopefully we'll see some hard figures on specs, features and options available at last, although being Euro based we may only see stuff for the 1.5L version......

[Nevyn72]

Looks like a Dutch journo broke the embargo..... The YouTube clip has now been blocked though.....

This is what was caught (and translated) before it was taken down.
Note: for a 1.5L version in the Euro market.

First translations:

- 1.5 is the preferred engine according to Mazda
- 7500 rpm redline
- this is a prototype, production cars available in August
- electrical steering is a bit 'light' around the center
- car weighs 997kg only 30kg more than the first NA
- 1.5 has 131hp
- price (for the 1.5) will be similar to NC

[ManiacLachy]

- price (for the 1.5) will be similar to NC

[/quote]

This could be the biggest issue the car will have, if it's priced similar to the NC in Australia - it simply isn't going to be a competitive, compelling purchase if it's priced in the high $40k!

[Guran]

- price (for the 1.5) will be similar to NC

This could be the biggest issue the car will have, if it's priced similar to the NC in Australia - it simply isn't going to be a competitive, compelling purchase if it's priced in the high $40k!

You're jumping the gun. Context is critical. The comment came from a Dutch journo, and in his country the base NC is a 1.8L 5spd MT soft-top. If that version was available in Australia, it would no doubt be priced under $40k (+ORC). Oh and if you think the NC is expensive in Australia, consider that the base NC in Netherlands costs €31,490 which translates to AUD45k. Ouch!

[ManiacLachy]

I realise he's speaking in the context of Europe, and I'm just suggesting if they follow a similar stance here, the price might not be competitive in the context of say the GT86/BRZ (from the perspective they are both entry level sports cars). We'll definitely have to wait and see, but as Mazda insists on dragging this out, all we can do is speculate.

AUD $45k? That's what they go for here, some are $51k. This is what I mean when I say if it's priced similar to the NC in the Australian market it might be a hard sell, especially if on paper the performance numbers aren't compelling. If the price is high, and the specs are low, you'll never even get the average punter into the show room for a test drive, no matter how great the driving experience may be.

And at the end of the day, I want this car to be a smashing success for Mazda!

[rjastra2]

This clip has been shown before???

[Nevyn72]

Australia will probably see both the 1.5L and 2.0L versions of the ND.

I expect to see the 2.0L with a higher specification trim level retailing for a similar price to the current entry level NC.
I expect to see a more basic 1.5L offered at a price more competitive with the BRZ/86......