Posted Oct 24, 2007, 4:05 pm
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Premiere at 2007 Tokyo Motor Show

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Tokyo Motor Show 2007: Mazda Atenza gallery: 23 photos >>

Tokyo Motor Show 2007: Mazda Atenza

All-New Mazda Atenza “Kizuna” brings greater satisfaction
“Zoom-Zoom Evolution” this expression represents the commitment by every development team member to show the world a further evolved Zoom-Zoom from the first generation Mazda6.

With this expression we delivered an all-new Mazda Atenza, which fully embodies the progress of Mazda’s product development philosophy.

While deepening the kizuna or “emotional connection” with the development team, I came to appreciate this connection with the Mazda Atenza itself. I firmly believe that together with the enhanced new technology and realisation of high levels of performance, it is just as important to realise a strong kizuna between the car and the driver coming from the sense of reliance, comfort and affinity with the car.

I would like to present a kizuna experience together with the all-new Mazda Atenza. I believe this car can continue to lead the CD segment with an experience that only Mazda can provide.

Ryuichi Umeshita
New Mazda Atenza Program Manager

The three key values of the Zoom-Zoom Evolution concept
Zoom-Zoom evolution is the concept behind the new Mazda Atenza. Along with enhanced environmental and safety performance, the car has a more emphatic Mazda character in its design, dynamic performance, packaging and craftsmanship. Mazda adopted the following key values to embody the development concept.

Emotional and Sporty
- Captivating, sporty styling connects with the driver emotionally.
- The driving feel creates oneness between the car and the driver.

Exclusive Experience
- Exquisite and high quality craftsmanship makes drivers and passengers feel good.
- Supremely comfortable, with space and features for relaxed confidence.

Insightful Package
- Superb balance between engaging sporty styling and a comfortable space.
- Simple, easy to use, well thought out driver interface and storage space.

Key Value One:
EMOTIONAL AND SPORTY
Engaging styling and dynamic performance create a sense of delight and kizuna (strong emotional connection) when the owner sees or drives the new Mazda Atenza.

Design
Chief designer Youichi Sato describes the design theme for the new Mazda Atenza as “Bold and Exquisite”.  The design is an evolved Zoom-Zoom form, which cleverly combines two seemingly contradicting ideas of strength and delicate grace through an expression of the Japanese aesthetic. While inheriting the ‘athletic’ design that was key to the signature Mazda look of the previous model, the new Mazda Atenza is a yet stronger statement of driving dynamism.

Its designers also worked on a combination of playfulness and dignity to create a new expression of “cool”, aimed at moving the Mazda Atenza to the top of its class.  Youichi Sato states, “It is vitally important that the new Mazda Atenza confidently embodies a Japanese design identity. And it must still look fresh in 10 years’ time.”

Advanced exterior styling based on Japanese aesthetics
The design theme, “Bold and Exquisite” is embodied in the new Mazda Atenza’s sporty styling that is sure to turn heads. “Japanese aesthetics give new Mazda Atenza its unique visual identity”, says Sato. “Rather than being derived from traditional sculpted forms, it stands apart from its rivals by straightforwardly expressing the Japanese aesthetic sense to embody a new and advanced character.”

The exterior has a unique character, expressed by the interplay of discreetly flowing curves and prominent edges from the front end through the fenders, and through the taut curves that lend richness and strength to the rear view. The door panel placed between the sharp top and bottom character lines conveys an expression of beauty from simplicity. Then there’s the exquisiteness of detail evident everywhere in the tsukurikomi (inbuilt quality). Combined, these elements of beauty create an advanced, emotion-pleasing character that could only be found in a Mazda.

As before, there are three body styles: sedan, five-door hatchback, and sport wagon. The sedan plays down its three-box form with its tautly-arched cabin and short, high tail, giving it a fastback look.  The five-door hatchback symbolises the new Mazda Ateagon version and features three-dimensional curves that give volume and tension to the side and rear view to achieve a level of stylish design rare in a sport wagon.

Interior design ― Driving enjoyment, secure feeling, high quality
The sporty and sophisticated interior design perfectly expresses the “Bold and Exquisite” design theme. For the sporty aspect, the designers created cockpit-like driving environment with a relaxed driving position, clear instruments and intuitive controls to support it. The design of the dashboard and door trim builds an exquisite contrast of grace and sharp, mechanical dignity to yield a space where the driver and passengers travel in pleasure, and calm comfort, helped by the way the facia top curves away from the occupants and seems to float above the structure beneath.

Richly curved surfaces create depth by casting controlled shadows to convey a sense of dignity and a high quality feel. New textured paint, sophisticated materials and controlled glossiness add to the air of craftsmanship, along with the micro-fine accuracy with which the components fit together.

Driving Dynamics
The development theme for the Mazda Atenza’s dynamics was “driving performance that creates oneness between the car and driver”. This was realised by driving dynamics, steering, handling, and brake performance that respond accurately to the driver’s intentions. Also, the further enhanced high-quality ride and quietness provide a sense of security in accordance with the feeling of oneness between the car and the driver. This solid sense of security, created by the confident, predictable handling, is central to the Zoom-Zoom evolution concept embodied in the new Mazda Atenza.

New MZR 2.5-litre engine
A new MZR 2.5-litre gasoline engine has been developed from the previous MZR 2.3-litre unit. The MZR 2.5-litre has a bigger bore and a longer stroke, plus freer-flowing intake and exhaust ports which together improve torque in the frequently-used range. This assures a more linear response and acceleration feel, nimbler driving and more precise response. Also, better fuel economy and changing the recommended fuel from premium to regular gasoline contributes to better economic efficiency. A 2.0-litre gasoline engine carried over from the previous Mazda Atenza is also available.

Automatic transmission with active adaptive shift control (2.5 litre models)
All FWD Mazda Atenza models are equipped with a five-speed Activematic automatic transmission. In addition, the highly-rated AAS (active adaptive shift control) featured on the Mazda RX-8 is introduced for the 2.5-litre vehicles.

The system has a slope control function and is able to evaluate both the gradient and winding of the road as well as driver intentions such as the acceleration and brake operation, enabling selection of the optimum gear for a linear and lively shift feel at any speed and on all kinds of roads. A six-speed automatic transmission with AAS (active adaptive shift control) is employed for the electronic-control active torque control coupling all-wheel drive version.

Responsive, confidence-inspiring suspension system
Whether driving in the city or on the motorway, the suspension system delivers a responsive and reassuring drive. The high-mounted double-wishbone front suspension is mounted on a subframe now attached to the body at six points instead of four, for a further refined steering stability. This dramatically reduces road noise by dispersing the transmission of vibration and balancing rigidity with the reassuring drive.

In the multi-link rear suspension, the front pivot of the trailing link is now placed higher to reduce tail-lift under braking, and the dampers are mounted more upright to improve the leverage acting on them and thus their responsiveness. These modifications enhance both handling stability and ride comfort.

Electronic power steering for sportiness and enhanced environmental performance
In order to achieve optimal steering assist at various speeds such as, comfortable handling at low speed and stable and rigid handling at high speed, the former hydraulic power steering is replaced with an electronic system.  Also, to give a more natural steering feel, special attention was paid to reduce the inertia level.  Similar to the Mazda RX-8, the motor is mounted on the steering rack and has further evolved with a brushless motor.  Also, the fuel economy is improved by approximately two percent compared to the former hydraulic power steering.

Powerful, progressive, responsive brake system
The new Mazda Atenza is fitted with larger front brake discs and a larger-diameter master cylinder to enhance the performance level, and brake feel is optimised by various brake tuning measures. The result is a brake system with a very rigid and linear feel, with controllable brake performance that conforms to the driver’s intentions. The stopping distance from 100 km/h is 39m* on dry ground, among the best in the class
*Mazda in-house measurement.

Lightweight body with greater rigidity
To further enhance the dynamic performance, reinforcement was added at key points, resulting in a rigidity level surpassing the original Mazda Atenza.  Compared to the previous model, both the bending rigidity (up by 32 percent for the sedan, 45 percent for the hatchback and 33 percent for the sport wagon) and the torsional stiffness (up by 14 percent for the sedan, 30 percent for the hatchback and 25 percent for the sport wagon).  Also, to realise weight reduction, which contributes to the improved dynamic performance and fuel economy, optimal layout was ensured using CAE technology and the percentage of the high-tensile and ultra-high-tensile steel content was increased.

Aerodynamics among the best in the class
Attractive styling and aerodynamic efficiency go hand-in-hand with the Mazda Atenza. From the early stages of development, Mazda engineers utilised simulation testing to the fullest in order to improve their initial designs, and then carefully fine-tuned them with prototypes and the wind tunnel.  In the end, they achieved a remarkable drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.27 for the 2.5-litre versions of hatchback and sedan and 0.28 for the sport wagon. New horseshoe-shaped air deflectors ahead of the front wheels ensure adequate brake cooling despite the low Cd. Fore-and-aft lift balance is also optimised, keeping the car stable and firmly grounded at high speed.

Key Value Two:
EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCE
Exquisite craftsmanship enhances the emotional connection between the customer and the car, adding to the delight of ownership

Customers will form a kizuna bond with the new Mazda Atenza for many reasons. These include a heightened sense of quality, ride comfort and quietness, as well as top-level environmental and safety performance. Adding to this is the refined, high-quality build that is part of the craftsman’s spirit of hospitality, creating a comfortable ride that enhances the fun of high speed, long-distance touring.

Delight of ownership through detailed craftsmanship
The three pillars to measure craftsmanship in Mazda, the tsukurikomi (in-built quality), “functional beauty” and “customer delight” are greatly enhanced for the new Mazda Atenza.

First, to achieve tsukurikomi, the surface is simplified in areas such as between the bonnet and the fender to improve the fit and finish.  Also, the newly developed grains on the surface of the plastic material within the vehicle have low reflection, which add to the feeling of quality.  The texture of the leather seat standard for some grades is greatly enhanced as well.  In order to meet the optimum texture, leather revised from the manufacturing stage is utilised, resulting in a soft touch.

The second, “functional beauty”, pursues ergonomics and kansei engineering.  For example, to give the driver greater comfort and a better sense of unity with the vehicle, the driving position is optimised by adjustment of the steering wheel angle to a more upright position and adjustment of the gear shift position for a stress free and easy-to‑manoeuvre layout. 

For “customer delight”, an advanced welcome mode turns on the panel lights in order of precedence, from lower to upper, suggesting to the driver that the car is waking up and getting ready to go. A heartbeat effect around the centre display is also an example of the emotional connection between the car and the driver along with Action Illumination in which the selected switch lights up when activated and then fades down.

New technology keeps the driver in touch
Mazda’s new multi-control system, CF-Net (Cross Functional Network) features a combination of switches on the steering wheel, which provide integrated control of audio, air conditioning, driving information, and other systems through simple, smooth operation and a centralised display at the top of the instrument panel to minimise eye movement away from the driver’s line of sight as well as minimising the time the hand is taken off the steering wheel for these operations.

The driver and passenger benefit from independent air temperature, and the advanced keyless entry system standard on some grades includes an engine start-stop button on top of the instrument panel. An eight-speaker, BOSE® Premium Sound System, and a Bluetooth® hands-free mobile-phone interface (set with the HDD navigation) can be selected.

Quiet yet sporty engine note, dramatically reduced road noise
Another “exclusive experience” development target was greater quietness. While reducing the overall noise of the engine, the engineers also emphasised certain frequencies to overlay a sporty engine note on a serene backdrop. The MZR 2.5-litre engine uses a dual-mass damper and a flexible flywheel and also focused on weight reduction of pistons and connecting rods.  With this, it was possible to reduce combustion noise as well, achieving some of the lowest vibration level measurements in the class.

To reduce road noise, while prioritising the handling stability by suspension bushings, engineers reinforced body structures to suppress vibration transmitted from the road to the car body as well as noise radiated from panels.  Also, the sound insulation structure and material quality has been vastly improved.  This results in some of the lowest road noise measurements in the class on all road surfaces whether smooth or rough.

Key Value Three:
INSIGHTFUL PACKAGE
The balance of stylish design and versatile packaging brings delight to daily driving

The new Mazda Atenza inherits all the functionality of the previous model's packaging, while raising practicality to a new level with creatively-designed equipment unique to Mazda. Various innovations blend sporty, emotion-pleasing styling with a comfortable interior and practical luggage space. 

Sporty proportions wrap a spacious interior
Mazda’s designers aimed to achieve a cabin with sporty proportions, while making the interior roomier than the previous model. The line from front windscreen to roof remains smooth but the header section is shifted rearward to eradicate any feeling of oppressiveness that front-seat occupants might feel. The body is slightly wider, so keeping the same spacing between the driver and passenger seats as before, creates more shoulder room. The knee room for the rear passengers is increased by 13 mm for a spacious rear seat. These modifications add up to a sporty looking cabin that belies the generous roominess within.

Driving position for confident, comfortable control
Besides having a more upright steering wheel, the gear lever is moved slightly towards the driver compared with the previous model. The driver’s seat armrest has an adjustable front-back slider mechanism, which allows drivers to rest their elbow comfortably while changing gears.

Karakuri tonneau board and a large luggage compartment
By researching the actual usage of the luggage space, the area most frequently used by customers features class-leading width for the new Mazda Atenza. The rear seatbacks fold forward with a simple, single movement (Mazda’s acclaimed karakuri rear seat folding system), opening up a flat luggage floor. The sport wagon’s rear tonneau board automatically moves upwards as the tailgate is opened, eliminating the need to handle the cover every time cargo is loaded or unloaded.

Exceptional Safety and Environmental Performance to support Zoom-Zoom evolution

Quiet yet sporty engine note, dramatically reduced road noise
Improving the running, turning and stopping achieves stress-free driving performance that gives the driver predictable control of the vehicle, so every Mazda Atenza driver will be in a safer frame of mind and confident in the car during high speed, long-distance touring.

In addition to Mazda’s state-of-the-art active safety systems, other active safety measures include: standard ABS and brake assist for all models, Dynamic Stability Control (standard on some grades), and an active torque control coupling 4WD system.

The passive safety package includes the Mazda Advanced Impact energy Distribution and Absorption System with Triple-H body shell and SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) airbags. There are further features to help the Mazda Atenza avoid an accident or protect its occupants if an accident is unavoidable. These include:

Rear Vehicle Monitoring System
This safety feature is new to the Japanese CD segment.  While driving at high speed (over 60km/h), this feature helps detect a car in or coming into the rear left and right blind spot areas by using radar modules located on the rear left and right areas of the vehicle.  In this situation, the LED lamp located on the left/right inner side of the A pillar lights up.

Furthermore, if the driver switches on the turning signal and there is a vehicle in this blind spot area, the LED lamp blinks and a buzzer sounds to alert the driver, assisting the driver to make a safer lane change.

Mazda Pre-crash Safety System
A high frequency radar sensor monitors the vehicle and other obstacles ahead. If a potential collision is detected a warning is given via a buzzer and a flashing light. If the driver fails to take appropriate action, the system applies the brakes and pretensions the seatbelts to restrain the occupants more effectively.

Mazda Radar Cruise Control System
A high frequency radar sensor detects the distance to the vehicle ahead and its speed. The system automatically manages acceleration and deceleration to maintain a set interval. This also makes it possible to follow the vehicle in front below the preset cruise control speed.

Adaptive Front Lighting System
Auxiliary headlamps shine toward the direction the car is steered, helping illuminate the actual path of travel.

Parking Sensor
A total of eight ultrasonic sensors in the front and rear bumpers sense the distance to obstacles from the corners of the car and deliver a series of audible beeps to help the driver park in tight spaces.

Extensive field of vision
The expansive windscreen gives the driver an unobstructed view of high traffic signals, while optimising the shape of the rear pillars, while the use of flatter rear headrests gives a clearer rear view to ease parking manoeuvres.

High-rigidity Mazda Advanced Impact energy Distribution and Absorption System body
Attains exceptional crash-safety performance by joining front members to the perimeter frame for improved crash energy absorption efficiency, by greatly reinforcing the cabin, and through the use of larger cross-sections and straighter rear side members made of high-tensile steel.

Mazda’s first active headrest
In a rear-end collision, the front seat headrest is instantaneously thrust forward, immediately supporting the head of the occupant while lightening the load of the impact.

Crushable brake and clutch pedals
The pedals are prevented from moving rearward into the cabin in a frontal collision, reducing injury to the driver’s legs.

*Note: some of the items are optional.

Environmental Performance
In addition to top-class aerodynamics, the new Mazda Atenza achieves a number of other improvements in fuel economy such as reduced rolling resistance, electronic power steering and the use of LED stop lamps. And despite its increased size compared with the previous model, the new Mazda Atenza maintains approximately the same weight thanks to comprehensive weight-reduction measures.

With the newly developed MZR 2.5-litre engine, we achieved better fuel economy and CO₂ emissions compared with the previous MZR 2.3-litre unit, despite the increase in displacement. At the same time, installing the catalyst directly downstream of the exhaust manifold assures sportier performance while boosting exhaust gas purification.

As well as being fun to drive and delightful to travel in, the all-new Mazda Atenza excels in safety and environmental measures to deliver maximum kizuna with its customers.  Mazda sums up its responsibilities here as “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom”. This is an essential element in the evolution of Zoom-Zoom.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

All-New Mazda Atenza Preliminary Specifications (for Japan: Mazda Measurement)

		Sedan	5 door Hatchback	Sport Wagon
Dimension(mm)	Overall Length	4735	4735	4765
	Overall Width	1795	1795	1795
	Overall Height/(4WD)	1440/(1450)	1440/(1450)	1490/(1500) roof rails 1450/(1460) w/o roof rails
	Wheelbase	2725	2725	2725
Tread(mm)	Front	1570* 1560** 1550***	1570* 1560** 1550***	1570* 1550***
	Rear	1570* 1560** 1550***	1570* 1560** 1550***	1570* 1550***
Seating Capacity		5	5	5
Door		4	5	5
Transmission	Type	5EAT/6EAT****	6MT/ 5EAT/6EAT****	6MT/5EAT/6EAT****
Suspension	Front	Double Wishbone	Double Wishbone	Double Wishbone
	Rear	Multi-Link	Multi-Link	Multi-Link
Brake	Front	Ventilated discs	Ventilated discs	Ventilated discs
	Rear	Solid discs	Solid discs	Solid discs

*with 16x6J ST   **with 16x6.5J AL   ***with 17”/18”   ****4WD

Engine Specification (for Japan: Mazda Measurement)  

Figures, specification included in this press information will vary depending on market.  Also, data are subject to change upon homologatio

Tokyo Motor Show 2007: Mazda Atenza gallery: 23 photos >>

Text and photos: Mazda/Newspress