All New Mazda Atenza Released (JA)

Press Release

Design: Sporty and dignified

The design theme for the all-new Mazda Atenza is “Bold & Exquisite.” The design is bold and adventurous, with an exquisite elegance based on Japanese aesthetics. Maintaining Mazda’s traditional athletic look, but with augmented driving dynamism, the new Atenza’s design leaves a stylish impression of refined sophistication and dignified class.

Exterior

The new Atenza Sedan has an arched roof with distinctive, elegant lines. The flowing side silhouette adds a spirited quality to the Sport model, while the Sport Wagon attracts the eye with its stretched rear section. All three body styles have their own distinctive attractions.

The outgoing model’s athletic impression rendered by its round, prominent wheel arches and short overhang is preserved, while tension and dynamism are expressed in the all-new Atenza through the smooth, curved surfaces of the fenders contrasted with the sharper edges that define the bonnet.

The all-new Atenza’s new front end design features headlights with a subtle, modern flair, a larger five-point grille, expanded lower air intakes and vertical-type fog lamps.

Viewed from the side, the flowing roofline and bodyline stimulate a sense of flow toward the rear. The large rear combination brake lights wrap the rear body corner edges for a premium feel.

Six colors are newly available, including Lilac Silver Metallic, which was developed exclusively for the all-new Atenza. A total of 11 body colors are available for customers to choose from.

Interior

A sportier, highly sophisticated interior design was sought. To communicate sportiness, Mazda designers focused on a cockpit-like driving environment predicated on driving pleasure and build quality, to provide a driving position with better visibility, operability and ample legroom.

The dashboard and door trim design combines gentle surfaces and mechanical sharpness. From the passengers’ seats the arch-shaped dashboard appears to be floating.

Improved cabin quality comes from the combination of newly developed grains on the plastic surfaces, the use of high-quality materials and a consistent glossy finish on the interior furnishings.

Calm White genuine leather seats are matched with the ‘Crystal’ glossy instrument panel garnish on the 25EX and 20E model grades. For the 25EX grade, a combination of black genuine leather seats with the ‘Zebra’ glossy instrument panel garnish is also available as an option.

A fusion of sporty black half-leather seats with the ‘Line’ decorative instrument panel garnish (based on the image of a shooting-star) is available for the 25Z grade. Sporty black fabric seats with a wavy pattern are also available with the ‘Line’ garnish for the 25S grade. Modern black fabric seats with sharp patterns were combined with dark gray decorative paneling for the interior of the 25C, 25F, 20C and 20F grades.

Dynamic performance: Advanced high quality driving performance that allows the driver to enjoy a feeling of oneness with the vehicle

Dynamic performance, steering, brakes and handling were developed to ensure the all-new Atenza responds to the driver’s intentions with linear precision. The ride quality and quietness were also significantly improved over the previous model, for a heightened level of comfort and feeling of security.

Powertrains

The all-new Atenza is equipped with Mazda’s recently developed MZR 2.5-liter engine, a step up from the previous model’s 2.3-liter version. By increasing torque at all engine speeds, linear acceleration and precise response were achieved. With engine emissions cleaner than ever before and the recommended fuel changed to regular gasoline - previously, premium gasoline was the designated fuel for all the 2.3-liter models - the new Atenza is more environmentally-friendly and cheaper to run. The highly acclaimed MZR 2.0-liter engine is also available.

Electrically controlled five-speed and six-speed automatic (Activematic) transmissions are fitted with the Active Adaptive Shift (AAS) system that is also featured on the Mazda RX-8. This setup delivers a linear and agile ride by selecting the optimal gear for the particular driving condition. An advanced six-speed manual transmission is equipped on the 25Z and 25S grades of the Atenza Sport and Sport Wagon.

Mazda’s electrically-controlled Active Torque Split All-Wheel-Drive system is equipped on the four-wheel-drive models. Torque transfer is optimized for the front and rear axle in accordance with changing road surfaces and driving conditions.

Chassis/body

The shapes of the door mirrors, front bumper corners, rear combination lights and undercover were optimized for improved aerodynamics. On the FWD grades with the 2.5-liter engine, a horseshoe-shaped deflector is fitted to control the air flow under the floor. The changes resulted in top-class Cd values (0.27 for the Sedan and Sport and 0.28 for the Sport Wagon).

The front high-mount double wishbone and rear E-type multi-link suspension arrangements produce a secure driving feel with outstanding straight-line stability and responsiveness in all driving conditions.

Rack drive power steering is adopted for the FWD models and delivers optimal assistance at all speeds.

The use of high tensile steel was expanded to reduce the vehicle’s bodyweight in order to improve driving dynamics and fuel economy. Flexural rigidity was improved by about 45 percent and torsional rigidity by approximately 30 percent (in all Sport grades).

Quietness

By using a dual mass damper pulley and flexible flywheel design (for the six-speed MT), the engine noise when accelerating was significantly improved (for all the 2.5-liter models).

The designs of the center floor, suspension and door seals were improved to enhance drivability and greatly reduce road noise.

Wind noise was reduced by optimizing the shapes of the A-pillars and door mirrors and increasing the door rigidity to improve sealing.

Equipment: New functionality for enhanced comfort and feeling of security

From daily journeys to high speed touring, new features and functionality support comfortable and leisurely driving and assure a “further evolution of Zoom-Zoom.”

The Cross Functional-Network (CF-Net) system is a newly installed feature. Switches on the steering wheel enable control of all systems, such as audio, air conditioning and the trip computer. A center display showing related information is located in the upper instrument panel to help reduce driver eye movement away from the road. The system is easy to understand and operate because the display structure was intuitively aligned with the switch layout for enhanced user-friendliness.

A fully automatic air conditioner with a pollen filter is equipped in the all-new Mazda Atenza. It features improved cooling/heating capacity, air volume and quietness. Temperature can be independently adjusted from the driver’s seat and front passenger’s seat.

The Bose® sound system with eight speakers was exclusively developed for the Atenza. It delivers clear and dynamic sound to all occupants in the cabin. It is equipped with Bose’s original driving noise compensation system, AudioPilot.TM (Available for all grades except the 20F and 25C as a factory-installed set option.)

The 40GB HDD satellite navigation system with a 7-inch display enhances user-friendliness with its speech recognition feature. It includes a Bluetooth® hands-free system that can be controlled by voice commands or switches embedded in the steering wheel. It is compatible with Mazda’s G-BOOK Alpha system (available as factory-installed set option on all models).

The driver can start and stop the engine by pushing a button. This feature can be combined with Mazda’s advanced keyless entry system for the 25EX, 25Z and 25S grades as a factory-installed set option.

A unique illumination feature helps create a comfortable cabin space. When the driver’s door is closed, a line of lights moves from the bottom to the top of the center panel. Whenever the audio controls are used, soft blue LEDs embedded behind the switches light up in response.