Mazda alive at Frankfurt Motor Show

The Mazda Sassau

Tuesday,  September 27, 2005

Mazda presented an exciting Zoom-Zoom design concept at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this month with the world premiere of the Mazda SASSOU (‘sa-so’) – a small, lightweight, three-door hatchback powered by a turbocharged, three-cylinder, 1.0-litre MZR DISI (Direct Injection Spark Ignition) gasoline engine. The Mazda Sassou design concept indicates a possible direction Mazda might take for a future B-segment vehicle.

Sassou is joined by the exciting Mazda MX-Crossport concept, which is making its European motor show premiere. Also on stage is the new facelift version of the Mazda2 and two all-new vehicles – the third-generation Mazda MX-5 roadster and the high-performance flagship of the Mazda6 line up, Mazda6 MPS, as well as the recently launched Mazda6 upgrade and Mazda5 Compact-Multi Activity Vehicle.

Mazda Sassou – Mazda Alive

Conceived and designed at Mazda’s European R & D centre in Oberursel, near Frankfurt, Mazda Sassou is a lightweight, three-door hatchback that provides young, first-time buyers with a vehicle that makes urban driving fun, highly practical and economical.

The exterior design evolves Zoom-Zoom design language to communicate the dynamic potential Mazda design is known for, and mixes this with lightness and surprising hidden features never seen on a Mazda concept before.

The Mazda Sassou design concept is based in part on the “Shoji” principle. Shoji screens are thin Japanese doors that partially hide what is behind them. Opening them for the first time can reveal something surprising, which is also true of a first encounter with Mazda Sassou.

For instance, an ingenious use of translucent plastic hides the front and rear lamps, which only become visible once the car is unlocked, with light pulsing around the exterior light graphics in a way that makes the car seem to come alive.

The Shoji principle is carried over into Mazda Sassou’s interior, an experience that begins when opening the door. The concept’s interior systems are conceived to be used with a universal serial bus (USB) stick key that functions in place of a traditional key and includes a remote central locking function.

Using this as an interface, the driver can operate all the important functions through a screen in the centre stack. When a function is selected, light circuits illuminate a path to the selected feature, enhancing the Mazda Alive aspect of the concept even further.

Mazda MX-Crossport – Advanced Frontier Design

Frankfurt also saw the European premiere of the Mazda MX-Crossport, an exciting crossover concept that combines sports car styling motifs from the Mazda RX-8 with the more practical packaging of a Sport-Utility Vehicle (SUV) – taking Zoom-Zoom to an “advanced frontier” where Mazda Motor Corporation has never before ventured.

Mazda MX-Crossport has a low roofline compared to traditional small SUV-type vehicles and has an aggressive off-road look. Its sporty lower grille opening and powerful front bumper are similar to that of the Mazda RX-8 and achieve a unique balance between the evolutionary nature of the concept and Mazda’s recent sports car tradition.

The interior is surprisingly roomy with a “floating” seat construction, with each seat mounted to a “monorail” system in the floor, which allows slide adjustment fore and aft. Mazda MX-Crossport also features an advanced information and entertainment system, including a separate screen for the front passenger that shows four different views of the driving experience using five cameras.

Mazda2 Facelift – Enhanced Sub-Compact Value

Mazda also presented a refreshed version of its sub-compact star, Mazda2, at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Its bold and sophisticated exterior design with the Zoom-Zoom face is now enhanced with new colours, wheels, lights and fog lights. On the inside, Mazda2 is now more comfortable and convenient with two new colours, new seat and trim fabrics, and a new audio system with CD player also available.

The car is now safer and more fun to drive, with dynamic stability control (DSC) now available for all engines with manual transmission. ABS, electronic brake force distribution and brake assist are now standard in all EU countries.

Mazda MX-5 – Evolution of an Icon

Frankfurt also saw the presentation of the third-generation Mazda MX-5, which retains the same vehicle concept that has made it so popular around the world – affordable, lightweight, compact and perfectly balanced with front midship engine and rear-wheel drive.

Within these parameters, the new Mazda MX-5 delivers an even lower centre of gravity than its predecessor for even more instantaneous handling response. It is also longer, wider and higher, with more room on the inside, and it is safer.

Despite these upgrades, vehicle weight has remained nearly the same, which ensures the same compact, open-top Zoom-Zoom driving fun the roadster has always been known for. The third-generation Mazda MX-5 will continue the tradition that made it the best-selling roadster of all time in an exciting, fun-to-drive vehicle evolved for the 21st-Century.

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