Downsizing and turbocharging in small engines make no sense for Mazda

“Downsizing” is the magic word that many manufacturers have pulled out of their hat in recent months to justify displacements that hold down consumption and emission levels. But none of this seems to find a practical sense for Mazda. According to the vice president of brand development, Robert Davis, downsizing makes no sense for Mazda.

I think Davis has put into his mouth some things we had thought before, but that nobody has dared to say. Specifically, something like a three-cylinder TwinAir engine fits very well in a Fiat 500 , but that Porsche is thinking about a four-cylinder Boxer for the 911 already goes a little beyond what we should consider politically correct from the point of view of a car enthusiast, of course.

While Mazda uses turbo on some models such as the CX-7 or CX-9, three- or two-cylinder turbo engines will never be used by the brand:

When you take a vehicle like the CX-9, it has room for a turbocharged four-cylinder. But a one-litre three-cylinder turbo doesn’t seem to me to make much sense.

Instead of putting a turbo on small engines, Davies believes that it makes more sense to fit the right engine to the vehicle it is going to power. Furthermore, turbos are more complex and need an intercooler, creating another space problem under the bonnet, in addition to the drag of the turbo itself on the engine.

And if anyone was expecting something new in terms of engines between Mazda and Ford, as a result of the Americans getting rid of some of their shares in Mazda, there’s no point in getting your hopes up, since Davis said that the collaboration will be on anything but engines. Definitely, Mazda will not want to embark on an EcoBoost, Japanese style.