1996 Mazda Mpv 3.0l 4wd Passenger Van 4 Door on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Wagon

This was sort of a quirky surprise drive opportunity. I've been over here in Italy for a while now, and Mazda Italia contacted me seemingly out of the blue to drive test some version of the Mazda6 with a diesel engine. Supremo. The Mazda6 is a sexy everyday beast and I have been digging their SkyActiv-D engines for a while now. Very spirited units.
My contact phones me the day of, and says he can come by with the car, and then we'll head off to some sort of special spot for dynamics testing and technical conversation. Nice deal, say I.
My guy Ernesto pulls up outside of the house and - lo and behold - it's a dang Mazda6 station wagon with the very most recent 2.2-liter SkyActiv-D motor good for 148 horsepower and healthy 280 pound-feet of torque. The wee four-banger with 14.0:1 compression ratio hauls this 3,260-pound wagon around with the best of them. A decent 0-to-60-mph time of 8.7 seconds, too.

Race-inspired Mazda 3, CX-5, and Miata look great with white letter tires

At the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon, a customization show that is kind of like SEMA but definitely not the same, manufacturers promote what is available and explore what's possible. Mazda brought a variety of vehicles to the show, but none more intriguing than the Mazda Motorsports Miata, Mazda3, and CX-5 concepts. The trio has race-inspired graphics, as well as a slew of visual and mechanical changes. The three vehicles have a core pack of changes, then each one has its own signature pieces to create some differentiation. The roadster, hatchback, and crossover have height-adjustable suspensions, upgraded brakes, MazdaSpeed tow hooks, circular number body decals, new wheel nuts, Alcantara steering wheels and shift knobs, special heel plates, MazdaSpeed six-point harnesses, and MazdaSpeed sport seats. The Miata and 3 have Fujitsubo stainless mufflers, while the CX-5 has a slightly different exhaust. The Roadster appropriately has the most involved individual upgrades. It has a body kit with front, side, and rear alterations, and it sits on RAYS ZE40 17x7.5J wheels wrapped in Potenza RE-71R 215 / 45R17 rubber with beautiful white lettering. It also has a Cusco roll bar, a MazdaSpeed rear spoiler, a MazdaSpeed strut bar, and a MazdaSpeed lower arm bar. Inside, the door trim, decoration panel, shift boot, center console lid, and parking brake boot are draped in Alcantara. An aluminum pedal set is adds a final touch of polish. On the Mazda 3 hatchback, the aero kit is specifically noted to be "Signature Style." Mazda also upgraded the strut bar and lower arm bar, and threw on Rays ZE40 18x7.5J wheels in Potenza RE-71R 215 / 45R18 tires, also with white lettering. Black mirror caps, a scuff plate, and a sports pedal set complete the concept. On the CX-5, Mazda made it sportier but also added some crossover-focused features, too.. It has Mazda-styled aero, an Auto Exe sports muffler Rays G25EDGE F1 20x8.5J wheels, Bridgestone ALENZA001 255 / 45R20 tires with white lettering, and a new wheel nut set. It also has a scuff plate, premium floor mats, a premium luggage mat, and sports pedals. For now, these are only concepts, with no word as to whether anything similar could hit Japanese markets, let alone U.S. shores. A Mazda engineer previously said a MazdaSpeed3 wouldn't happen, but the company is reportedly considering a 3 with a 250-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

2020 Hyundai Palisade vs. Ascent, Pilot, Highlander and CX-9: How they compare on paper

We've finally had our first drive of the 2020 Hyundai Palisade and found it to be well-equipped for sales success. It nails the formula that some of the most successful three-row crossovers have, the aforementioned seating capacity, high driving position, all-wheel-drive availability and a V6 engine. Of course, it also offers a unique and menacing-looking exterior that ought to stand out in the parking lot. To dig deeper into how it compares to other three-row family crossovers, we've fired up the old Autoblog Comparo Generator 3000 (™) and lined the all-new 2020 Palisade up against the 2019 Subaru Ascent, 2019 Honda Pilot, 2019 Toyota Highlander and 2019 Mazda CX-9. Besides being two of last year's best-selling three-row SUVs, the Pilot and Highlander are also the closest in general concept to the new Palisade, while the Ascent and CX-9 also offer a comparable turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain. The CX-9 is also one of our favorites in the segment, and the Ascent is one of the newest entrants on the scene. There are of course numerous other worthy contenders, including the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, Volkswagen Atlas, Nissan Pathfinder, Hyundai Santa Fe and the best-selling Ford Explorer, so if you want to see their specs, check out the Autoblog compare tool. Performance and fuel economy The Subaru, as is so often the case, is the oddball. It has a 2.4-liter turbocharged horizontally opposed four-cylinder (aka a flat-four or a boxer-four) that produces a comparatively modest horsepower rating, but a greater amount of torque. That's typical for turbocharged engines such as Mazda CX-9's turbo inline-four that produces 250 horsepower on premium fuel (227 hp on 87 octane) and 310 lb-ft of torque (the VW Atlas also offers a base turbo-four). The Hyundai, Honda and Toyota, meanwhile, go about it the old-fashioned way, with naturally aspirated V6 engines displacing 3.8 liters in the Hyundai, and 3.5 liters with the two Japanese crossovers. The Toyota and Hyundai lead the pack in horsepower, with the Toyota taking top honors by just 4 horses. The Honda weighs less, though, so their acceleration should be comparable. The Subaru actually accelerates on par with its V6-powered competitors, probably due in part to its continuously variable transmission. The fuel economy trophy goes to the Ascent.