and this: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/10q3/mazda_sky-g_and_sky-d_engines-car_newsThe diesel story is the best part of it all. The Sky-D engine will come to Canada and the U.S. in 2012, boasting the same level of fuel economy as mild hybrids, but at considerably less cost. Hybrids are surely coming, but first Mazda wants new engines and ever-lighter cars to be the focus of a smart and economical “green†push. Eventually, and certainly with Toyota's help, Mazda will introduce some sort of hybrid powertrain. Then EVs.
“We will be ready,†said Yamanouchi in New York. “We have electric vehicle research under way at the moment – and remember Mazda launched its first EV 40 years ago.â€
But it's the new Sky-G and Sky-D engines that have everyone at Mazda so excited. They think that super-refined, highly advanced internal combustion engines will give Mazda a clear edge over all its rivals – from Toyota to Honda to even BMW.
We know this: the first Mazda diesel coming to North America will be a mid-sized vehicle. Yamanouchi, the CEO, has said that, though he has not said whether it would be the redesigned Mazda6 or a crossover such as the CX-9.
Robert Davis, Mazda's North American R&D expert, says Mazda's proprietary catalyst system does not require urea systems to meet emissions standards. The 2.2-litre Sky-D is expected to boost fuel economy by 20 per cent, while increasing horsepower and torque by some 50 per cent. The direct-injection 2.0 Sky-G, for the record, will initially boost fuel economy by 15 per cent. It will be the core gasoline powertrain in future Mazdas.
“Out technology is not about jumping directly to electric vehicles,†said Kanai, adding, “We believe technology should be affordable for all customers.â€
On the diesel side, Mazda has pulled off an even more impressive feat. The 2.2-liter Sky-D (again, other sizes are likely to follow) boosts fuel economy by 20 percent over the current, 2.2-liter diesel and meets Euro 6 and U.S. Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards without using any NOx aftertreatment such as urea injection. You catch that? It meets U.S. emissions standards. That’s because Mazda is planning to bring this engine here sometime in 2012.
Other new features are a sequential twin-turbo arrangement—one small and one large—which outperforms the old single, variable-geometry unit; 12-hole piezo injectors that disperse fuel into the cylinder in exacting quantities during two to eight separate injections per cycle at pressures up to 2900 psi; and an exhaust manifold that’s completely integrated into the block. Here, too, fuel-economy claims are impressive: 31 to 33 mpg city and 43 mpg highway for a Mazda 6 with the 2.2-liter diesel. Does an over-40-mpg family sedan sound good to anyone else?
Output beats the gas engine in both regards: 173 hp at 4500 rpm and 310 lb-ft at 2000. Redline has been raised to a screaming (for a diesel) 5200 rpm, versus its predecessor’s 4500. And it felt notably quicker than the gas-engined car, pulling strongly throughout the rev range and exhibiting none of the run-out-of-breath feeling that afflicts some diesels as they wind toward the upper end of the tach. It’s exceptionally responsive, and quiet, too, with very little clatter, even when accelerating from engine speeds below 1500 rpm.
Volkswagen's monopoly on affordable diesel passenger cars in the U.S. is about to end. Starting in late 2011, American buyers will have at least one fuel-efficient diesel to choose from at the Mazda dealer. While the Mazda team refuses to officially acknowledge that the 6 sedan is the diesel engine's destination, the company has previously announced the engine will first appear in a "next-generation midsize sedan." Furthermore, we're driving Technical Prove-out Vehicles, or TPVs, that are next-generation Mazda 6 sedans, clothed in the current car's sheet metal. The 6, though, might not be the only diesel Mazda we receive. The CX-7 crossover seems a natural candidate and U.S. executives seriously want a Mazda 3 with a diesel, but that compact car presents a pricing challenge.
