In recent years, as the popularity of SUVs (especially the smaller ones) increased, many importers have focussed more on variants with only 2WD. These are usually cheaper, and customers don’t really care about whether two or all four wheels are powered. They’re more interested in the high seating position and perhaps the ground clearance, as well as interior utility.
However, there are also those who feel that 4WD or All-Wheel Drive (AWD) should be present in SUVs, just like they were in earlier years. Never mind that they might not actually go off-road, the presence of AWD added a degree of stability and grip, especially on wet roads.
When Bermaz Auto introduced the Mazda CX-30 at the beginning of this year, it offered only FWD versions with either SKYACTIV petrol or turbodiesel engines. Now, the range will include an AWD variant which is priced at RM176,059 (Peninsular Malaysia price, without insurance) for those who must have all four wheels powered.
The price is RM12,000 more than the high grade CX-30 which has the same 2-litre SKYACTIV-G petrol engine. This is not surprising since the i-ACTIV AWD system, which is quite sophisticated, adds cost, apart from the fact that the CX-30 is imported from Japan as a CBU (completely built-up) model.
The features and specs are the same as the CX-30 High Grade and you have a choice of 8 exterior colours – Soul Red Crystal, Machine Gray, Jet Black, Deep Crystal Blue, Sonic Silver, Snowflake White Pearl, Titanium Flash and Polymetal Gray Metallic.
How Mazda i-ACTIV works
The AWD systems in today’s SUVs vary in sophistication and for Mazda’s i-ACTIV AWD system, the engineers redesigned the system’s hardware and software, taking a proactive approach to controlling drive to all four wheels,
A fully-autonomous AWD system, i-ACTIV AWD constantly monitors surface conditions in real-time, watching for tiny variations in wheel speed that a driver would never notice. Proactively controlling the distribution of torque, which can range from full front-drive through to full 4-wheel-drive, the system not only provides solid and predictable handling for all-road performance, it makes driving on poor road surfaces more efficient by all but eliminating wasteful tyre-slippage.
Using a wide range of sensors to ‘paint’ a highly accurate picture of the overall driving scene, including road conditions and the driver’s intentions, i-ACTIV continuously calculates and adjusts the amount of torque sent to the rear wheels.
The perfect amount of torque is calculated and transferred to the rear wheels instantaneously (as and when needed). This is done by the AWD coupling unit which sends the appropriate drive force to the rear wheels. The system minimizes torque to the rear wheels when on dry road surfaces with good traction. The result is secure take-off, acceleration, cornering and braking, without the tyres slipping in any direction.
The sensors monitor for rain by watching the wipers and the external temperature gauge. The system can also measure how slippery the road surface is by comparing steering torque with the amount of current running through the electric power steering and the gradient of any slope by the degree of acceleration. In addition, the system precisely measures the speed of all four wheels and detects warning signs that indicate the wheels may be in danger of slipping. Along with engine driving force (applied to the front wheels), this is used to understand the driving conditions.
The i-Activ AWD system also has an Off-road Traction Assist system. The system works by distributing the driving force to the tyres that are in contact with the road surface to maximize traction performance.
Additionally, a Torque Control System that allows a lag-free, near-instantaneous response. In order to help the rear-wheel drive unit respond more quickly, the Torque Control System transfers a very small amount of torque to the rear even in front-wheel drive mode. This is known as ‘stand-by torque’ and it helps the system make a smooth and instantaneous transition to AWD drive mode when the command is received to send torque to the rear wheels.
Proven SKYACTIV-G powertrain
As for the powertrain, this uses the proven SKYACTIV-G Direct Injection petrol engine. For the CX-30, the displacement is 1998 cc with a maximum output of 162 ps/213 Nm. Mazda engineers have been able to raise the compression ratio of 13:1 to enhance output without knocking issues even when using RON95 petrol.
Only a SKYACTIV-DRIVE automatic transmission is available but using paddle shifters, the driver can also manually select any of the 6 forward speeds if preferred. While the driver can get sportier performance with a SPORT mode, the AWD system operates entirely on its own with no need for driver involvement.
Extras for the base version
With the latest shipment of CX-30 2.0G version, Bermaz Auto has included a couple of new features – Mazda Advanced Keyless entry and Walk-Away Lock – for added convenience. Though priced at RM145,759 or RM18,300 less than the High Grade version, this version still has a very comprehensive list of equipment and features that justify the price. And as we noted during a test-drive, the CX-30 also has high quality in every aspect which gives a very premium image.
Visit www.mazda.com.my to know more about the CX-30 and other Mazda models in Malaysia.
