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2021 Mazda3 Turbo on wish list for Australia, but still not confirmed

Australia has renewed its calls for a turbocharged Mazda3, as a hot hatch version is about to go on sale in the US.


Mazda Australia is lobbying Japan to introduce a turbocharged hot hatch version of the new Mazda 3.

The Japanese car maker has been without a hot hatch locally since the Mazda 3 MPS was dropped after two generations were sold from 2006 to 2012.

The previous Mazda3 MPS models were powered by a turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder (190kW/380Nm) matched to a six-speed manual sending power to the front wheels.

Hope has been revived for a new generation Mazda3 MPS based on the latest model after the US confirmed a hot hatch version was imminent.

In North America, the new Mazda 3 will soon be available with turbocharged all-wheel-drive power – and Mazda Australia is keen to introduce it here if it becomes available in right-hand-drive.

“We’ve asked for it in the past and we’d be very interested in it if it were to become available,” said Mazda Australia marketing boss Alastair Doak.

The turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder used in top-end versions of the Mazda CX-5 and all models in the CX-9 range will be fitted to a high-performance Mazda 3 to be sold in the US and Canada.

The output of the US model – 186kW/434Nm – would put the 3 in the power and torque band of the current crop of hot hatches.

By comparison, the Volkswagen Golf GTI has an output of 180kW/370Nm versus the Ford Focus ST (206kW/420Nm), Hyundai i30N (202kW/353Nm), Renault Megane RS (221kW/420Nm) and Honda Civic Type R (228kW/400Nm).

In the US, the turbo 2.5-litre is matched to all-wheel drive; it is believed Australia would adopt all-wheel drive if the model were to be introduced here, to streamline production.

However, at this stage, the car is not confirmed for markets other than the US and Canada, which are left-hand-drive. CarAdvice understands a business case is yet to be made for a right-hand-drive version, but Mazda Australia remains hopeful.

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Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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