Last week Mazda revealed the refreshed 2018 Mazda6 sedan, which now gets the same turbocharged 2.5L four-cylinder as the CX-9 crossover. With the arrival of the new engine, some have wondered if Mazda could add its all-wheel drive system to the Mazda6 as well, but according to Mazda an all-wheel drive system won’t fit in the current Mazda6.
Masahiro Moro, Mazda’s North American president and CEO revealed to Australia’s CarAdvice, “I think we are not able to combine four-wheel drive and the 2.5-liter turbo. We have a layout issue with the sedans. That’s why a four-wheel drive isn’t deployed on the Mazda 3 and 6 so far.”
The clue here is “so far” since Mazda is looking at the possibility of adding all-wheel drive to the next-generation Mazda3 and Mazda6.
“But there is a huge demand, at least what I know is that in the east coast of the USA, 80 or 90 percent of premium sedans are sold with all-wheel drive,” Moro stated. “Four-wheel drive becomes a premium cue for U.S. consumers, and obviously, I have asked our R&D department to think about how we can accommodate four-wheel drive capability in the future.”
Source: CarAdvice
