SKYACTIV: Meaning & Purpose

Vision

Delivering outstanding eco-friendly performance and fuel economy to every customer, without sacrificing driving pleasure.  Mazda defies convention again by evolving the internal combustion engine with the creation of SKYACTIV Technology.

SKYACTIV represents a clean sheet approach to the design of the automobile. Consequently, every aspect has been targeted for improvement. The three core areas targeted by SKYACTIV are:

- ENGINES
- TRANSMISSIONS
- VEHICLE STRUCTURE/CHASSIS

Zoom-Zoom demands that vehicles have light, stiff structures, capable chassis and responsive powertrains. All of this must be in balance in order to deliver the purest driving experience possible.  But Zoom-Zoom has more than one interpretation, it is scalable, shaping how every Mazda from the Mazda2 through the CX-9 is designed.

SKYACTIV is the next step in the ongoing evolution of Zoom-Zoom.

Highly-efficient engines developed in pursuit of ideal combustion

The development of automotive mechanisms for engines has a history going back more than 120 years and has involved the work of countless engineers. For this reason we tend to find it difficult to think that any further improvement in performance is possible. But the fact remains that 70 to 80 percent of the energy contained in fuel is lost within a vehicle's powertrain and fails to be transferred as motive power to its wheels.  Many of today's automakers are working on engine refinement by making engines smaller and various other methods. In commercializing the rotary engine and through other remarkable technical achievements, Mazda has a history of making the seemingly impossible possible. Now, we have taken on the challenge of pursuing ideal combustion.

SKYACTIV-G
A new-generation highly-efficient direct-injection gasoline engine that achieves the world's highest gasoline engine compression ratio of 13.0:1

Features of SKYACTIV-G

• The world's first gasoline engine for mass production vehicles to achieve a high compression ratio of 13.0:1
• Significantly improved engine efficiency thanks to the high compression combustion, resulting in 15 percent increases in fuel efficiency and torque
• Improved everyday driving thanks to increased torque at low-to mid-engine speeds
• A 4-2-1 exhaust system, cavity pistons, multi-hole injectors and other innovations enable the high compression ratio.
• Friction inside the engine is reduced significantly

Highly-efficient transmissions developed in pursuit of the ideal transmission

Vehicle transmissions are not only extremely important for improving fuel economy, they also exert a major influence on driving performance. The performance demands on automatic transmissions vary greatly depending on the market, and since there is not a single transmission in existence that satisfies all these varied demands, automakers deploy a variety of systems, each matched to a particular market. Employing the world's most commonly-used combination - a torque converter and stepped automatic transmission - as the basic structure, and by using technology that substantially reduces slip in starting devices, Mazda has brought together the benefits of each system and developed a highly efficient automatic transmission with a substantially direct drive feel that will be perfectly suited to conditions in numerous global markets.

SKYACTIV-DRIVE TRANSMISSION
A new-generation of highly-efficient automatic transmissions that achieve excellent torque transfer efficiency through a wider lock-up range and features the best attributes of all transmission types.

Features of SKYACTIV-DRIVE

• Combines all the advantages of conventional automatic transmissions, continuously variable transmissions, and dual Clutch transmissions.
• A dramatically widened lock-up range improves torque transfer efficiency and realizes a direct driving feel that is equivalent to a manual transmission.
• A 4-to-7 percent improvement in fuel economy compared to the current transmission.

SKYACTIV-MT
A new-generation of manual transmissions with a light shift feel, compact size and significantly reduced weight.

Features of SKYACTIV-MT

• A light and crisp shift feel like that of a sports car
• Compact size and reduced weight.
• Fuel economy improvement due to reduced internal friction

WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING

"...this small Japanese car company [continues] to spring one revolution after another upon the industry." Richard Russell, Halifax Chronicle Herald

"SKYACTIV is about fuel economy just as much as it is about performance."
Mazda in the News, April 15, 2011

"SKYACTIV-G is groundbreaking"
Kevin "Crash" Corrigan, auto123.com

Find Out More About What SKYACTIV Means on the Road