When you look to a busy road or car park these days, many vehicles tend to appear the same. For the past decade designers have been in pursuit of greater aerodynamic performance and ever-bolder creases. While many machine are distinctive, in isolation, brought together many share the same scowling 40 degree lines. The latest Mazda 3 broke with convention and chose a far more elegant design philosophy, some thing that has scored it the 2020 World Car Design of the Year.
Called Kodo – soul of motion, the core notion is to create a fluid look to the car’s surfaces. The Mazda 3’s river-pebble silhouette is detailed with taught bodywork that gives it an athleticism. While many car manufacturers primarily use CAD software to shape future models, Mazda still creates detailed clay models shaped by hand.
Mazda states: ‘the elegance and rigour of a minimalist, less-is-more aesthetic is inspired by the purest traditions of Japanese art and the beauty of space between objects.’
The Mazda 3 isn’t the only Kodo car to win this prestigious award in the past. In 2016 the Mazda MX-5 introduced a radical departure in design from its predecessors, a look that also achieved this accolade. Mazda’s entire range uses the same design language to achieve an aesthetic that is recognisably Mazda.
The new Mazda 3 was launched in 2019 and can be had as a hatchback or saloon. In total there are 27 variants for customers to choose from, including options that feature Mazda’s impressively efficient Spark Controlled Compression Ignition engines.
Sometimes Japanese design is seen as too simplistic, but in 2020 where almost every car wears an angry face, it’s clear that curves are coming back into automotive fashion.
Keyword: Elegant Mazda 3 crowned World Car Design of the Year