Mazda has offered an early glimpse at the styling direction of its next-generation 2 and 3 hatchbacks complete with its new Kodo design language.
Kodo, which means 'soul of motion' in Japanese, was first shown on the firm’s Shinari four-door coupe concept last month. Global design chief, Ikeo Maeda, said that the car "will lead to the next generation of Mazda design".
See the image grabs from the Mazda video
An official Mazda video has now been released showing how Kodo could be applied to the firm’s three-door hatchback models. The design language has been applied to the clay model in the video and a series of different colours are projected onto it.
Kodo is designed to replace the nature-influenced Nagare design language. Its key styling features include a prominent, gaping-mouth grille that does away with Nagare's 'smiling face', ultra-slim headlights and an Aston Martin-esque side vent just behind the front wheels.
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Re: Next-gen Mazda 3 previewed
I see they've kept the gaping mouth at the front but with those headlights it's much more of an evil grin now, ruined only by the single "buck tooth" in the middle. But I like it much better than the current face of the 3 and I really like the curves in front of the rear wheel and over the arch. To reference another thread, that sort of styling might be part of what makes a car "premium", although it's also true that the more stylish you look now the worse you look 10 years later.
Re: Next-gen Mazda 3 previewed
I don't think there's any kind of suggestion that this is an imminent model, just a styling exercise to indicate future direction. Must say I quite like it.
Re: Next-gen Mazda 3 previewed
I'd find it quite depressing personally to not have so much as a passing thought for the way a car looked, if I was considering purchasing one. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your approach- I just think it's a shame not to have at least some consideration of aesthetics.