Mazdaspeed 3 will adopt all-wheel drive for its next generation – Report

The latest report from Australia’s Drive discusses the new Mazdaspeed3 (aka Mazda3MPS) receiving an all-wheel drive arrangement.

The latest report from Australia’s Drive talks about the next-gen Mazdaspeed3 (aka Mazda3 MS) getting an all-wheel-drive arrangement.

This will apparently be Mazda’s strategy to fight the Volkswagen Golf VII R, and other hot models of this class like the Mercedes-Benz CLA 45AMG. Takeo Mariuchi, the car’s deputy programme manager, said that the Mazda3 is built on the same platform as CX-5 so it can be fitted with an all-wheel drive version. He explained to Drive that it is not difficult to install four-wheel drive systems.

Mazdaspeed 3 will adopt all-wheel drive for its next generation - Report

The Mazda3MPS used a 2.3-liter turbo engine with 263 horsepower. However, it was only sent to the front axle. This resulted in significant torque steer. Mazda engineers will likely add more power to the car if it gets all-wheel drive.

We heard rumors earlier this year about a December reveal, but this information has not been confirmed.