Mazda 3 HatchBack Will Be Launch In Malaysia Soon

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Here are some updates on the Mazda 3 CKD. We were previously told by a Bermaz source that the locally- 

assembled C-segment offering will be debuting in March, but that has been delayed slightly to April/May this year. It’s not just the sedan that will roll off the line at Kulim, Kedah, but the hatchback version too.

Here’s how the range will look like. The sedan, launched in March 2014 as a CBU offering, will be offered in both “mid-spec” and “high-spec”, with estimated pricing of RM105k and RM120k, respectively. The five-door hatch will come in a single spec with equipment levels that are in between the sedan’s mid and high specs, and is expected to sell for RM120k.

Equipment wise, the mid-spec sedan will have 16-inch alloy wheels, halogen headlamps and fabric seats. If that’s not what you have in mind, the high-spec sedan should satisfy – it’s specced like the CBU Japan car (18-inch rims, bi-xenon projectors), but with added leather seats, powered seat, auto lights and wipers, i-Activsense, head up display and reverse camera, among other things.

The hatch will share the high-spec sedan’s 18-inch wheels, xenons, shift paddles and reverse camera, but the seats are fabric and there’s no powered seat and i-Activsense. Keyless entry with push start button should be standard on all CKD 3s.

In the safety department, expect six airbags (front, side, curtain) and Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) across the board. The Mazda 3 is powered by a 2.0 SkyActiv-G engine with 162 hp and 210 Nm, paired to an in-house six-speed automatic gearbox.

The RM105k entry price is attention grabbing, and the RM120k high-spec sedan appears to be very good value next to the RM139k CBU car, and with added kit, too. The hatchback is a welcome addition for the more sporty-minded; and as we saw from the Mazda 3 MPS renderings and dressed-up Bangkok 2014 showcar, it doesn’t take much to make it look like a hot hatch.