With the Mazda 3 you can choose from various versions of the 2.0.
Tuned basic 2.0 but more power measurable?
Bjorn Kegel comes from a Mazda family. The instigator was his grandfather, but father Kegel was also good at it. Bjorn is now standing on its own Mazda legs with this neat 3 from 2017. We will see how much we can get out of this four-cylinder.
The Mazda 3 is a fixture in the C segment. Over the years it has become an increasingly fun-driving hatchback. The Japanese are sailing their own course. You can see that in this generation. Where many manufacturers opt for engines with a modest capacity, Mazda simply spoons a four-cylinder 2-liter across the front. That offers perspective. Bjorn (23) has the tame variant of 120 hp. Bjorn’s first car was not a Mazda, but an Opel Corsa. “From 2005, nice thing, I happened to run into that.” The next car was of the right origin: a Mazda 323 sedan from 2010. “With a friend I participated in a tour with a Mazda club. There I found out that the hatchback of the 3 was much nicer, and smoother to see. It just wasn’t in my system yet,” explains Bjorn.
Mazda family: also once a Xedos 6
Here’s the thing: Dad Kegel was a big fan of sedans. There was a 626 in front of the door with a separate trunk, a premium trip to a Xedos 6 had been made in the family and the Mazda 6 was also parked in the street. Logical that Bjorn had lingered for a while. But after that tour he was over, and the search for a 3 with a large tailgate began. In September 2021 it hit the mark: for €17,950 Bjorn gave himself a neat blue Mazda 3, with 95,000 km of experience.
A tuned version of the SkyActiv-G 120
A colleague of Bjorn also has a thing for cars. He made it clear to him that there are two versions of that engine, a tame 120 hp and a smooth 165 hp. The raft seemed something to him. Bjorn researched on the internet what tuning entailed. He then offered his 3 to a company that promised him more power for $500. “They talked about about 175 horsepower, but you don’t get a measurement. I was back on the road within two hours.” Afterwards, Bjorn noticed a slightly brighter acceleration, but pulling the paving stones out of the road surface – no, not that either.
Then the roller bench test. Unfortunately, it is sobering. Constricted on the reels, Chef Ghisbert van Ginhoven’s 3 gets a kick out of it, but the Mazda doesn’t deliver the hoped-for value. Nice couple, output quite nice, yes, but not what owner Bjorn had hoped for. “I’ll just go back to the tuner”, he grumbles. Promise: he will let us know how that turns out. “There has to be more in it.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl