Mazda's next-gen design language

[N7turbo]

Has appeared on two vehicles so far. What do you think of it?

Will add more photos as things develop.

 

[Antoine]

First of all...Great thread idea!

As for this design direction, I'm liking it so far...I think Mazda is really firing on all cylinders when it comes to head/taillight design (especially headlights). It seems they care to take details like that to the next level. To me it shows Mazda designers really appreciate refinement and elegance...Can't wait to see more of these next gen designs!

 

[N7turbo]

It looks like they have new sensors or cameras up front which they are designing around.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

First of all...Great thread idea!

As for this design direction, I'm liking it so far...I think Mazda is really firing on all cylinders when it comes to head/taillight design (especially headlights). It seems they care to take details like that to the next level. To me it shows Mazda designers really appreciate refinement and elegance...Can't wait to see more of these next gen designs!

I can respect this view-point. A lot of people are liking Mazda's move to being more of a "fancy" vehicle.

Personally I haven't cared much for that direction. Ironically I found the Gen 2 CX-5's I have driven more uncomfortable than my Gen 1 for as much "nicer" it looks.

As for the pics above, I agree that the headlights look pretty sleek and it almost looks like a popup light? Pretty cool. On the other hand I think the grill looks awful. The large painted red trim piece inside the grill seems kind of obnoxious to me. And on the second pic, the large amount of black space between the grill's bottom chrome piece and the painted part of the front bumper just doesn't do it for me.

 

[youri]

I can respect this view-point. A lot of people are liking Mazda's move to being more of a "fancy" vehicle.

Personally I haven't cared much for that direction. Ironically I found the Gen 2 CX-5's I have driven more uncomfortable than my Gen 1 for as much "nicer" it looks.

As for the pics above, I agree that the headlights look pretty sleek and it almost looks like a popup light? Pretty cool. On the other hand I think the grill looks awful. The large painted red trim piece inside the grill seems kind of obnoxious to me. And on the second pic, the large amount of black space between the grill's bottom chrome piece and the painted part of the front bumper just doesn't do it for me.

They are indeed pop up lights. You need to see the full vehicle to better appreciate it. A photo of the nose only is a bit misleading.

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[N7turbo]

On the other hand I think the grill looks awful. The large painted red trim piece inside the grill seems kind of obnoxious to me. And on the second pic, the large amount of black space between the grill's bottom chrome piece and the painted part of the front bumper just doesn't do it for me.

Like many things, it will probably grow on us. Look closely, there are cameras or sensors of some kind in there, so maybe they are trying their best to blend them in.

 

[GTEyes]

I like that it's something new. I find that EZ6 parking lights above the headlights look like the previous gen. Santa Fe.

I am on the fence on the rear of the EZ6. The details of the tail lights actually look like a mixture of pre-refresh CX5 (lines in the tail light) with Mazda3 (circles) but with some new flair.

But I think they nailed the look of the interior. It reminds me of my 2018 Mazda 6. With the new model interiors, I have found the feel isn't as good as the previous gen (current gen. CX5), touch points feel thin and cheaper. Hopefully that's not the intention as it discounts the premium-ness.

 

[sm1ke]

The EZ-6 sure is a looker. One thing I'm personally not a fan of is the trend of spelling out the brand name on the rear in place of the brand logo. I understand that it leans more into the luxury/premium aesthetic, but to me it kind of feels like a loss of character or something.

 

[GTEyes]

The EZ-6 sure is a looker. One thing I'm personally not a fan of is the trend of spelling out the brand name on the rear in place of the brand logo. I understand that it leans more into the luxury/premium aesthetic, but to me it kind of feels like a loss of character or something.

Yeah, Lexus spelling out their name instead of using the nice" L" is a big step backward in my opinion.

 

[Lazy2.5]

Mazda was literally one of the last manufacturers out there who focused on building simple, no-frills vehicles with a true drivers focused. A simple, well-built interior, all black to keep your focus on the roads, simple dials, hardly any unnecessary electronics, just chassis and drivetrain tuning in a lightweight package. The sort of vehicle all car enthusiasts say they want, but the masses wouldn't buy. They are losing their touch.

As for the new design language, its a unique and pretty styling language that does well to fit an inline-6 under that long hood. Just keep a base model without all the electronics and unnecessary weight!

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Like many things, it will probably grow on us. Look closely, there are cameras or sensors of some kind in there, so maybe they are trying their best to blend them in.

I'd be fine with a version of the car without all that.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

I like that it's something new. I find that EZ6 parking lights above the headlights look like the previous gen. Santa Fe.

I am on the fence on the rear of the EZ6. The details of the tail lights actually look like a mixture of pre-refresh CX5 (lines in the tail light) with Mazda3 (circles) but with some new flair.

View attachment 328848

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But I think they nailed the look of the interior. It reminds me of my 2018 Mazda 6. With the new model interiors, I have found the feel isn't as good as the previous gen (current gen. CX5), touch points feel thin and cheaper. Hopefully that's not the intention as it discounts the premium-ness.

View attachment 328847

Sad to see the ditch of physical dials for climate control to be honest. But I guess everyone is doing it.

 

[sm1ke]

Sad to see the ditch of physical dials for climate control to be honest. But I guess everyone is doing it.

I didn't catch that at first. Not a fan of that for sure. HVAC, windows/doors, and driver assistance features like radar cruise should all have physical controls. I really hope they don't put this part of the concept into future models.

 

[GTEyes]

I didn't catch that at first. Not a fan of that for sure. HVAC, windows/doors, and driver assistance features like radar cruise should all have physical controls. I really hope they don't put this part of the concept into future models.

Same. Do not like that setup in my Edge either.

 

[N7turbo]

I didn't catch that at first. Not a fan of that for sure. HVAC, windows/doors, and driver assistance features like radar cruise should all have physical controls. I really hope they don't put this part of the concept into future models.

Relevant!

 

[N7turbo]

The EZ-6 sure is a looker. One thing I'm personally not a fan of is the trend of spelling out the brand name on the rear in place of the brand logo. I understand that it leans more into the luxury/premium aesthetic, but to me it kind of feels like a loss of character or something.

I was looking at this the other day and one thing that stood out to me was how nearly every brand has their name as part of the logo.

If you quizzed random people on the street on the Mazda logo here, would they know what brand that is?

Reddit - Dive into anything

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[youri]

I dont think so. On top of my head here are some that don’t have their name on the logo:
Honda
Toyota
Hyundai
Mazda
Subaru
Chevrolet
Mitsubishi
Volkswagen
Audi
Mercedes
Infinity
Lexus

Granted the recent trend for some of these is to write the brand name in capital letter on the back, but i think it is just a design trend for most of them. Like the ford Escape has “ESCAPE” in capital letter in the back. That is not even just the brand anymore it is even the model name that’s in capital letter.