2019 Mazda3 To Offer AWD Option In The United States

When we saw the official photos of the all-new 2019 Mazda3 yesterday, there was one image in particular that intrigued us — and our readers.

In it, Mazda showed the i-Activ AWD system but the press release didn’t mention anything about it being available in the United States. So we contacted Mazda USA asking whether AWD will be on the menu for U.S. buyers.

The answer came from Drew Cary, Senior Manager, Brand Communications who plainly told Carscoops via e-mail: “Yep! AWD will be an option.” For now, no further details are available but that’s all we needed to hear.

That’s obviously great news for Mazda enthusiasts and for fans of AWD compact models, especially since the Japanese automaker never offered an AWD Mazda3 in the United States. It did, however, offer an all-wheel-drive system on the Japanese market model, the Axela.

According to Mazda’s press release from yesterday, the i-Activ AWD system adds “four-wheel vertical load” detection and works in harmony with G-Vectoring Control Plus (GVC Plus) to control torque distribution between the front and rear wheels.

As a result, “it is fully capable of responding faithfully to the driver’s intentions, regardless of the driving scene,” reads the press release. The updated i-Activ AWD system is also said to reduce overall mechanical loss by approximately 60 percent over the previous model. Consequently, fuel efficiency stands to gain.

As for the G-Vectoring Control Plus (GVC Plus) system, it adds direct yaw moment control via the brakes, enabling the car to better handle emergency avoidance maneuvers. Additionally, it offers “more confidence-inspiring controllability in various situations, including lane changes at high speeds and driving on slippery roads.”