Mazda Still Can't Offer A 4WD 3 or 6, But It's Officially Coming

Mazda has recently given America half of what it wants with a more powerful engine in the Mazda6, but it looks like that’s where the good news stops, because it looks like the new motor won’t work with four-wheel drive.

On the other hand, it might arrive with the next all-new ranges in a few years. Demand on the American East Coast is massive and Mazda feels like it’s missing out on more than a few sales. The arrival of powerful, four-wheel drive saloons looks to be a matter of time.

The company sees plenty of demand across the US for all-wheel driven 6s – and 3s as well – but has so far been unable to deliver it because of packaging issues. At the Los Angeles Motor Show, the big dog at Mazda North America Operations gave some interesting insight.

President and CEO Masahiro Moro told CarAdvice:

“I think we are not able to combine four-wheel drive and the 2.5-litre turbo. We have a layout issue with the sedans, that’s why a four-wheel drive isn’t deployed on the Mazda 3 and 6 so far.”

He continued:

“But there is a huge demand, at least what I know is that in the east coast of the USA, 80 or 90 per cent of premium sedans are sold with all-wheel drive.

“Four-wheel drive becomes a premium queue for US consumers and obviously I have asked our R&D department to think about how we can accommodate four-wheel drive capability in the future.”