Interesting article, all of this is in the public domain already however after 10 years of the ND it’s nice to see this retrospective and discussion of the decisions made along the way in creating the car.
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Thanks, interesting article. First time I’ve read about the ND from the designers and engineers perspective. It’s not easy to develop a car with universal appeal, so clearly both the 1.5 and 2.0 versions were needed to satisfy different performance requirements. I still think the 1.5 is the purist design, but horses for courses.
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Thank you for posting. A really interesting and informative article.
I do like the look of the silver development version.
I think some time perspective might aid it. Comparing a 2015 car it a 2024 car. Meaning, how ‘pure’ a 1.5L is now with i eloop, i stop and every other nanny is open to debate.
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All driven by legislation and has no bearing on the purity of the concept though.
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The ‘purity of concept’ is a nice esoteric, library book idea, but compared to the 1.5L at release, IMO, I’d say it’s less pure. Heavier too I’d expect.
I like the i-Start system myself and Mazda has even been clever with this, not using the starter motor as much to start the engine.
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Well given that neither i-Stop or i-Eloop make any discernable a difference to the driving experience (and I say this as someone who had an ND for 8 years with neither, and over a year with one that has both) I’d say it’s still pretty pure. Nannies have yet do anything except when I’ve been a complete ■■■.
I haven’t driven an ND with KPC though, my current car is a little too old for that.
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Hmm. Am I being stupid here? I think it’s not exactly green if it applies an inside rear brake while merely cornering quickly; surely slightly poorer mpg is not desirable.
Or is it’s effect on mpg so slight it cancels the equally slight advantage offered by iStop etc.
I prefer KISS, and we all know what that means: early NA is best.
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I think the impact of KPC on fuel economy is going to be negligible, especially if you’re going fast enough for it to kick in!
iStop and i-eLoop make very little difference to mpg in my experience, my previous ND1 returned very similar figures to my current ND2; I think it’s mostly done to get the emissions down for certification and tax purposes.
If early NA is best and KISS, why do you have an NC?
Back ache in NA, NB, ND, bliss in NC.
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Fair enough. I find the ND seat okay but I can see why some folks wouldn’t get on with the weird hammock structure (not to mention the lack of leg room, so glad I’m not tall. Mazda really should’ve put another 3" in to the ND wheel base for the cabin). I’ve not spent enough time in NA & NB to form an opinion on back ache (and never been in an NC!) but I thought there were quite a few aftermarket seat options on those?
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Thanks so much for sharing the link…fascinating read and makes me want to go and drive my little ND right now!
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Great article. Thank you for posting! 
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We have owned both an NC (2010 Miyako hard top, leather seats) and our current ND Homura with Recaro seats. Both cars have been taken on extended European road trips. I can honestly say that the Recaro seats are possibly the most supportive and comfortable car seats I have ever experienced from a driver perspective. I would add that I am only 5’8” tall and my wife is 5’2”. Perhaps someone over 6’ might find them a bit snug.
What restarts the engine instead, when you depress the clutch? I have noticed that when starting the engine using the start button, the engine revs initially but the iStop starts without the extra revs.
Like me! Not much over, but enough.
Swimmer’s shoulders can be too wide for an ND as well.
Ten to fifteen minutes only before backache in each of the four NDs I tried, and different types of seat in each (I think). So I’ve given up on the idea of an ND.
The Recaro’s were brilliant at first, and in any other slightly larger car I’d be very happy. But even they could not compensate for having to scrunch down to see out through the rain.
I loved the way all the NDs drove, but always had to stop after a short while to get out, walk about and stretch to ease my aching back before taking it back to the dealer. At Goodwood on our free go up the hill I was looking over the top of the screen because of the peculiar way the pre-production demonstrator ND was set up with extra electronics under all the carpets!
Compare that with my NC Niseko’s adjustable height leather seats and steering column where I could drive overnight from Holyhead to London with only a caffeine stop halfway, and in perfect comfort; no tiredness or aches or stiffness, and head not rubbing on the roof. The 25AE is almost as good, but I shall customise its seat back very slightly and then it will be perfect as well.
Mazda use combustion (fuel injection and spark) to restart the engine after I-Stop. The rev spike on initial start if just enhance the engine sound.
This is from Mazda’s technical guide “When the push start button is pressed and the engine completes combustion, the engine revs up suddenly to enhance the feeling of the engine start-up.”
Thank you for the information. I do wonder what the effect of a start/stop on starter motor longevity is. However, if the Mazda iStop system doesn’t employ the starter motor, presumably this is a good thing I would imagine.
Mazda do use the starter motor to assist the start but really only to ensure that the engine turns the right direction as I understand it. There is minimal load on it and besides, Mazda starter motors are pretty bulletproof.
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