Mazda has finally announced peak outputs and claimed fuel consumption of its new “spark-plug-controlled compression ignition” Skyactiv-X engine, which will debut in the latest Mazda3 hatchback and sedan.

The automaker claims the new engine is the world’s first commercial petrol unit to combine the spark ignition of a petrol engine with the compression ignition of a diesel.

The Japanese firm has confirmed the European-spec Mazda3 fitted with the 2,0-litre, four-cylinder Skyactiv-X powerplant will offer 132 kW at 6 000 r/min and 224 N.m at 3 000 r/min.

Claimed fuel consumption (on the latest WLTP cycle), meanwhile, comes in at 5,4 L/100 km with CO2 emissions of 96 g/km, depending on transmission and wheel size.

In Europe, there will be a choice of a six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic transmission, along with either front- or all-wheel drive.

The Skyactiv-X engine is equipped with a 24 V mild-hybrid system that Mazda says improves fuel consumption and lowers emissions by “recycling energy recovered during deceleration” to power an electric motor that assists the engine.

The new Mazda3 is scheduled to arrive in South Africa at some point in the third quarter of 2019, although it's not yet clear whether the Skyactiv-X engine will form part of the local line-up.

Original article from Car