Mazda Thailand has just announced that the company has made the Mazda 3 facelift official, which was first unveiled in Japan back in July 2016.
Visually, the updated Mazda 3 receives a reshaped front grille, re-positioned Mazda logo and shorter chrome inserts. Both the headlights and foglights are now LED-illuminated, flanking a redesigned lower air dam.
Improvements continue inside, with the Mazda 3 facelift ditching the old hand brake, replacing it with a new electronic parking brake. That also meant that the centre console design is now new. Apart from that, the steering wheel on the Mazda 3 facelift has been redesigned. In fact, the door pockets are also larger than before.
Visual changes aside, Mazda has also mentioned that the updated 3 will now feature G-Vectoring Control (GVC), a system that improves cornering capabilities by managing torque that goes to each wheel in response to steering angle. Additionally, the Mazda 3 facelift receives Advanced Smart City Brake Support featuring a forward-sensing camera. There is also Traffic Sign Recognition System (TSR) and Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) fitted to the new Mazda 3.
The Thai market Mazda 3 continues to soldier on with the company’s 2.0-litre SkyActiv-G 165 hp petrol engine mated to a six-speed automatic. Thanks to the additional safety kit, Mazda Thailand says that price of the new 3 will increase. The entry-level Mazda 3 E will now cost THB 847,000 (RM106,686), an increase of THB 9,000. The range-topping Mazda 3 SP will see a new price of THB 1.119 million (RM14,0947), a THB 20,000 jump in price. A total of 5,000 units are expected to be sold for 2017, a 33% increase from 2016.
Autodesk VRED Design 2016 SR1-SP4 
