The Mazda

Mazda

is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...

 AZ-Wagon was a tiny station wagon

Station wagon

A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...

 based on the Suzuki Wagon R

Suzuki Wagon R

The Suzuki Wagon R is a kei car first introduced in Japan in 1993, and is still in production by Suzuki. The R stands for Recreation. It is one of the first cars to use the "tall wagon or tall boy" design in which the car is designed to be unusually tall with a short bonnet and almost vertical...

. The AZ is a reference to Mazda's Autozam

Autozam

In the late 1980s, Mazda diversified in the Japan market with the launch of three new marques. The company created Autozam, Eunos, and Efini, in addition to the Mazda and Ford brands already marketed there. This experiment was ended in the mid-1990s....

 minicar marque. There are in total four generations up to 2008. The first generation of AZ-Wagon was introduced in Japan in 1994 as the Autozam Wagon.

The first generation of AZ-Wagon used the same 3-cylinder 657 cc engine as the Mazda Carol

Mazda Carol

The Mazda Carol is a name used by Mazda for its kei cars from 1962 until 1970. It was revived again with Mazda's 1989 reentry into the Kei car class.-Carol :...

, and the turbo was optional as was all-wheel drive. The new 658 cc DOHC or SOHC engine replaced the old SOHC 657 cc in 1995. The design was refreshed in 2001.