Mazda Étude
Encyclopedia
The Mazda Étude was originally a luxurious three door hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...

 coupé version of the BF (fifth generation) Mazda Familia
Mazda Familia
Mazda's automotive plans for the early sixties consisted of growing alongside the Japanese economy. To achieve this goal, they began by building an extremely cheap Kei car, the R360 in 1960, planning on introducing gradually larger and pricier cars as the Japanese customers became able to afford them...

/323, only ever marketed in Japan. The name was also later used in South Africa for the seventh generation Mazda Familia.

History

The Étude looked similar to the 323/Familia, but was a bit longer and had a lower roofline, providing a generally more suave appearance - like a 323 in a tuxedo. It was marketed as a "personal coupé
Personal luxury car
A personal luxury car is a highly styled, luxury vehicle with an emphasis on image over practicality. Accenting the comfort and satisfaction of its owner and driver above all else, the personal luxury car sometimes sacrifices passenger capacity, cargo room, and fuel economy in favor of style and...

" and received very full equipment (sliding sunroof, two-tone paint, power steering and windows, etc) coupled with a more comfort oriented suspension than did sedans. The B- and C-pillars
Pillar (car)
Pillars are the vertical supports of the greenhouse of an automobile — known respectively as the A, B, C or D-pillar moving in profile view from the front to rear....

 were blacked out and the greenhouse had an entirely flush surface, helping to differentiate it from its more staid siblings. This styling feature was called "Terraceback" by Mazda.

The car was first introduced in January 1987 with the 1.6-liter twin cam engine in three different trim levels, from the bottom Li via the Si to the top Gi spec. Target sales were 2,000 per month, but in the eleven months it was on sale in 1987 only about 6,000 made it onto the market. A lesser 1.5-litre base version (1.5 Sa) was added in July 1988, at which time a number of brighter colours were also added to the existing silver and white options. The Sa's spec was midway between the Li and Si. Nominally a five-seater, the rear seat was clearly designed to be comfortable for two.

Although Mazda had gone to some lengths to try to differentiate the car from the regular Familia particularly the inside felt less than special. When the Familia was redesigned in March 1989 the Étude ended production, but sales of remaining stock continued for a while. When it finally disappeared without fanfare, just under 10,000 had been built. The car's de facto successors were the Mazda Familia Astina (323F) and Autozam AZ-3/Eunos Presso coupés (known as the Mazda MX-3
Mazda MX-3
The Mazda MX-3 is a four-seat hatchback coupé first introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1991. The MX-3 was marketed as the Mazda MX-3 Precidia in Canada, the Eunos 30X in Australia, and as the Eunos Presso, Autozam AZ-3 and Mazda AZ-3 in Japan.The MX-3 is quite popular for modification...

 in export markets).

Engines

  • 1988-1989 - 1498 cc B5 SOHC I4
    Straight-4
    The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....

    , carburetted, 76 PS at 6,000 rpm. 11.4 kgm at 3,500 rpm
  • 1987-1989 - 1498 cc B6D DOHC I4, EFi, 110 PS at 6,500 rpm. 13.5 kgm at 4,500 rpm
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