The Mazda Étude is a three-door
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
version of the
fifth-generation Familia that was only ever marketed by
Mazda
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...
in Japan, from 1987 to 1989. The name was also later used in South Africa for the
sixth generation 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. It was marketed as a "
personal coupé" 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 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,][
Although Mazda had gone to some lengths to try to differentiate the car from the regular Familia, the interior in particular felt less than special.Tanuma, Akira, p. 2]
/ref> 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 in export markets).
]
Engines
* 1988-1989 - '' B5'' SOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...
I4, carburetted, at 6,000 rpm. at 3,500 rpm[
* 1987-1989 - '' B6D'' ]DOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...
I4, EFi, at 6,500 rpm. at 4,500 rpm[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazda Etude
Etude
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 1987
Cars discontinued in 1989