2009 Mazda 3 sedan to debut at Los Angeles Motor Show

Taking a number of design cues from the recently announced 2009 Mazda 6 , the next generation of the popular Mazda 3 compact sedan will debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November.

The four-door hatchback version will premiere at the Bologna Motor Show a month later.

For the US market, the current range of 2.0 and 2.3 liter inline-four gasoline engines will carry over to the new car unchanged. The car will go on sale in Europe at the start of 2009 and will be available in the US by mid-summer or early fall.

Despite the pressure of rising gas prices, Mazda announced that it will offer a high performance MazdaSpeed version. Expected to be hit the streets in 2010, the new MazdaSpeed 3 will likely use a version of the 2.5 liter turbocharged inline-five currently available in the US market Volvo C30.

Photo Credit: AutoExpress.co.uk
Source: Autocar, AutoExpress