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http://www.motoring.com.au/mazda-our-awd...subarus-101108/
| Zitat: |
| Japanese car-maker goes on AWD offensive; claims its system is smarter, safer system than rivals For decades now Subaru has marketed its vehicles – successfully – with a focus on its ‘symmetrical’ permanent all-wheel drive (AWD) system, arguing that more grip equals safer driving. But Mazda now claims it’s the king of the AWD hill, insisting its Active Torque Split part-time AWD is a smarter and more effective system. Mazda says its AWD system — as seen in the CX-3, CX-5 and, soon, the new CX-9 (pictured) — is comparable if not better than Subaru’s systems, because they interpolate more data from more sensors around the car and are ‘pro-active’, recognising specific scenarios. Tetsushi Marutani, one of the lead engineers of Mazda AWD, said Subaru, Nissan and even Audi were the benchmarks for its system, which uses an electromagnetically-operated clutch to send torque to the rear axle when needed. When asked if the system is better than Subaru’s, the Hiroshima-based senior engineer told motoring.com.au: “Yes, we have the confidence in our AWD system”. Mazda is so confident that it’s AWD is the best of the Japanese bunch that it is letting the media loose to test a Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester and Mazda CX-5 (automatic transmissions) back-to-back on slalom and hill starts on ice and snow-covered surfaces as part of the inaugural Ice Academy in Colorado this week. The results were informative, and at times the Mazda was the standout, but we’ll have a full feature (with video) and a rundown of the test soon. One of the ways in which Mazda system differs from its rivals, says development engineer at Mazda North America Operations Dave Coleman, is that “Our system understands what’s going on around it”. “On a hill, standing start with the wheel turned, it does much smarter things than its rivals. Our system knows what the temperature is, it knows it’s on snow, so it uses AWD and gets straight up.” “The Subaru goes to FWD on an incline [because] it doesn’t know it’s on snow. That’s what the Subaru does, [and] it gets stuck. The Honda CR-V gets up half the time, half the time it doesn’t.” Coleman also says the AWD system is seamless. “It’s invisible to driver, you don’t turn it on, don’t see lights flash. You don’t know it’s there. It just works.” It’s constantly monitoring data from all the cars sensors, says Coleman. “We know if it’s cold, if it’s raining because the wipers are on, if you’re on an incline. We can directly measure traction too. We measure steering angle, brake pressure, throttle. “We take all this data and calculate 200 times per second what’s happening and we can come up with a precise torque split [to maximise traction].” He also argues that because the system uses an electromagnetically-operated multi-plate clutch that constantly runs a small amount of torque to the rear, “there’s no backlash, it’s direct response”. “Hydraulically operated [clutches] are not as good as ours,” he adds. “Ours are precise — electromagnets are fast acting.” The “moment of doubt” while it takes a part-time AWD system to react, doesn’t factor into Mazda’s system, contends Coleman. This is all well and good, and the system was surprisingly effective on snow and ice, but why has Mazda taken more than three years to communicate the ability of its AWD system, which debuted on the CX-5 in 2012? One US-based Mazda PR representative, who didn’t want to be named, confessed: “We had too many other stories to tell. We had SKYACTIV engines, KODO design, so many other things”. Not content with resting on his laurels, Marutani confirmed Mazda is working on a next-generation AWD system, which motoring.com.au understands will be launched on a new model within three years. “We will not be satisfied with matching our competitors,” he said. “We are chasing to be the best.” |
http://www.motoring.com.au/mazda-our-awd...subarus-101108/
