KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — Most of us would have heard the terminology Mazda SKYACTIV form someone, at some time or another in the last five years since Mazda launched their SKYACTIV range of vehicles. 

Mazda CX-5 Diesel promises to wow with the new Mazda SKYACTIV technology. — Pictures by YS Khong

Currently, we have in Malaysia the Mazda 2, Mazda3, Mazda 6, CX-3, CX-5, Biante, and of course the iconic MX-5 all available with SKYACTIV technology. The sales people from Mazda would have been very sure to stress that the SKYACTIV technology is the most advanced technology available in an automobile, but how much do we really know about it and how it works?

The background of Mazda’s SKYACTIV technology development actually stemmed from Mazda’s vision of making cars that were enjoyable to drive, had power, yet were economical in terms of fuel consumption.

Believing that there was yet room for development in the internal combustion engine (which has already been constantly developed over the last 100 years or so), Mazda set out — with a difference! 

The Mazda CX-3.

This difference was to start out with a clean sheet of paper, and question even what was supposed to be the fundamentals of the internal combustion engine.

An example of an ‘engine fundamental’ would be the compression ratio. It has long been accepted that a high compression ratio makes fuel burn better, but too high a compression ratio would cause detonation, (which causes the fuel to detonate’ or explode before it is supposed to) and causes damage to the engine.

Remarkably, Mazda’s SKYACTIV – G (Gasoline) engines operate at a compression ratio of 14:1, possibly the highest in the world, and hitherto unheard of.

Watch the video, and stay tuned for our next article on Mazda’s SKYACTIV Technology.