Driven Wheels: What separates Mazda’s old and new AWD systems

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If you follow auto industry news out of the U.S., you may have seen reports that all of Mazda USA’s CX models – meaning the brand’s SUVs and crossovers – will be sold with standard all-wheel-drive beginning with the 2022 model year.

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Surprisingly, Mazda Canada is not following in step with Mazda USA — at least, not right away. The Canadian version of the 2022 Mazda CX-5, however, will see the same upgrades as the one sold south of the border, including not only standard AWD but also a light design facelift, plus other updates such as improved frame rigidity, reshaped seats, and reworked shift mapping on the six-speed automatic transmission.

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Driven Wheels: What separates Mazda’s old and new AWD systems Back to video

But as far as making all-wheel-drive standard for other Canadian CX models is concerned – which seems like a no-brainer, given how popular a feature it is here – Mazda Canada will continue to offer FWD for a while longer.

“We are not making AWD standard across our crossover lineup for 2022,” Mazda Canada spokesperson Chuck Reimer told Driving.ca. “We will have more details to share about the rest of our CX models at a later date.”

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On a global level, Mazda aspires to be a premium brand, a goal it has steadily worked toward with elements such as increasingly elegant design cues and upscale materials. One key milestone in that transition came for the 2019 model year with the launch of the current-generation Mazda3, when AWD was offered in the compact sedan for the first time.

The AWD system in the Mazda3 (pictured above) is Mazda’s newer arrangement. It has since been applied to the Mazda3’s crossover sibling, the CX-30, and it will also become the default in the upcoming 2022 CX-5. However, the bookends of Mazda’s SUV lineup – the subcompact CX-3 and the three-row CX-9 – still employ the previous AWD system for now.

Regardless of this, the CX-30, CX-5, and CX-9 crossovers all have an additional off-road traction assist function to adjust how the AWD system responds on uneven, lower-traction surfaces. Neither system employs a left-to-right torque vectoring system; Mazda’s AWD distributes torque from front to rear only.

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Here’s a look at the differences between the two AWD systems currently found in Mazda vehicles.

Last-gen i-Activ AWD (CX-3, 2021.5-and-older CX-5, CX-9)

The first version of Mazda’s advanced all-wheel-drive system – dubbed i-Activ AWD – debuted on the 2013 CX-5, and it was worked into the CX-9 and CX-3 beginning with the 2016 model year, where it continues to be applied today.

By default, this system sends 98 per cent of available power to the front axle. This is to keep the drivetrain pre-loaded for rear axle engagement, which allows the system to respond quickly, quietly, and smoothly to demand. Up to 50 per cent of the available torque can be distributed to the rear axle as needed to retain or recover traction.

What differentiated this system at the time of its release – and still does, to an extent – is that it assesses the same things most AWD systems do such as wheel speed, engine rotations per minute, gear positioning, and accelerator input. However, on top of these measures, Mazda’s system also monitors windshield wiper use, the vehicle’s internal and external temperature, brake fluid pressure, yaw sensors, steering inputs, and other conditions to make the system’s responses more predictive to the surrounding conditions. Mazda says these inputs are assessed more than 200 times per second by 27 different sensors to determine how much torque to transfer to each axle.

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Some of the beneficial upgrades that were touted at this system’s release included a smaller and more lightweight differential; and a power take-off unit that uses ultra-low-viscosity oil for quick and smooth power transfer. A lightweight, high-strength propeller shaft with a build-in dynamic damper was also integrated to reduce noise and vibrations.

The 2022 Mazda CX-5 will be that nameplate’s first model year to transition out of this system and into the updated one described below. The CX-3 and CX-9 still use this system at time of publication.

Current-gen i-Activ AWD (2019-plus Mazda3/Mazda3 Sport, 2020-plus CX-30, 2022-plus CX-5)

An updated i-Activ AWD system was introduced in the latest generation of Mazda3, which was released for the 2019 model year. The 2020 CX-30, which shares a platform with the Mazda3, followed suit with its debut. The next vehicle to receive the update will be the 2022 CX-5, which will include it as standard equipment.

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One of the key differences with this newer version of Mazda’s AWD is that it allows for 100 per cent front-wheel-drive in appropriate conditions for improved efficiency. To make up for the rear axle not being permanently pre-loaded as in the previous system, the rear wheels are kept in a slight state of overdrive when not engaged, rotating 1.1 percent faster than the front wheels. When the clutch plates in the differential connect to activate the rear wheels, this faster rotation allows the connection to take place faster and respond to inputs immediately.

The system gathers information on vehicle dynamics in real-time – partly through Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control technology introduced in 2016 – to assess the active vertical load on each tire, thereby calculating its grip level. The system can then determine how much torque each axle needs in the moment for optimal performance, aiming to deliver that torque before it’s actively required.

And here’s the really nitty-gritty stuff: a rubber damper inside the power take-off unit reduces fluctuations in rear input torque, which also helps to improve fuel efficiency. Plus, mechanical loss through the rear differential is reduced by switching the ultra-low-viscosity oil delivery to a top-down on-demand system.

As noted above, the Mazda3 and CX-30 already use this technology, and the CX-5 will join that list with its 2022 model year. Timing for its introduction to Mazda’s other AWD vehicles has not yet been announced.