At a first (and second…) glance, it appears to be legit, though, a quick look at the galleries we've posted of the hatchback version of the Mazda3 reveals an identical image of the five-door model. So, what is it; real or fake?
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As Carscoop's artist Josh Byrnes predicted, the Mazda3 builds on the Kodo design theme from the Mazda6, with the two cars sharing many design elements such as the flowing curved lines above the front and rear fenders, the harmonious combination between the grille and the sharp headlights and the plunged bonnet.
On the inside, the Mazda3 features an all-new minimalistic dashboard that reminds a little of the one from the Audi A3, due to the layout and the pop-up touchscreen. It looks like an ergonomic dashboard, with the controls being clearly delimitated.
The car is slightly wider than the previous generation, with the width being of 1,765 mm (+10mm), while it is 20mm lower (1,450 mm). The length stays roughly the same, at 4,465 mm. It also has a larger wheelbase by 60 mm (2,700 mm), which benefits especially the rear passengers. Boot volume is 350 liters (+10 liters than before), 30 liters smaller than the C segment's reference, the VW Golf hatchback.
That said, we cannot but take this photo, which reportedly first appeared on a Russian Facebook account, with a grain of salt - even though it does look like it may be real, with all the design details matching up to the camouflaged prototypes we've seen this year.
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Anyway, it would appear that AutoTribune, one of the sites that hosts our rendering, in its vandalized state, posted a photo with a realistic-looking 2014 Mazda3 hatch sourced from an unnamed Japanese magazine.
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Carscoops regulars will no doubt recognize the picture as a rendering from our own Josh Byrnes – sans Carscoops' watermarks that someone crudely removed, without our permission, of course. Besides Car Advice, the story was also posted on several other news and magazine websites, including Motor Trend, Autoweek, Automobile magazine.
After a Motor Trend reader left a couple of comments on the page informing them of the true source of the rendering, including this one, "JEEEEEEZ automobilemag staff - get your sources straight. This is the same 'rendered' image 1st posted on the carscoops site back in March http://www.carscoops.com/2013/03/future-cars-2014-mazda3-hatchback-goes.html", the publication posted the following update:
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Back to our scoop story, our man with the long lens caught up with Mazda's more stylish replacement to the current, second generation 3, while traveling/testing incognito on a street in Germany.
There's no denying that the sharper lines of the Golf-rivaling hatch exterior are a follow up to the well-received design of the new Mazda6 series – for a better look at what the production model will look like, do check Carscoops' rendering here.
While the driver was waiting in line for the red light, our spies were also able to take pictures of the interior, which we get to see for the very first time.
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Before we move onto the details, here's little bit of background on how the images came to be and what Mazda had to say.
The publication claims it received the pictures in an unmarked envelope and then asked Mazda UK about them. A company spokesperson said that they are "digital renderings" made to display how the new Kodo design language could be applied on the next "3", rather than a real car.
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But all that came to an end this week when our man with the long lens finally scooped the actual Mazda6 in station wagon form, which will likely join the four-door sedan model for its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September.
The two cars will share the same design language so what you see here sans the roofline and the shape of the rear-end can be applied to the saloon.
The black and white wrap can’t hide the fact that the next Mazda6 draws heavily on the sassy styling of the Takeri concept car displayed at last fall's Tokyo motor show, softened up, of course, for mainstream consumption.