Mazda's Hakaze concept is the automaker's future vision of a good-looking and practical SUV coupe. Motor Trend recently had the chance to take the Hakaze for a quick spin in advance of its Geneva Motor Show world debut.
And if it gets the public reaction it deserves at Geneva, Mazda insiders expect the firm will put something not too dissimilar into production in about three years' time.

The brief for Hakaze originally came from Mazda's European HQ. As in the US, big heavy SUVs are losing favor, but there are a lot of buyers ready to be tempted away from standard sedans, hatchbacks or the popular-in-Europe wagon. They want vehicles with an elusive combination of extra emotion, extra sportiness and extra utility. Few convincing attempts at such vehicles have been invented by any manufacturer, but Mazda's brand values do lend themselves to an attempt.
So Hakaze was envisaged as a light, versatile sporty crossover with the sort of open feeling Miata owners would want - hence a removable glass roof.

The fundamentals of the vehicle's proportions and package were laid down at Mazda's Frankfurt, Germany design studio last summer. Only afterward was Mazda's new 'Nagare' design language applied to the surface. Developed by design director Laurens van den Acker, 'Nagare' takes inspiration from the flow of the wind and the repeating forms of nature - sand dunes, leaf veins, ripples, sedimentary rocks.

The car sits on the structure of the Mazda CX-7 SUV, and has Mazda's 2.3-liter turbo four from the Mazda6 MPS. But it's shorter than the CX-7, lower and surprisingly light. That wipes away the sloth and thirst of a typical SUV. It retains the high eyepoint that SUV drivers love so much, and also allows for surprising space inside. The airiness is exaggerated by a fishbowl of a roof, with huge removable glass panels.

You enter via a rising front-pivoted door. The first thing you notice is that even inside, the sense of daylight is almost overwhelming. The windshield is a giant dome, the A-pillars being set a long way back. There is no header rail either - the windshield mates seamlessly with the removable glass roof panels. Practical? No way - conventional pillars would have to be used to make a production version crashworthy, but it's nice to dream.

There are just four seats, each an individual clamshell chair mounted on the center-tunnel to free up foot space. They're covered in a rubbery fabric, calling to mind surf gear because Mazda wants us to think of this as a surfer-dude sort of car.

To cope with sand and salt, the floor is uncarpeted, and the fascia doesn't have conventional switchgear but membrane microswitches. You just brush a finger over them and they activate the function, like an iPod click wheel. It's a cool idea, but sadly real-life automotive switches have to be recognizable by touch and have a definite tactile click. Beautiful orange-faced dials are like stainless-steel fashion watches.

The fascia itself swoops back into a high console, so it feels like sitting in a giant mollusk shell - a deliberate effect to make you feel secure, a counterbalance to all that glazing overhead.

Article key :  Mazda Concept Vehicle, Mazda, Mazda Concept, Mazda Hakaze, 2009, 2010