Interesting video and sad news but I think we all knew that is where Toyota/Lexus was headed.

- apparently the new Toyota Crown will be FWD Crossover from RWD sedan.
- next gen IS will use Mazda 6 platform
- no new RWD platform is currently under development

 

So Mazda IS, Subaru 86, and BMW Supra? Is Toyota just getting out of the car business altogether? I miss when Toyota made their own cars. They were damn good cars. Now I don't know what is happening or why they're doing this.

 

e-TNGA will be available in sedan also.

 

Their last attempt at RWD platform development was subpar. They probably know they don't have enough of people and/or know-how to mass produce and sell competitive RWD platform and derived products no more so they are just playing it safe. Bespoke BEV RWD is so far away from now, unless they outsource some Chinese platform and drive train like they did with UX in the mean time.

 

There's absolutely nothing in this video that we haven't known about for months now. Although I have my doubts about Mazda making a RWD platform because all the information they released on their inline 6 makes no mention of a RWD platform- only AWD. It would make no sense for a tiny car company in woeful financial straits such as Mazda to create a new RWD platform, especially after they killed off their performance division.

 

Direct 4 or even awd blurs the line between what is rwd or not. Rwd is just the rear wheels getting drive power at the end of the day. How it is achieved is a moot point.

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...onfirmed-2022/

Mazda 6 RWD has been confirmed by number of publications. Toyota helped fund the development and engine /platform will be used on next gen IS.

Personally i had no idea that Toyota/Lexus was abandoning RWD but with them dropping Crown model which was “volume” rwd car, i guess we should have expected this.

I actually thought they will be coming out with RWD based crossover similar to the concept they showed.

 

Sure Acura has great success with SH-AWD🤔

There is no replacing physics - RWD platforms will always be superior to cheaper FWD even ones that are optimized with AWD. The video goes into detail of why Toyota chose this path which ultimately was cost savings and streamlined production.

 

So the next IS/GS/LS is going to be a spruced up Mazda? Lol. How the mighty have fallen.

 

Guess I should get comfortable in my Mercedes huh? Sad.

 

Aside from the inline 6, that article is almost entirely speculation. Mazda themselves made no mention of a RWD platform on the slideshow presentation for their inline 6. The only thing we know that the I6 will be longitudinally mounted and for AWD, with an emphasis on efficiency.

This is from their investor presentation: https://www.mazda.com/globalassets/e...20201109_e.pdf

 

I wouldn't agree. Go to AT and find some local RLX SH SH-AWD and take it for a spin. It's fantastic no doubt but it's no GS AWD in any way. You can tell that car is FWD based. The only Japanese car I drove that is AWD on FWD but feels like RWD is Lancer Evolution. I did not drive visceral RS4/5/6 but S6 has that FWD swagger and bias in quite a lot of everyday situations.

 

If it is I6 and Long that is almost guaranteed to mean it will be RWD or RWD based, it would be incredibly difficult and pointless to try to still make it FWD with that configuration and I am sure they are going to offer some versions in RWD where AWD is simply not needed or wanted.

 

It doesn't. Audi engines are all longitudinally mounted but still FWD-based. And inline 6's are much cheaper to develop than V6's, because it's merely adding two more cylinders to the end of an existing 4-pot; both can be built on the same assembly line. Mazda's entire emphasis from the presentation is on efficiency, not luxury or performance. In fact, they've made no mention of whether the inline 6 will even be turbocharged.

If Mazda were to use a RWD platform, they would have made a big deal about it in the investor presentation. It's a considerable investment to build a new RWD platform.

 

Why are you arguing this?
Every legitimate publication has CONFIRMED that Mazda is developing inline 6 mated to RWD. They plan to take the brand upmarket. Using FWD platform with an inline 6 engine will be probably more costly/harder to accomplish with worse results than doing a proper RWD platform which they are developing.

You do realize Miata is RWD -
its not like Mazda is new to this platform and they have historically made RWD models.