Mazda Promises 30% Better Mileage by 2016

Mazda says it will debut a new range of 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission. The new engine—set to debut in vehicles by 2011—should get up to 32 mpg in the city and 42 mpg on the highway. That’s 10 more miles per gallon for each rating than the current four-cylinder engine.

While those are impressive mileage numbers, Ford will hit its benchmark much sooner and have more time to experiment. Mazda will continue to get its V-6 engines from Ford because the V-6-equipped cars tend to be the lower-volume sellers of its lineup.

Mazda has also not said which of its vehicles will get the new four-cylinder engines, but speculation focuses on the MX-5 Miata or Mazda5.

Mazda: We’ll See Ford’s 20% Increase… And Raise It (40mpg.org)