2010 Mazda3 Adaptive Front Lighting System

25th March 2009

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Safety advancements usually reserved for more expensive vehicles available on Mazda3 GT-E

One of the aspects that set the 2010 Mazda3 apart from others in the compact car class is the attention Mazda’s engineers paid to the car’s lighting system. On all Mazda3 GT models, bi-xenon, High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps have now become standard equipment.

The headlamps, which use a single xenon lamp in each front light assembly, produce both the high beam and the low beam. This comes courtesy of an electric arc which causes the gas to discharge its light particles, which then glow to generate a bright light that closely resembles the white color of daylight.

Benefits include improved visibility for safer driving at night. Research conducted at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) indicates a direct correlation between headlight quality and pedestrian fatalities with poor lighting as the main cause of pedestrian fatalities at night (UMTRI Research Review Vol. 37 No.1 2006)

With the optional GT-E package on the 2010 Mazda3, the headlamps gain automatic levelling as well as an Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) which is a Canadian first in this segment of the market. Typically seen on high end luxury vehicles the system provides optimal illumination as it automatically swivels the low beams left or right in accordance with steering angle and vehicle speed, casting light in the direction the driver wishes to proceed and greatly improving visibility when cornering at night.

The system swivels the headlights up to 15 degrees either to the right or left, illuminating the area around a point that it determines the car will reach three seconds later. The Motor Vehicle Lighting Council, which consists of the automotive industry's leading lighting companies, indicates that due to a minimal swivelling angle, AFS is not noticeable to oncoming drivers. A UMTRI study entitled “The Appearance of Bending Light from Other Vehicles” reveals that regardless of the direction the vehicle is turning, oncoming drivers have difficultly identifying whether or not the vehicle is equipped with AFS technology.

Mike Flannagan, a research associate professor at the UMTRI states that “AFS can provide optimal illumination in various driving conditions by automatically modifying the beam pattern of the headlamps in response to various speeds, weather conditions, and road situations. This helps illuminate the road farther ahead, allowing the driver more time to adjust and steer or brake as needed.”

Every 2010 Mazda3 trim level features several important safety features as standard equipment such as anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBFD) dual front, side and curtain airbags, active headrests and Mazda’s Advanced Impact-energy Distribution and Absorption System (MAIDA) the latter of which disperses and absorbs impacts through front and rear crumple zones. Traction Control and Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) are also available on all except the base GX model.