Why You So Naughty, Mazda Philippines?

Oh, Mazda Philippines, why you so naughty? At its recently-held launch for the updated Mazda6 Sports Wagon and turbocharged Mazda6 sedan, the company talked about a lot of things except for one thing—a feature that’s actually standard across the entire revised Mazda6 range, and one that makes its local debut in this very vehicle.

Now, if you’re thinking about Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, you’ve got it wrong. It was already rolled out in the CX-9 Signature last year, and it’s now offered as a retrofit kit since. What we’re talking about here is G-Vectoring Control Plus or GVC Plus.

Available in all but the diesel-powered variant, GVC Plus is a part of Mazda’s Skyactiv-Vehicle Dynamics package. In fact, it is considered as part of the second-generation of the automaker’s vehicle dynamics control technology.

Building on the original merits of GVC which uses the engine torque to control a car’s swaying and pitching motion, GVC Plus can now use the brakes to enhance the level of grip and stability (yaw control) when cornering.

When cornering, GVC Plus lightly applies brake force to the outer wheels as the steering wheel is returned to the center position. This provides a recovery moment that restores the vehicle to straight-line running and achieves greater stability.

This enables the car to better handle emergency avoidance maneuvers and offers more confidence-inspiring controllability in various situations, including high-speed lane changes and driving on slippery roads.

Mazda Philippines’s decision not to highlight GVC Plus may have to do with the launch of the all-new Mazda3 in the next few months. In other countries, GVC Plus first appeared in the all-new fourth-generation model before being applied to the revised CX-5 and then the Mazda6. Likely, they’d like to highlight GVC Plus in the Mazda3 first before saying, “Oh, by the way, it’s in the Mazda6 too.”