E U N O S C O S M O "Safety"

For 1990 & its place in Mazda's time line, the Cosmo was advanced for its day in the safety department & easily the safest Mazda built to date. Subtle features such as the 1st Mazda equipped steering wheel controls for climate, stereo & mobile phone enabled the drivers hands to remain where they should be. An SRS air bag would have featured on the planned export version but it wasn't law or fashionable in Japan at the time so the domestic Cosmo was to do without.

The Cosmo was to be the third rotary powered vehicle to receive ABS brakes. With the HC Luce & FC RX-7 featuring early versions, the 8-bit controlled ABS on the Cosmo was well advanced from previous 80's designs. It allowed progressive feel of the brake pedal before ultimately engaging & controlling any skid as the weighty Cosmo shed speed to avoid pending drama. Despite the ABS assistance the brakes themselves where quite shameful considering the weight & power of Mazda's most technically advanced vehicle to date. Rather than equipping it with 4-spot calipers combined with 300mm discs straight from the RX-7, Mazda did a back-flip choosing single spot calipers with 280mm discs similar to the HC Luce/929 series.

The Cosmo was the first JDM Mazda to feature side intrusion bars in the doors before it was made law. Like any manufacturer, Intrusion bars filtered down to the lesser models over the next few years until Japanese road regulations caught up to international standards. Traction control was in the form of a standard LSD. The series-I 13B model missing out but did allow it with the ABS option.

With the 1990's as the decade of active safety equipment to start featuring in luxury cars, the Cosmo featured excellent passive safety designs as its 1990 market entry meant it was a little too early in history to feature what lesser cars of today have installed as standard equipment. However, in the event of an accident the Cosmo would crumple perfectly reducing shock to the occupants. Plenty of engine bay in front of the passenger compartment does allow for a large safety margin & it certainly showed in crash testing.

Compared to all but the most advanced cars of the day such as a top level Mercedes, the Cosmo performs exceptionally well in an accident. The few crashed in Australia have proven to be injury free for the occupants leaving the Cosmo & bank accounts as the only injured parties. A lesser car of the same or later era would have folded into itself severly crushing & injuring anyone inside.