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Mazda 3 is a smart mover

Thursday, 06 March 2008

Although I write a few words about new cars every week I’m not what you would call a car fanatic. When I was starting out reviewing cars a few years back an experienced PR woman told me that most readers didn’t want to know how many seconds it would take for a car to go from 0 to 100 miles per hour.
What people wanted to hear was how your family rated the car, was their enough leg or head room, was their plenty of boot space etc.
However, I have also experienced the thrill of driving around Mondello Park racetrack at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour in second gear! That was in a very fast Honda and it was pretty scary.
So, if you still haven’t used that gift voucher you got at Christmas for Mondello Park maybe now is the time to pay a visit to the Kildare track. They have recently signed a five-year deal with Mazda which will see the new Mazda 3 being used exclusively by Mondello Park Racing School customers.
Coincidentally this week I’m testing a special edition Sakata version of the Mazda 3 and it sure was a smart mover. The Sakata model features a sports body kit, including front and rear sports bumper, sporty style front grille, side skirts, sports front fog lights and stylish 16 inch alloy wheels.
I drove a blue model and it really looked the part, but I must admit that it didn’t attract the same attention from passers by on the streets of Dublin as the Audi S5 I drove a few weeks back. Internally there is plenty of room for five adults and the boot is a decent size.
Like most new cars the interior is predominantly black. On the dash the instrument are well laid out and easy to use. Overall the interior is not very exciting, but the instruments look better at night thanks to a lovely red background. There are plenty of cubby holes for holding drinks, pens, coins and so on.
I suppose this could be a hot-hatch or a family car, but I have a feeling that most buyers would be in the former category. Mazda’s catchphrase is ‘Zoom Zoom’ so Mondello Park here we come.
Last year was a great one for Mazda in Ireland, their first as independent distributors when they saw sales figures increase dramatically. This year the company have got off to another good start and during the month January they sold over 1,600 cars, an increase of 27 per cent on the same month last year. At number one in the Mazda January sales was the Mazda 3.
Prices start at e19,995 for the 1.4 regular Mazda 3, while the 1.6 petrol model of the Sakata I drove costs e23,995. Mazda customers can avail of a 50/50 0 per cent finance offer for all Mazda 3 and Mazda 5 models.
This offer allows Mazda customers to pay for their vehicle in two easy instalments with no interest payments.

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