Home News Motoring Not quite in heaven

Not quite in heaven

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

WHEN I picked up the new Mazda 3 it contained a CD which gave me useful snippets of information about the car, improvements and changes from the old model and price. It’s a great service from Automotive, the people who now handle press cars for several Irish car distributors and one that should be copied by more companies. I drove a Celestial Blue coloured car and while I couldn’t say I was in heaven, it certainly attracted some curious glances. Colour means so much in a car and you couldn’t but notice a car with a bright colour like that. The car had a sporty look to it and while some people may associate a sporty motor like this for young single people, this is a five-door hatch that should also be an attractive buy for couples with small children. However, the ‘3’ is being launched into what is a very competitive segment with the VW Golf, Opel Astra, Toyota Auris and Ford Focus all chasing the same customers. Mazda are now a worldwide company, but the 3 is one of their few cars still built in Japan. The platform used was designed when Ford and Mazda were in partnership, so you get some elements of the best-selling Focus in there. The 1.6 litre diesel engine is the same as that in the Peugeot 3008, which was voted Irish Car of the Year last November. I have never driven a car that, according to the manufacturers, wasn’t better than the old model. Hence the Mazda 3 is faster, lighter, quieter and cheaper to run than the old version. C02 emissions are only e119 which put you in Band A or e104 per annum road tax. And if speed is your thing, then you can get from zero to 100kph in 11 seconds. The car is set fairly low and the rear end will definitely catch your eye with a lot of chunky glass used on the tail lights. The front end also has new attractive lights. Inside everything in the cabin is well laid out and easy to use. You get a twin-level dash with the speed and clock located in a raised area and plenty of slave controls on the steering wheel. Another improvement sees the gear lever moved nearer to the driver. There is room for three adults in the rear. But in reality how many times do you see five adults in a family car nowadays, except maybe going to a sports event. There is a decent size boot and a ‘mini’ spare wheel. I used to drive a Mazda 323 in the nineties and they were infamous for their clicking cv joints when you turned the wheel. No such problems in today’s cars. Only slight complaint was that the heating seemed a bit slow to react on cold mornings. The 1.4 petrol model has been dropped and Mazda expects the 1.6 diesel to be their best seller. The 1.6 diesel sport model I drove will cost you e24,055, but prices start at e21,115.  Verdict: attractive, but probably a bit expensive.