Solid contender with edge in design

WITH THE bias of new car sales now firmly established in favour of diesel engines, the car that will attract the most attention in the new Mazda 3 line-up, being launched this week, is the 1.6 diesel.

It enters a highly competitive segment to compete with well established cars from Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen and Opel – Mazda will find its work cut out to gain market share.

The Mazda 3 has always trailed the others in terms of profile and the profile of the new model is very much in the vein of the outgoing model.

Price will be a vital factor in making any gains. The diesel version of the 3 starts at €21,615 but a comparable Ford Focus with the same type of engine and power output is over €900 cheaper.

Mazda offers air conditioning as standard, but so too does Ford, so Mazda may find less opposition competing with Toyota, whose 1.4 Auris diesel starts at €23,500.

Another attraction of the Mazda 3 will be the 109g/km of CO2 emissions, which attracts an annual road tax bill of €104, and a claimed average consumption of 4.5 litres per 100km in mixed conditions.

Whatever about the exterior styling, Mazda deserves credit for fine interior design and quality of materials. The cabin offers more comfort and originality than the dated equivalents of the Focus or the Auris.

The car feels a good deal more solid than its predecessor and offers a driving experience every bit as good as its main competitors.

There are three diesel versions, two of them with 1.6 engines and one with a 2.2 engine. The basic petrol version with the 1.6 petrol engine starts at €21,115 and goes up to €23,615 for the Sport version that has 17-inch alloys and a sports pack.

There are three different trim levels but all cars get ABS brakes, multiple airbags, brake force distribution, brake assist, stability and traction control and emergency stop signalling.