Mazda is getting into its stride again. The 6 range which has taken over from the 626, is complete on the Irish market. The saloon versions which were launched in June have now been followed by hatchback and wagon or estate models. Andrew Hamilton reports
"We have 26 different offerings within the three body shapes so there's almost something for everyone," says David Moran, Mazda's marketing manager.
He is expecting that sales of the 6 next year will nudge 3,000, pointing out that it is well priced against the Ford Mondeo and Opel Vectra, big sellers in the family and fleet sector.
The entry-level 1.8 Mazda6 saloon retails here at €24,640 ex-works while the equivalent Mondeo is €23,594 and the equivalent Vectra €23,950.
However, Mazda claims value-for-money superiority because of an enhanced specification through its standard comfort pack, offering not just front and side airbags but front and rear curtain airbags as well, air conditioning, power windows all round and tilt adjustable steering.
Flagship of the 6 range is the 2.3 litre petrol all-wheel-drive sports wagon which comes with five-speed automatic transmission and an auto levelling suspension. It retails at €41,260 ex-works. There are two 2.0 litre common-rail diesel engines in the line-up with 120 and 136 bhp.
Mazda's revival with the 6 will be followed with the 2 next March. It takes over from the Demio.
Towards the end of 2003, there will be the 3, successor to the 323. Mazda's most exotic launch in 2003, is the Wankel rotary-engined RX-8.
Soon Mazda will be celebrating 30 years on the Irish market. Its first model which was Irish-assembled was the 818 small family model.
Well over 40,000 Mazda-badged cars have done service on Irish roads in that time. The marque also has the distinction of being the last to be assembled here.
With the closure of the 323 assembly plant at Naas Road, Dublin 12, in the mid-1980s, it was the end of the line for an industry that employed over 6,000 people in its heyday.