AFTER a few weeks driving big 4x4s and inexpensive cars from Eastern Europe it made a pleasant change to return to a normal mid-size family saloon last week, the new Mazda 3.
I got my first-ever penalty points for speeding in a Mazda 3 a few years back. Thankfully those two points have now been wiped out, but I had to be very careful last week as there were 150 horses working hard under the bonnet of the 2.2-litre diesel I was driving.
Yes, it’s a really powerful engine, some would say too powerful for a mid-size family car. But as the Irish MD of Citroen explained at the launch of their C4 Picasso a few weeks ago, we will in future be talking more about emissions and fuel consumption rather than engine size.
It may take Irish drivers some time to get away from talking about 1.4, 1.6 and 2.2 litre-engines, but it sounds like size isn’t everything.
Thanks to Mazda’s Skyactiv technology C02 emissions are only 104 in most of the diesel versions. Last week most of my driving was in heavy city traffic and it was difficult to judge fuel consumption in the
‘3,’ but I have driven thirstier cars.
A colleague told me he had driven a white saloon version and said that red would have been his choice. I certainly drew the long straw as my test car was a red hatchback version. White is fine in a sunny country like Spain, but red certainly gave the car that sporty look.
The dash is dominated by a seven-inch multimedia device where you can get your Sat Nav and various other information about how you are driving. It was impressive, but I would have liked to been able to press a button and see the screen disappear
‘James Bond-style’ into the dash when not in use.
What I really liked on the dash was the
‘Active Driving Display,’ a digital print out which tells you what speed you are doing, useful in such a powerful car. Only the driver and the back seat passenger directly behind the driver can read the display. It would remind you of a politician making a speech; you would think they are ad-libbing, but there is an autocue in the distance. It was a first for me and I really liked it.
There is ample room for five well-built adults and it’s a comfortable drive for everybody involved. The boot is a decent size but sadly no spare wheel, just the dreaded repair kit. Someday I will have to use one of those kits, and when I do I hope it happens in daylight.
Prices start at
?¬21,595 for the 1.5 petrol while the diesel hatchbacks start at
?¬25,295. Road tax is only
?¬190 for the diesels with low emissions.
After a few bad years the Irish car trade is growing once again and Mazda should be able to capitalise with their new
‘3’ as Irish people begin to loosen their purse strings once again. For me one word sums up the Soul Red version of the Mazda 3, gorgeous.