Our Fleet Test Drive Review: Mazda 3 - 9th Report
Date:
03 February 2010
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Author: Hugh Hunston
In the snow
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Category: | Lower medium | P11D price: | £18,260 | Key rival: | Ford Focus | |
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The Mazda 3 continues to demonstrate all-round competence, including the ability to handle wintry road conditions.
The 150PS of muscular diesel power and 17-inch wheels may not seem the ideal combination for packed snow and patches of ice, but a sensitive right foot and communicative steering kept man and machine pointing in the right direction most of the time. It underlines how well Mazda's development team has harnessed what is basically the next-generation Focus chassis, allowing judicious application of seamless power to make progress in low-adhesion conditions. The flickering yellow symbol on the instrument panel indicated regular and thankfully early intervention of traction control, while the heated windscreen element deals rapidly with external overnight ice and inhibits internal misting up - all of which helps corporate drivers carry on doing business within obvious driving safety parameters.
Mazda 3 2.2d 150PS Sport 5-door manual | Mileage | 8109 | Claimed combined consumption | 52.3mpg | Our average consumption | 45.0mpg | P11D price | £18,260 | Model price range | £13,500 -£21,500 | CO2 (tax) | 144g/km/19% | BIK 20/40% per month | £58/£116 | Service interval | 12,500mls | Insurance | group 10E | Warranty | 3yrs/60,000mls | Boot space (min/max) | 300/1360 litres | Engine size/power | 2184cc/150PS | Top speed/0-62mph | 127mph/9.2secs | Why we’re running it | Can it step up to its class mark like the 6? | Positive | Stops as well as it goes | Negative | Badly placed handbrake |
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