Mazda 3 mini road test

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Thu 29 Jun 2006 19:28
Mazda 3 mini road test - Happy Blue!
I've just come back from Israel on business and was given a MAzda 3 by the rental co. I think it was a 1.6 with a four speed tiptronic auto.

Overall impressions were good. smart shape, good sized boot (if a little awkward to access), reasonably spacious inside (three grown men in for two out of three days). The ride was certainly acceptable on steel wheels and performance was fine, although it was a little breathless on the steep climb up to Jerusalem, when HGVs struggle to more than 5 or 10 mph. I did 500 miles and put in two tanks of fuel. That was a combination of high speed highway, very low speed city traffic and those hills near Jerusalem which really knock the economy. Alos it was 30 degrees C and the air con was on full. It had four one-shot windows, which is very good.

What didn't I like. The dashboard is too fussy, the dials are buried deep in tunnels and are not all visible with a quick sweep of the eyes across the dash, unlike my Subaru or SWMBO Hyundai. The radio seems to be very good, but as I had no manual , it was also complicated. Its the first time I have driven a Tiptronic except a Merc. I can't quiet explain, but I prefer the Merc system of flicking left to right when in D, rather than a separate manual shift section.

However, there was something appealling about the car, and I would have one of they did a 2.0 auto with a full on spec which included leather, air, cruise, sat nav (in other words a mini luxury car, one size below the Lexus IS220), as it has the external design to justify that idea.



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