CIRCULATING IN WANGARATTA, BENALLA, MYRTLEFORD, BRIGHT, MT BEAUTY, BEECHWORTH, YACKANDANDAH, RUTHERGLEN, CHILTERN AND DISTRICTS
NORTH EAST
April 17, 2015
available online - wangarattachronicle.com.au
PRINTED FORTNIGHTLY — VOLUME 471
Renault Captur Storypage3
JOINING THE FAMILY: Latest addition to the Mazda6 range, the Touring station wagon rear-end with a neat compromise between function and fashion.
Mazda6 touring wagon a new addition L
aunched in Australia in 2002, the Mazda6 has since become the country’s best-selling medium import. End of story. Well, not quite because a new Touring station wagon has just been added to the family. Mazda says the newborn is the result of requests from potential customers and includes both petrol and diesel versions. The oil burner is a real eye opener with a new-found vitality over the engine it replaces. The MZR-CD 2.2-litre turbo-diesel has better response and improved driving feel over the unit it replaces.
By DEREK OGDEN The turbocharger has shrunk, making it more fuel efficient, while reduced knock at low engine operating temperatures makes the motor quieter. Maximum power of 132 kW is 4 kW less than the superseded unit but that comes with no loss in performance. Peak power arrives at 3500 rpm and maximum torque of 400 Nm between 1800 and 3000 revs. Mazda claims the wagon shows fuel consumption of 5.9 litres per 100km on the combined urban/highway cycle and produces 154 grams of carbon dioxide
per kilometre, putting it within Euro IV air pollution parameters. The diesel engine is mated with a sixspeed manual transmission only. Fear has been taken out of hill starts with Hill Launch Assist preventing the vehicle from rolling back when the driver’s foot leaves the brake pedal. The system automatically comes into play on gradients steeper than two degrees and the brake is released only when the accelerator pedal is pressed and there is enough engine torque to move off smoothly. Active and passive safety features, including anti-skid braking with emergency
brake assist and emergency brake-force distribution, dynamic stability and traction control, give the Mazda6 Touring a topdrawer five-star ANCAP rating. Passive safety features complement a rigid body structure. Front driver and passenger, side and curtain airbags, intrusion minimising brake and clutch pedals and seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters are all standard. Already the Mazda6 had adaptive front lights which used fixed lights separate from headlamps to shine on curves and corners ahead of the car in the direction of the vehicle’s turning.
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