CIRCULATING IN WANGARATTA, BENALLA, MYRTLEFORD, BRIGHT, MT BEAUTY, BEECHWORTH, YACKANDANDAH, RUTHERGLEN, CHILTERN AND DISTRICTS
NORTH EAST
October 25, 2013
available online - wangarattachronicle.com.au
PRINTED FORTNIGHTLY — VOLUME 434
Prado to get revamp Storypage3
MAZDA 3: The lines of the upcoming all-new model are striking.
Behind the wheel of new Mazda 3 M
azda has had a taste of being number one in sales in Australia – and likes it, which is hardly a
surprise. In 2011 the Mazda3 surprised everyone by pushing the Commodore off top spot on the podium, a position the big Holden had held for 15 years in a row. Showing its success wasn’t a fluke Mazda3 retained its lead in 2012. An all-new Toyota Corolla was introduced in 2012 and so far this year has pushed the ageing Mazda3 into second place. Knowing an all-new Mazda3 was due in 2014 Mazda Australia retaliated by persuading its head office that the global unveiling of the Mazda3 should rightly be held in Australia.
By EWAN KENNEDY The event that took place in Melbourne in June this year was televised live into many countries around the world. We attended that very Melbourne event that was suitably theatrical, with lots of colored smoke and loud energetic music, followed by entertaining presentations by the car’s Japanese stylists. A few months later we were invited to Hollywood (as you are) to be among the first journalists to drive the Mazda3. The next stage in the roll out of the all-new Mazda3 was our first drive on Australian soil. Unfortunately not on normal roads, because at this stage there are only two cars built to Australian specifications on our shores.
So we drove them on the proving grounds at Anglesea in Victoria. Cleverly, Mazda also gave us the opportunity to compare the new car with the about to be superseded model by bringing along a couple of the current models. Even better, two senior men from the Mazda3 design team, Takeo Moriuchi, the deputy program manager, and Yasuo Kagawa, the product manager in charge of connectivity, flew to Australia to give us indepth presentations of their new baby. Interestingly, there’s not a huge leap forward in the behavior of the new Mazda3 when compared back to back with the old one - which sounds like a put down, but actually proves the outgoing
car is already very good. The new car is quieter and has a more solid feel, that’s due to a completely new body design that’s not only stronger, but also lighter. Handling is a little sharper and the new Mazda3 has a nicely stable feeling even when pushed hard in the crosswinds that were a feature of our road testing day. The suspension has been specially tuned for our market, however, that work was done in Japan rather than here. The suspension and steering engineers have been to Australia in the past and understand our driving conditions, as well as the desires of the typical Aussie motoring enthusiast.
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