Mazda 3 1.6 TS2 review
Mazda 3 1.6 TS2 Road Test
Test date 11 June 2009
Price as tested £16,755
For Tidy handling, ultra-friendly stereo system, value for money
Against Cost-cutting, fussy front styling, engine revs slow to drop
Our own Steve Cropley summed it up well in a recent column. As a brand, Mazda does not come across with the kudos of Honda or Toyota, despite producing some cars that have all the right ingredients to merit admiration.
Maybe it’s a lack of memorable personalities in the brand’s history; maybe there have been too many dullard mainstream cars in the past. Whatever the reason, the Mazda 3 has not, in its short career to date, resonated with people who actually like cars.
The hot MPS version hardly helped by burying its impressive pace under a cloak of dynamic underachievement. It was an opportunity missed. Now, though, the whole Mazda 3 range has been facelifted. It’s not a wholesale remake, as the Mazda 6 was, but a refinement: new interior, new outer panels with a dramatic nose, much detail honing under the skin and reduced CO2 outputs.
Our test car mixes the entry-level 104bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine with the highish-specification TS2 trim, a combination that’s likely to be popular with private buyers.
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