Mazda3 Mazda's next deisel car

[Johnny Drama]

Private buyers' favourite small car, the Mazda3 sedan or hatch, is now available with a class-leading diesel engine that combines sporty driving with impressive fuel economy.

Boasting a best-in-class 360 Newton metres of torque and 105 kilowatts, the Mazda3's hi-tech powerplant features a self-cleaning particulate filter trap and Euro Step IV emissions.

The Mazda3 Diesel is expected to accelerate from 0-100kmh in 9.5 seconds and comes standard with a six-speed manual gearbox. The transmission is shared with the Mazda3 MPS, Mazda6 MPS and Mazda6 Diesel models.

Fuel economy is impressive with Government fuel tests showing that the Mazda3 Diesel can travel 916km on a tank of fuel at its combined average ADR 81/01 fuel test consumption of 6.0L/100km and more than 1010km when on the highway (5.4L/100km).

Priced from just $30,500 for the Mazda3 Diesel sedan or hatch, they are available with the same generous equipment levels found in petrol-powered Maxx Sport models but add Dynamic Stability Control and Traction Control as standard.

The Diesel's safety package also includes dual front, front side and head protecting airbags (six in total) and ABS anti-lock brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Emergency Brake Assist.

The Mazda3 Diesel shares its 300mm ventilated front (up 22mm on the 2.0-litre petrol Mazda3's front discs) and 280mm solid rear disc brakes (up 15mm on the 2.0-litre car's rear discs) with 2.3-litre petrol Mazda3 SP23 variants.

Standard features include air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors, cruise control, six-disc CD changer, wheel mounted audio and cruise controls, reach and rake steering adjustment and an iPod compatible AUX jack.

Like the petrol Maxx Sport models, the new Mazda3 Diesel, which can be identified by MZR-CD badges on both front doors, also features a body kit and 16x6.5 alloy wheels.

To translate the MZR-CD 2.0 turbo diesel's high torque into controllable and reliable traction, Mazda's engineers stiffened the car's chassis installing special body shell reinforcements from the high-performance Mazda3 MPS - the front suspension upper plate, front cowl member and middle tunnel cross member have all been beefed up.

The driveshafts have also been upgraded to handle the additional 178Nm of torque produced by the diesel engine over the Mazda3's 2.0-litre powerplant (that engine's torque peaks at 182Nm).

Mazda3 Diesel's MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension feature unique calibration, and the front and rear stabilisers have grown by 2mm to 23mm and 22mm respectively.

Taken together these chassis features provide superior road holding and even more linear steering response from the car's hydraulic power assist steering system.

Managing director of Mazda Australia, Doug Dickson, said: "With the introduction of the Mazda6 Diesel in October last year, Mazda became the first and remains the only Japanese car maker to introduce a state-of-the-art diesel engined passenger car.

"The sales success of the Mazda6 Diesel convinced us that a Mazda3 Diesel would find a ready market here.

"Our own research confirmed this. Mazda's target customers, the so called high involvement buyers - Australians interested in the driving experience - said they are attracted to diesel for the technology as well as the potential fuel gains.

"And recent Roy Morgan data shows that 60 per cent of our target customers would consider purchasing a diesel powered car in the next year. But only 47 per cent of them would consider a hybrid.

"The Mazda brand and our vehicles have strong appeal with high involvement buyers, therefore research such as the Roy Morgan data further validates our decision to broaden the availability of this engine technology by offering it in our most popular model, the Mazda3.

"We believe the Mazda3 Diesel with its class leading engine and great fuel economy will deliver a superior Diesel driving experience to the Small car segment. This fun-to-drive factor is after all what the Mazda brand and our Stylish, Insightful and Spirited cars are ultimately all about."

To the end of June Mazda had sold a record 17,776 Mazda3's making it the second best seller in Australia's largest market segment (Small cars). And with 15,517 of those classified as private sales by VFACTS Mazda3 is the private sales leader in this all-important market segment.

Mazda Australia expects to sell 130 Mazda3 Diesel models a month with the sedan split likely to mirror the petrol variants, taking about 70 per cent of the business.

The Mazda3 sales success has contributed to Mazda Australia's best six monthly sales performance with 39,112 retail sales in the first half of this year.

The record half yearly result is 20.3 per cent up on the same time last year and has lifted Mazda's market share from 6.7 per cent in 2006 to 7.5 per cent, a gain of 0.73 percentage points. No other car company has achieved such a large market share gain.

Mazda continues to lead the importers outselling its closest full-line import rival by 6936 sales (or a significant 21.6 per cent). Overall Mazda is fourth in the market place, outselling one local manufacturer.