Mazda3 Delivers New Year Treat to Private and Company Car Drivers

LEVERKUSEN, DEUTSCHLAND – November 23, 2010: Mazda is giving its popular lower medium sector car a New Year boost, with power, emission and fuel economy improvements to the 1.6 diesel model that are expected to further enhance sales of the dynamic Mazda3 range.

From January 2011, this model will be available with a Euro5-compliant engine, now mated to a new six-speed manual transmission and offering a 12 percent hike in torque to 270Nm at 1750rpm.

Inside, the second-generation Mazda3 boasts a sporty and roomy interior, it has a refined human-machine interface cockpit for exemplary ease-of-use and offers superior refinement and cabin quietness. Outside, the Mazda3 features an expressive exterior design that is sporty and dynamic with deeply sculptured character lines for a look of solid build quality.

The line up on the Mazda3 has a broad range of seven powertrains available. A choice of three diesel (1.6-litre 115ps, 2.2-litre 150ps and 2.2-litre 185ps) engines, all fine-tuned to use less fuel and three petrol (1.6-litre 105ps, 2.0-litre Automatic 150ps or 2.0-litre DISI 151ps) engines or the high-performance 2.3-litre 260ps turbocharged engine in the Mazda3 MPS.

Retail and fleet customers alike will benefit from the revised1.6D engine, as Mazda’s engineers have upped the power to 115ps while ensuring the Mazda3’s low CO2 emissions qualify all models for the £0 first-year rate of road tax (and thereafter only £30 a year) and remain in the 13 percent company car tax bracket. Available as a five-door hatchback in TS and TS2 trim levels, its CO2 emissions have been cut from 119g/km to 117g/km and fuel consumption is improved from 62.8mpg to 64.2mpg on the combined cycle. The TS2 five-door is anticipated to be the most popular model.

“The latest Mazda3 is even more popular than its best-selling predecessor,” comments Mark Cameron, Sales Director, Mazda UK. “Having a sub-120g/km car in the range, delivering low VED and benefit-in-kind tax bills and first-class fuel economy will no doubt further increase demand.”

“We are winning significant conquest business with Mazda3, both among private buyers and company car drivers. With improvements introduced on the Euro5-compliant version, the 1.6 diesel engine offers excellent value for money and, importantly, something different to the mainstream offerings in the small family car market,” adds Cameron.

Prices for the new Mazda3 1.6 diesel start at £16,505 (OTR) for the TS version, while TS2-specified models begin at £17,705.

There is good news for fleet buyers too, as the TS model has a P11D value of £16,450, while the TS2 has a P11D value of £17,650. This means that company car benefit-in-kind tax bills for a basic-rate taxpayer are just £35.64 per month on TS models and £38.24 per month on the TS2 model. For higher-rate taxpayers, the monthly tax bills are £71.28 and £76.48 respectively.

Generous equipment right across the range
Advanced safety-boosting equipment, such as Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and the Emergency Stop Signalling (ESS) is fitted as standard on every model, together with six airbags. Even the entry 1.6 S is well specified with central locking, air-conditioning and an MP3 compatible audio system, plus a Multi Information Display.

Moving up the range, standard equipment can include: dual-zone climate control air-conditioning, automatic lights and wipers, a heated windscreen, a 6-CD autochanger, Bluetooth® technology, integrated satellite navigation and a premium BOSE® audio system – depending on model.

Special finance offers until 3 January 2011
Mazda dealers are currently offering Mazda3 buyers three finance packages available for retail sales only, until 3 January 2011: 1. Typical 0% APR* finance on Mazda Conditional Sale (with 50% minimum deposit) up to 36 months. 2. Typical 3.9% APR** finance on Mazda Conditional Sale and Mazda Personal Contract Purchase (no minimum deposit) up to 24 months. 3. Typical 5.9% APR** finance on Mazda Conditional Sale and Mazda Personal Contract Purchase (no minimum deposit) up to 36 months.

Mazda has recently introduced a new ‘Have it All’ campaign in conjunction with the Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) finance package. The campaign offers customers purchasing a Mazda3 Takuya up to three ‘free’ services compliments of Mazda - depending on which PCP finance term is taken, either 24 or 36 months.

During this period, Mazda is also offering a ‘Mazda deposit contribution’ of £750 on all petrol models (excluding the Mazda3 MPS) and £500 on all diesels to customers purchasing their car with Mazda Personal Contract Purchase finance.

In addition existing Mazda customers can also benefit from a £500 loyalty bonus available on all Mazda3 models until 3 January 2011.