Mazda 2 2005 News

A vote by 75 motoring journalists from 22 countries has awarded the compact prestige car the World Car of the Year award for 2015. It finished on top of a 24-car field and eventually beat the two other finalists, the Ford Mustang and Volkswagen Passat. The other big prizes for 2015, Green Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year, went to the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 and the Mercedes-AMG GT coupe. The winners were announced at the New York Motor Show today at an event hosted by Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum at the culmination of a six-month voting process. The C-Class delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class. The awards are in their 11th year and previous winners include the Audi A6, BMW 3 Series, Lexus LS460 and Volkswagen Golf, Polo and Up. To be eligible for the overall World Car award, candidate cars must have become available for sale on at least two continents between January 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015. The WCOTY wins by Mercedes-Benz follow its victories in the Green Car contest in 2007 with the E320 Bluetec and 2012 with the S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY and its Luxury Car success with the S Class in 2014. “We are extremely delighted of winning the honour of World Car of the Year,” says the chairman of Daimler, Dr Dieter Zetsche. The WCOTY victory follows a similar success for the C-Class in the CarsGuide Car of the Year award. The WCOTY judging panel says: “Taking its design and technological cues from the S-Class, the C-Class employs an all-new aluminium/steel hybrid platform and updated rear-drive powertrains that delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.”   WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015 Overall winner: Mercedes-Benz C-Class Green Car: BMW i8 Performance Car: Mercedes-AMG GT Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz S Coupe Design: Citroen Cactus PREVIOUS WORLD COTY WINNERS: 2014: Audi A3 2013: Volkswagen Golf 2012: Volkswagen Up 2011: Nissan Leaf 2010: Volkswagen Polo 2009: Volkswagen Golf 2008: Mazda2 2007: Lexus LS460 2006: BMW 3 Series 2005: Audi A6

THE Audi A3 small car -- which owes much of its DNA to the Volkswagen Golf -- has won the 2014 World Car of the Year, as voted by 69 jurors from 22 countries. The luxury hatch toppled the widely-tipped favourite, the Mazda3 from Japan, in the awards announced at the New York motor show today. The Audi A3 was among five German cars that took out a cleansweep of the 2014 World Car of the Year categories, and it was Audi’s second win in 10 years, having won the inaugural award. Indeed, German cars have won seven of the past 10 World Car of the Year awards, Japanese brands have won the remaining three. Accepting the award on behalf of the company, Audi's North America president Scott Keogh said: “The Audi A3 has only been on sale three weeks and already it’s off to a flying start.” Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi, said: “This major award win is an achievement that the whole company can celebrate.” The Audi A3 was among 24 finalists that included the BMW i3 electric car, which won the Green Car of the Year and the Car Design of the Year. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was the Luxury Car of the Year while the Porsche 911 GT3 was awarded top performance car honours. But the Mazda3 had emerged as an early favourite for the outright World Car of the Year award following rave reviews globally since it went on sale late last year. The previous generation Mazda3 has been Australia’s top selling car for two of the past three years, and was the vehicle that ended the Holden Commodore’s record 15-years as the market leader, in 2011. The Mazda3 is returned to the top of the sales charts so far this year -- after being overtaken by the Toyota Corolla in 2013 -- and is likely to take out top-seller status this year buoyed by the new model which went on sale in January. World car of the year winners 2014 – Audi A3 2013 -- Volkswagen Golf Mk7 2012 -- Volkswagen Up 2011 -- Nissan Leaf 2010 -- Volkswagen Polo 2009 -- Volkswagen Golf Mk6 2008 -- Mazda2 2007 -- Lexus LS460 2006 -- BMW 3 Series 2005 -- Audi A6 2014 World Car of The Year category winners Green car of the Year -- BMW i3 electric car Car Design of the Year -- BMW i3 electric car Performance Car of the Year -- Porsche 911 GT3 Luxury Car of the Year – Mercedes-Benz S-Class This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling  

Priced from $16,500, the Mazda2 has won concerted praise since the new model was launched in Australia last year.

As previewed here last month, the three-door version of the critically acclaimed and popularly successful hatch should arrive here in the second half of the year.

Industry figures released this week show the real boom in the market has been in four-cylinder cars valued at less than $25,000. Known as the light car segment, sales in the division are up 22.7 per cent for the year to date on last year, while the large car segment is down the same figure. Last month light cars were up by 31.4 per cent on August last year. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Peter Sturrock says this trend has increased over the past couple of years, with a recent acceleration put down to high petrol prices. "Well, quite simply because they are more fuel efficient, small and less expensive to purchase in the first place and they're less expensive to run," Sturrock says. A total of 10,806 light cars were sold last month and 77,650 sold this year, which is 14,346 more than last year. Leading the line-up is the Toyota Yaris, with a starting price of $14,990, which recorded 2673 sales in August, taking the total to 18,064 for the year to date. Added to this figure are the remaining 304 Echos that Toyota has sold this year, before the nameplate was changed to be consistent with the Yaris badging used in Europe. Hyundai's small Getz, named Australia's Best Small Car for 2005 by Australia's auto clubs, has also achieved an increase in sales, with 1738 models sold last month, and 13,863 for the year, an 18.4 per cent improvement over the same period last year. Getz prices start at $13,990 and stretch to $18,380. The cheapest car on the market, the Holden Barina, starting at $13,490, has the third highest sales for the segment, with 1091 sales in August and 9567 for the year to date. The Barina is followed by the Suzuki Swift, Honda Jazz and Kia Rio, all recording between 5500 and 6800 sales each for the year-to-date and just under 100 sales in August. Sturrock says while fuel prices are contributing to a shift to these cars, good value at a low price is also converting buyers. "The small cars now are very well equipped," he says. "Some years ago they were the basic models, but now they're well equipped with safety and anti-theft, occupant protection, airbags and ABS, and they often have Electronic Stability Control." Features in this segment on cars such as the Yaris and Getz include front airbags, an MP3 compatible CD system, airconditioning, power windows, central locking and ABS. Some even come with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and anti-skid technology. Holden's Barina offers airconditioning as standard, a feature that has to be bought as an option in the $34,990 base model VE Commodore Omega. The Hyundai Getz also offers a five-year/130,000km warranty. Toyota spokesman, Mike Breen, says this segment also offers a good alternative to second-hand cars. "With the options that you can get on a brand new car, plus the new car warranty, it's quite appealing, especially to younger people," he says. And it seems a wide variety of buyers are purchasing these light cars, from students through to families and retirees. Hyundai spokesman Richard Power says its small cars, the Getz and Accent, are finding a market among a variety of drivers. "We get quite a few young people buying it as their first new car and there's loyalty from senior motorists, who don't need a big car any more and are very attracted by the long warranty," he says. Overall, the car market has dropped by 3.4per cent on last year, with 642,383 vehicles sold, a decrease of 22,513 vehicles. August was also down from 2005 by 4516 vehicles. In the small car segment, sales are up 3 per cent year-to-date, with the Toyota Corolla the segment leader with 4147 sales in August and 31,705 Corollas sold this year. But small car sales also experienced a slight drop last month, down 1.3 per cent or 244 vehicles. Sturrock says that although the large car segment is down by 26,461 vehicles, it is still an important part of the market. "It has reduced over time from what it was to where it is today," he says. "But it's still about 25 per cent of the passenger car market. You see very strong interest in the new Holden Commodore and the new Toyota Camry, there's been an excellent reaction." WHAT'S SELLING Toyota Yaris 18,368 Hyundai Getz 13,863 Holden Barina 9567 Suzuki Swift 6703 Honda Jazz 5936 Kia Rio 5579 Ford Fiesta 4407 Mazda2 3934 Hyundai Accent 3593 Mitsubishi Colt 1516 VW Polo 1337 Peugoet 206 1071 Citroen C3 486 Proton Savvy 357 smart fortwo 326 Renault Clio 173 Citroen C2 139 smart forfour 132 Fiat Punto 113 Daihatsu Sirion 40 Proton Satria 9 Suzuki Ignis 1 *Source: VFacts (light car sales 2006 to end August) Note: Yaris sales includes 304 Echo sales THE CHEAPIES Holden Barina from $13,490 Hyundai Getz from $13,990 Proton Savvy from $13,990 Toyota Yaris from $14,990 Hyundai Accent from $15,990 Mitsubishi Colt from $15,990 Suzuki Swift from $15,990 Ford Fiesta from $15,990 Honda Jazz from $15,990 Kia Rio from $15,990 Mazda2 from $16,335 Peugeot 206 from $16,990 VW Polo from $16,990