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More diesel power for Mazda 3

11 April 2007

Mazda has added a third, more powerful diesel engine to its 3 small family car range.

The 2.0-litre engine develops 141bhp, so it's between 34bhp and 52bhp more powerful than the two existing 1.6-litre diesels.

Available from £16,735 in TS2 trim, the newcomer is priced close to the 134bhp £16,790 Ford Focus and 138bhp £17,820 Volkswagen Golf diesels.

Despite having more power, the Mazda 3 is a little slower off the line than the competition, accelerating from 0-62mph in 9.9sec (0.6sec down on both the Ford and Volkswagen). A top speed of 126mph matches the Ford and is only 1mph down on the Golf, however.

Average fuel economy of 47.1mpg compares with 50.4mpg for the Ford, and 51.4mpg for the Volkswagen. Emissions of 162g/km are also worse than these two rivals, the 3 sitting in the 23% company car tax band while both the Golf and the Focus slot into the 20% category.

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