Mazda3 Officially Australia's Favourite
The Mazda3 is officially Australia’s favourite car, ending the locally made Holden Commodore’s run of 15 years at the top.
The small Japanese car with the big grin fought a tit-for-tat battle with the big Aussie family favourite throughout the year, and eventually claimed the win by just 812 vehicles (41,429 vs 40,617).
The Mazda’s unprecedented 2011 performance, in which its sales increased by 6.2 per cent compared with 2010, sees it dislodge the Commodore from the number one spot for the first time since 1996, when the Commodore surged past traditional Australian rival, the Ford Falcon.
Mazda’s recently-launched SKYACTIV technology also received recognition from the Drive Car of the Year judges with the Mazda3 SP20 SKYACTIV taking out the Green Innovation Award. Impressive efficiency figures combined with sharp pricing and praise for the i-stop idle stop system was enough to convince the judges of another win for Mazda.
The Mazda3 SP20 SKYACTIV also won the ‘Green Award’.