Mazda3 crowned Australia's most popular

[Wretched]

The Mazda3 small car was the country’s top-selling car this year, as imports continued to swamp locally made cars.A pair of Toyotas - the HiLux ute and Corolla small car - filled the minor placings, while the Holden Commodore continued to slide down the sales charts, finishing fourth.

To rub salt into the wounds, the Commodore was again outsold by the Toyota Camry in December - the third month in a row that the Toyota has been the best selling locally made car.

It was an even bleaker end to the year for Ford’s struggling local hero, the Falcon, with preliminary figures obtained by Drive showing that it was outsold by the petrol-electric version of the Camry and Toyota’s Aurion sedan.

Poor Falcon sales saw Ford slip from third to fifth on the sales charts this year, overtaken by Mazda and Hyundai.

The Falcon managed roughly 14,000 sales this year, compared to a peak of more than 80,000 in 1995.

Overall figures suggest the new-car market was up about 16 per cent in December and 10 per cent for the year, with annual sales reaching a new record of about 1.1 million new vehicles.

SUVs continue to be popular with buyers, with sales up by a quarter in 2012.

Toyota was number one brand for the tenth time in a row, buoyed by strong sales of its locally-made sedans and its continued dominance of the SUV market.

Holden and Ford both lost market share this year, while brands that grew the most included Jeep, Land Rover, Kia, Volkswagen and Chinese newcomer Great Wall Motors.

Official figures are released on Friday



Top ten vehicles in December

1. Mazda3

2. Toyota Camry

3. Toyota Corolla

4. Toyota HiLux

5. Nissan Navara

6. Holden Commodore

7. Toyota Yaris

8. Ford Focus

9. Holden Cruze

* Hyundai i30 - numbers not available



Top ten brands in 2012

1. Toyota

2. Holden

3. Mazda

4. Hyundai

5. Ford

6. Nissan

7. Mitsubishi

8. Volkswagen

9. Subaru

10. Honda

http://brisbanetimes.drive.com.au/mo...102-2c5dz.html

[DBourne]

I believe it after seeing how even my workplace's car park has changed over the last 12 months..

Honestly you'd think I worked for Mazda. They really did nail it by droping the "23" from the 323 badge, change a few things up, good marketing, bam, a winner.

[In Focus]

The whole "zoom zoom zoom" thing seems to have worked.

[Windsor220]

Focus outsold Cruze.

[turbodewd]

The Mazda 3 is cheap and has a good advertising campaign. Mazda's 'zoom zoom' makes it seem more lively than the Corolla which is bought by the oldies and the lawn bowls brigade.

[jmac]

Have any of you driven an MPS?
Its a shame they still dont make the 6 MPS though..

[GQ_Smooth]

There is talk of them doing a MPS 6 for the new model. I doubt it as the original MPS 6 wasn't the sales success in the US they needed it to be to justify the money they spent in developing it. There is alot of inherent tweeks they did in the torque control in the AWD system allowing AWD drifts and switching the traction control off if you pull the handbrake mid corner with power on. Really cool stuff for those using it as more than just transport.

I'm pretty sure the 2.3 direct injection turbo engine is dead and burried once the current MPS 3 has a model change. Mazda has gone the ECO, quality route with great success in Australia.

The only thing that will have them go the performance options on the new 6 if it was a global sales success, beyond their expectations. At the moment they are all hands on deck making sure they stay around as a viable Automotive company in their own right, without needing to taken over (ala Chrysler).

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by jmac86

Have any of you driven an MPS?
Its a shame they still dont make the 6 MPS though..

One sitting in the drive since new. Mazda have made nothing good enough to replace it since.

[jmac]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

One sitting in the drive since new. Mazda have made nothing good enough to replace it since.

I'm lucky enough to have one of each in the garage but the 3 is going for either an F6 or a GT

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[Windsor220]

Has the engine started smoking or rattling on them yet?

[jmac]

Did, fixed under warranty. The first generation pcv system was poorly designed but now I have the revised head and system all good. The new models don't seem to have the same problem..
Im actually one of the administrators over at OzMPSclub.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by jmac86

Did, fixed under warranty. The first generation pcv system was poorly designed but now I have the revised head and system all good. The new models don't seem to have the same problem..
Im actually one of the administrators over at OzMPSclub.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

A lot of turbos wore out very quickly too. CX7s with the same motor were bad for it.

[jmac]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

A lot of turbos wore out very quickly too. CX7s with the same motor were bad for it.

Pcv system caused issues with oil drainage and the turbo seals. There is a TSB for it so will be covered by warranty. Mine was actually replaced outside of warranty for free.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[stevz]

A girl at work recently bought a new Mazda 3. When questioned why, she said 'because it's cute and all my friends have one'.
Typical brain dead sheep that is the Australian consumer.

[RSgerry]

Originally Posted by stevz

A girl at work recently bought a new Mazda 3. When questioned why, she said 'because it's cute and all my friends have one'.
Typical brain dead sheep that is the Australian consumer.

we have had one since 2006 and it is a sensational car. by far the best car i have owned, and i have owned quite a few. maybe that is the reason Mazda have sold so many of them.

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by stevz

Typical brain dead sheep that is the Australian consumer.

Oh, so it has nothing to do with the fact that the Mazda 3 has great resale and build quality, plenty of features, is very safe, and gets excellent fuel economy. No, people buy them because they are brain dead sheep!

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by jmac86

Pcv system caused issues with oil drainage and the turbo seals. There is a TSB for it so will be covered by warranty. Mine was actually replaced outside of warranty for free.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Yeah I used to work there so I know the TSB you are talking about for the upgraded breathing kit. Didn't mention anything about the turbo though.

[BadMax]

Some interesting although somewhat pathetic replies to be read, some people would call it being 'one eyed'.
The 3 and 6 for that matter are both good quality cars, assuming all consumers are sheep is just plain old dumb.
It will be very interesting how the sales race pans out once Mazda release the all new 3.

[stevz]

Originally Posted by Ford_The_Win

Oh, so it has nothing to do with the fact that the Mazda 3 has great resale and build quality, plenty of features, is very safe, and gets excellent fuel economy. No, people buy them because they are brain dead sheep!

Pffft. From what I've seen, they are pretty ordinary in regards to build quality. There is certainly nothing there that sets them apart from other cars in their class. Mazdas are regarded as junk in other parts of the world, yet the dumb Australian consumer has been brainwashed into thinking they are a prestige car. In regards to fuel economy the Mazda 3 would have to be near worst in class. Features and safety wise, again, there is nothing there which stands out. Not to mention that they are one of the ugliest and stupid looking cars on the market.
Yes, people do buy them because they are sheep. Ask the average Mazda 3 owner about their cars and very few of them have any sort of clue about the factors you mention. They simply bought one "because everyone else is buying them".

[grandpa_spec_F6]

It's also pure economics and the reason I'm buying one for the wife.

F6 Running costs:
Tyres - $900+ (4 x fitted and balanced, cheaper brand), or $1200+ for name brand
Servicing - $300 (capped price)
Fuel - $90 p/w (min spend)
Rego - $900 p/y

Mazda 3
Tyres - $400 (4 x new)
Servicing - $200-ish
Fuel - $60p/w (based off friends who own them and do 400km+/pw)
Rego - $700-ish p/y

These are rough figures for the Mazda 3 based on what a mechanic friend of mine has advised but you see it's no where near the cost of a family sedan (albeit a thirsty one)

[Buntz]

A Mazda 3 article with three lines kicking Falcon in the guts.

...oh... I see how they got there.

[OzJavelin]

Originally Posted by stevz

A girl at work recently bought a new Mazda 3. When questioned why, she said 'because it's cute and all my friends have one'.
Typical brain dead sheep that is the Australian consumer.

I'd suggest this is more on the money than any of the more sophisticated reasons being proposed here; eg running costs, fuel economy, resale, servicing, etc. These other things might have triggered more savvy purchasers to get the ball rolling, but I'd be interested to hear more from "average Joes" why they purchased these?

My gut reaction is that they believe that as its Japanese it will be reliable and good quality, they are happy with the purchase price, they like the looks and features ... And they are more comfortable buying a popular car. I doubt it's any more technical than that ..

[The Snout]

The girl probably bought a 3 as said because her friends recommended the car and she liked the look. Same reason why Mick Bogan buys a Falcadore cause his mates all have one or his father had one and did his thinking for him. Sheep come in all sizes.

Your tastes are your tastes and each to his own.

[jmac]

Dude most of them are women who know nothing about cars (yes I'm generalising, but most dont) they just think it's cute and it's got satnav and blue tooth.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[markb]

I have a 2008 3 and overall it's a good but not fantastic car. Great fuel economy though and reasonably zippy. Just did the Sydney to Brisbane drive and it performed well. I have owned a lot of Aussie sixes and eights from falcons to 380's and would have one of those in a minute but the running cost equation is just too hard to ignore.

[Pedro]

A lot of guff here by people who don't own and/or have never driven one.
I bought my wife an MP23 back in 2005 and after 100,000 kms and NO problems i.e. no warranty claims, I traded it on an MP 25 two years ago. It's now done 50,000 kms and again NO problems.

Checking the "What problems have you had with your FG?" thread, I see there are 5,265 posts.

So to the guff writers ... That's why we buy Mazda 3's.

[XWGT]

Originally Posted by jmac86

Dude most of them are women who know nothing about cars (yes I'm generalising, but most dont) they just think it's cute and it's got satnav and blue tooth.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

No it actually only got blueetooth in Q3 2012. Up until then it was a full cost option.

[BadMax]

Mmm, so the 3 is a pile of poo according to some people, I guess sharing most of it's DNA with the Festy explains why the Festy doesn't sell in comparison....Wait that doesn't make sense. When all else fails to explain Fords poor sales figures, blame the marketing department.

My mum has had her 3 for about 6-7 years, owned it since new and has had zero problems. My mother inlaw has had her 6 for about the same time, zero problems. A mixture of friends have had 3's and 6's and zero problems...Get where this is going?

Don't start with the fanboi crap, argue your point not attack the forum member. Pretty hard to ignore the fact that the 3 outsells anything Ford branded, now that is fact. Why, well maybe value for money is a part of it, maybe because 'dumb chicks' buy them. Well, who cares a sale is a sale and the Ford should be doing anything it takes to capture some market share back.

In saying all of that, there'll be an ST parked in the garage shortly next to my GS and probably a Festy in my mums garage.

Signed off, non faboi and not one eyed.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by stevz

A girl at work recently bought a new Mazda 3. When questioned why, she said 'because it's cute and all my friends have one'.
Typical brain dead sheep that is the Australian consumer.

Sorry sport.......and this may come as a bit of a shock to you and those with the same attitude, but you are a sheep to......you just belong to a different flock is all....

[XRtowcar]

Test drove a Mazda 3 and old model Corolla recently for a friend.
Found the Mazda to be underpowered and harder riding than the Toyota.
Paint quality is not as good as the Toyota, with an orange peel surface being quite noticeable in some colours. Interior was full of untainted surfaces in matt black plastic, which was noticeably cheaper looking than the Toyota.
Seats in the Mazda didn't have the comfort of the Toyota either.
Corolla had more room and was better finished.
As the Toyota was in runout she got an Ascent sport for the same price as the 3.
Perhaps the 3 just makes good A to B transport, with good advertising.