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2015 Mazda 2 1.5 launched – hatch and sedan We’ve  seen the car at regional motor shows , we’ve  seen the brochure  and  price list , we’ve  seen the spyshots , we’ve even  driven it ; now, it’s finally here. We are of course talking about the new 2015 Mazda 2, which makes its Malaysian debut in both  hatchback  and  sedan  forms,  fully imported  from Thailand. The unveiling took place at Mazda’s new body and paint repair centre in Glenmarie. Firstly, we’ll kick things off with the prices. Or rather, price – both the hatch and sedan will retail at  RM87,956  on-the-road with insurance, inclusive of a three-year/100,000 km warranty and a three-year/60,000 km free service package. Measuring 4,060 mm long, the hatch is the longest car in its class, beating the next longest, the  Kia Rio , by 15 mm. The 2,570 mm wheelbase is also among the longest, putting it on par with the Rio. On the other hand,...

The new Mazda6 is such a seductively smooth machine that it could encourage a tattooed thug to sing along with Sade: “No need to ask, he’s a smooth operator… Smooth Operatoor.” And when that bare-knuckle bouncer opens up his tonsils while driving home in the pre-dawn light after a satisfyingly bloody night taking care of the club, there’ll be little to drown out his horribly missed notes and chainsaw-like tones. For this car purrs as sweetly as the torch singer himself, at noise levels that would make a luxury brand proud. Turns out Mazda didn’t need the ill-fated Xedos/Eunos ‘premium’ line-up in the ‘90s to match up to the likes of Lexus in terms of refinement. The latest Mazda6 takes care of that. At the risk of offending quite a few devotees of Malaysia’s present crop of quasi-luxurious large cars, allow me to pause and shout a “Hallelujah, it’s about bloody time!” at this point. Big D-segment cars have always offered comfort, interior space and dece...

The next-generation Mazda 6 has made its world debut at the Moscow Motor Show, and we now have full details of Mazda’s D-segment challenger, which is the second car after the CX-5 to marry the carmaker’s Kodo design language with Skyactiv tech. This is an important model – Mazda calls it the flagship model of a new generation of vehicles. The focus is on driving pleasure. Program Manager Hiroshi Kajiyama describes the new 6 as “a car that handles so well it seems to respond directly to the driver’s intentions rather than the physical manipulations of steering, braking and accelerating.” “In short, the new Mazda 6 offers the ‘joy of driving’ that people have come to expect from Mazda, but the experience starts even before you get behind the wheel and lingers long after the drive is over. I can’t wait to see the look on the faces of people getting out of the car after their first time behind the wheel of the new Mazda 6,” he adds. The 6 was never the biggest car around,...