Google seems to be under the impression that Roget has died and put Wikipedia in charge of the English language. Roget’s Thesaurus I trust, but let’s give Google the benefit of the doubt, because Google knows where I live.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, defines “overachievers” as individuals who “perform better or achieve more success than expected.” The implicit presumption is that the “overachiever” is achieving superior results through excessive effort.
Nobody likes the smug git who has the latest smart phone, gizmos galore, Trophy Wife/Toy Boy, fast car and small village for a home. Yet we all hanker to be more like them in our material aspirations. You can never be too rich or thin?
Gordon Gecko’s “Greed is Good” mantra gave us all a tin of 
Doom for that pesky voice, that internally questions your get more from life desire. Money never clashes with the colour of your clothes or political beliefs. Let’s be honest here, fiction’s uber trader stated what many believe is true, power is everything and happiness, like governments, can be bought.
For those of you who are here for the car review, patience please, your call is about to be answered. Just bear with me whilst I work through my quandary.
The quandary is that nothing stands out, yet the package is outstanding. The Mazda3 2.0 Astina Auto, is a an overachiever in sensible shoes. Problem is I have grown to love its all-in, all-singing, all-doing and all-knowing approach to the age old challenge of getting from A to B.
The Mazda3 is different from every supercar I have had the privilege to drive. No flared panels for gouging the planet’s resources into a thermo-nuclear reactor that turns air and petroleum products into speed. Where are the fat low profile donut makers? Why are the seats so comfortable? Above all, it glides along without destroying Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves.
Like all supercars it is fun to drive, but unlike the others it is surprisingly easy to drive. Don’t get me wrong, the dog does bark and your right foot will turn it into an intergalactic time machine on rails. The difference is you don’t need to prove it at every traffic light.
Being old school I have always seen the speed limit as more of a guide, rather than an instruction. Times have changed and keeping to the speed limit is now a necessary evil. This is relatively easy with the HUD (Heads up Display), cruise control and satellite navigation.
Those Mazda boffins have used Attila the Nun’s no nonsense approach to catholic school dorm shenanigans and have combined her with your ex, cleverly blending them into the SatNav. As with your Ex, this results in the SatNav telling you when you exceed the speed limit. Attila the Nun could save giving your money to the local Kojak-with-a-Kodak, but unlike your Ex, can be muted.
The Mazda3’s savings continue to be applauded by tree huggers everywhere, iStop & i-Eloop are standard and ensure that the Astina is as miserly with petrol as a circumcised Scot is with his pennies. The Astina’s 2 litre power-plant generates 121KW at 6000rpm and 210NM of torque at 4000rpm with the 6 speed automatic gearbox delivering the power to 18” alloy wheels very sensibly shod with 215/45 R18s.
The car looks good with its velvet covering a chain-mail design philosophy. The curves say fast even when the car is standing still. It is the KODO soul of motion, that is attributed for the looks of the Mazda3. Our Soul Red Metallic demo car certainly turned heads.
The Mazda3 which has come a long way since the GLC (Great Little Car) first sported a Mazda badge in an era when men permed their hair and wore polyester with pride. The legend continues today with over 5 million Mazda3s being sold since 2003.
The Astina boasts a Bose Sound System as standard, ensuring that those tub thumping tracks from the MZD infotainment centre screen, strategically plonked on the dash, are as good as live.
Size is important and our presenter, Steve, says he prefers a sedan rather than a hatchback. Meaning he is partial to a boot, which he justifies by claiming that the Mazda3 sedan is more fuel efficient. We will do a test soon, I am confidant that my boot is more fuel efficient than his boot with cruise control.
The entry level Mazda3 1.6L Original 4Dr retails at R245,300. This includes as standard Mazda’s 3 year unlimited warranty & 3 year unlimited kilometre service plan. It is an excellent entry level offer in the competitive section of the market. The Mazda3 2.0L Astina 5Dr is R357,600; it is the apex model and deservedly so. Unless of course you prefer the extra boot space which surprisingly is only R353,300. (Steve wrote that)
Time to check out this weeks episode, Steve has a good wine or two…
My final question: Is the Mazda3, the paradigm shift in what every car aspires to be?