MAZDA6 TOPS ULSTER CAR AWARDS

The Mazda6 was today (Tuesday 6th May) named Northern Ireland’s Maxol Car of the Year 2003.

 The award was presented by members of the Ulster Motoring Writers Association (UMWA) at the annual Car of the Year Awards ceremony sponsored by Maxol.

The UMWA chose the Mazda6 from among more that 50 rivals tested on Ulster roads during the past year, praising its unique combination of style, practicality, build quality and drier appeal.

Commenting on the choice, UMWA chairman, Richard Young, said:

“The Mazda6 is a significant car for Mazda. It represents a whole new direction for the company with its sharp aggressive styling and responsive chassis. Perhaps more significantly though, it has a quality ‘feel’ which enables it to hold its own against the top German brands.”

The Mazda6 also won the ‘family’ saloon category. Ford’s fiesta picked up the small car award, while the Citroen Berlingo Multispace was declared leisure vehicle of the year. The choice in the sporting car category was the Honda Civic R and Lexus’s SportCross took the Executive Car of the Year accolade.

Brian Donaldson, General Manager – Marketing and Retail said: 'Maxol is delighted to again support the car industry by continuing its sponsorship of the Car of the Year Awards. The awards presented today not only reflect innovative car design but also value for money and vehicle performance. As locally owned oil company, with more than 350 filling stations throughout the North and South of Ireland the continued support of local events such as the Car of the Year Awards is an important part of Maxol's investment in the local community."

For the first time since the UMWA awards began was no diesel category this year.

Commenting Richard Young said:

“Diesel cars are no longer a minority on the roads and most of them are more than capable of punching their weight against their petrol equivalents. In fact, there were more diesels than petrol cars on our test schedule in 2002/2003. Diesels are very much the mainstream now” He said.

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Media contact Pamela Beatty, Citigate Northern Ireland on 02890-395500, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Brian Donaldson, Maxol on 07831-314751.

Further information on the Maxol Group can be obtained on www.maxol.ie