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Hi Jack
I notice a considerable number of imported Mazda Axela(3) cars being offered for sale with a 1500cc engine. To the best of my recollection this size of motor was never offered here in New Zealand new Mazda 3s. Just wondered if you have any info on their performance and suitability for our roads - apart from the obvious advantage in fuel economy,wouldn't 1500 be a bit too weak for the Axela body?
Thanks for your input in advance.
Regards
Peter Holcroft

This seems to be common trend with many current used imports out of Japan and I'm not sure there are any fuel saving benefits to be had with the smaller engine to be honest.

For some, the smaller engine would make little difference power wise however, if the vehicle was purchased with a mind to fill every seating position and/or carry reasonable loads on a regular basis, then it may well struggle a little in achieving both good fuel economy or performance.

We always encourage potential buyers to give these sorts of vehicles a reasonably long and demanding test drive to satisfy themselves the performance meets their expectations.

Essentially the engines are the same with internal changes to reduce the engine size however, subtle tweaking to the electronic engine management system can mean not all components are identical to a NZ new vehicle.