It is without a doubt that Mazda is one of the most successful brands in Malaysia. Just the sheer number of Mazda vehicles on our road is already a testament to that. However, if that is not convincing enough, Mazda has proven itself at the ASEAN Car of the Year Awards 2016 (ACOTY) by bagging six wins out of 24 categories. To top it off, the Mazda CX-5 even emerged as the overall winner and crowed as ACOTY 2016, bringing the tally to seven awards!
The Mazda CX-5 proved to be the crowd favourite, as voted by motoring journalist and consumers. It beat local favourite Honda Civic by an incredibly small margin of 1.77 points. Thanks to its wide range of engine choices from the frugal 2.0-litre SkyActiv-G petrol to the punchy 2.2-litre SkyActiv-D diesel along with an impressive amount of kit and superb driving dynamics, the CX-5 is certainly deserving of its ASEAN Car of the Year title!
In the Compact Hatch and Sedan of the Year category, the Mazda2 Hatchback and Sedan emerged on top, edging the Honda Jazz, Ford Fiesta, Honda City and Volkswagen Vento in its respective categories. Despite numerous complaints towards the cramped cabin, the driving dynamics and premium interior was enough to overcome its shortcomings.
In the Family Hatch and Executive Car category, the Mazda3 Hatchback and Mazda6 edges the competition to claim the title. The Mazda3 Hatchback beat even the likes of Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus, whereas the Mazda6 was up against the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
Lastly, Mazda’s CX-3 and CX-5 was crowned Crossover and Mid-Size SUV of the Year in a stiff competition against Subaru (XV and Forester) and Honda (HR-V and CR-V).
Among the Mazda fleet that bears the Kodo: Soul of Motion design language, the MX-5 was the only finalist (Coupe/Cabrio of the Year) that did not receive a title. However, the Roadster was crowned as Japan’s Car of the Year 2015 and World Car of the Year 2016 under its belt.
We applaud Bermaz Motors for their aggressive strategy of offering a variety of highly-specced vehicle in their line-up at affordable price points as well as a comprehensive 3-Year warranty and free service package for added peace of ownership. These factors altogether convinced motoring journalists and consumers to rate highly of Mazda vehicles. Once again, we at AutoBuzz.my would like to congratulate Bermaz Motors for taking home seven well-deserved titles.
