Honda L13A i-DSI engine

A friend was asking me the economy of the Honda Fit/Jazz. I remembered that I read about Fit being more economical than the March/Micra and Vitz despite having a bigger 1.3 engine. I decided to confirm it from their respective websites.

Toyota’s Japan website said up to 21 km/L for the Vitz 1.0L while Honda said up to 24 for Fit. Note that Toyota quotes better fuel economy for its CVT version over 5-speed manual (like I say in my other post). Nissan March manages 19 km/L officially for the 4-speed (old) automatic and 21 km/L for 5-MT. All these figures are for Japan’s 10-15 mode. In practise I have seen that if you add reduce it by 15% you get a good estimate of how much you’ll use here in Mauritius depending on your driving style.

One model to look out for is the upcoming March in Q4 of this year. It is being rumoured to have a new 1.0 litre turbocharged engine that should provide economy and power when you need it. It’ll definitely come with a CVT, finally.

Links:

http://www.toyota.co.jp/

http://www.honda.co.jp/auto/

http://www.nissan.co.jp/MARCH/

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Another group that has potential I’d say is Axess. My suggestion would be to bring in the World Car of the Year 2008. That’s the Mazda 2/Demio that won against reputed cars like the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A5, Nissan Qashqai and Ford Mondeo! It’s a direct competitor of Toyota Vitz/Yaris and Honda Fit/Jazz/City. Fifth Gear has a review of the Mazda2:

So the Mazda Demio from Japan can be brought to Mauritius and sold with the same CVT gearbox. That would make it the ‘Most economical 1.3L (auto) on the market.’ (unless Honda or Nissan brings better) The sports version 1.5 e4WD manual would be good too with the 16 inch rim, appealing to youth… Anyway, that it what I want to buy. A black 1.5L e4WD CVT Mazda Demio…

The thing that is different with the Demio, is that it has style, is fun to drive (like Fit) and is comfortable, stable with a long wheelbase.Why haven’t they launched it yet!

List of World Car of the Year winners on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Car_of_the_Year

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There has been a clear lack of 1. correct models and options for Mauritius; 2. inaccurate and incomplete marketing campaigns. Let’s take them one by one. Anyone who wants to critic me is open to do so.

Let’s consider the E150 Corolla that they’ve been bringing for about 2 years only as a 4-speed automatic 1.5L. Now come on, everyone knows that Mauritians who buy Japanese prefer manual gearbox. Simply offering only that (in ads) was a deterrant to many Toyota-lovers. Ah, it’s only now, after so many months that they’ve started to offer the 1.6L 5-speed manual… Late I’d say, when the market has been taken by Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Lancer (Iframac claims the Lancer to be no 1 in sales for mid-size vehicles for 2007 and 2008 although the Lancer is more a compact sedan rather than a mid-size -MotorMag, June 2009).
The Avensis is still the old model too, and the Camry has an inefficient engine, and is almost as big as a Premio/Allion: it won’t sell! 2.4L means huge taxes.

The local car market believes strongly in Japanese cars and the suitability of their models.

1. The Corolla Axio E140 is more suited to our market, with a short length but same interior space, and as wide as previous generations. Bring in the 5-sp manual and the CVT automatic (yeah, the economical one, not the retard 4-speed step-auto).

2. Bring in the CVT version of the Yaris as well. Small car buyers are women who want comfort rather than control. That would be smooth and economical while being an automatic.

3. The Allion/Premio 1.5L/1.8L sister cars are going to sell if they bring it. Allion with aero kit would definitely appeal the youth who are not taking the dated Avensis. Ah, that’s another model that should see the new version sell, which is already selling in Europe. The 1.6L Valvematic engine will do justice. Bring in the diesel version and sell for economy as well.

4. No to Camry. The Mark X would do a better job at higher end. With a 2.5L V6 doing 210hp (vs 170 something for the Camry) while being more economical and better looking. That would be the answer to the Cefiro/Teana. Mark X is larger than the Camry and it’s built on the solid Crown Royal sedan platform. After all, Mauritian car buyers are more Japanese than American…

5. Auris is the hatchback version of the Corolla E150. That definitely needs to be here to face the increasing sale of the Tiida (given similar dimensions). Same gearboxes as the Corolla and sell it as the Corolla Auris.

6. Where are the smaller cars? Peugeot is already selling the 107 with a Yaris engine (which is similar to the Toyota Aygo), so bring that here! Small cars sell good in Mauritius.

Now about the campaign. Imagine how disgusted I was when I barely saw any USP in the Camry ad. Where’s the USP’s? It’s the best selling car in USA for over
10 years, has very comfortable interior and boot etc… Same for the Corolla, after all, it’s the best selling car in the world and also the most reliable according to some… I would do a better job at the press ads and billboards…

And here I claim that if I were to choose the models to sell in Mauritius and lead their marketing campaigns, there would be a clear rise in their market share within months of making the changes!

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