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Volvo Cars

Mazda vehicles have claimed the top place in one of the world's largest reports on vehicle reliability, says Mazda Hong Kong's Kari Chim. Nearly 92 per cent of the Mazda cars studied, including the MX-5 (below), aged between three and nine years old, suffered no mechanical failure of any kind - outperforming all other brands, the marque says.

The report, which is issued by independent automotive extended-warranty specialist Warranty Direct, looked at the reliability of more than 450,000 vehicles from 33 manufacturers in the US and Britain. The resulting reliability league table shows the number of failures reported for every 100 vehicles covered by Warranty Direct's policies. Mazda was rated No1, with a failure rate of just 8.04 per cent in vehicles aged between three and nine years old, Chim says.

Only two non-Asian marques made it into the top 10: BMW Mini, and Citroen, scoring ninth and tenth places, respectively. BMW, at 18th, led Germany's 'big three', with Mercedes-Benz 20th and Audi 27th. Off-roaders fared worst, with Jeep bottom of perhaps the world's largest study into car reliability, just ahead of Land Rover.

'The performance of some of the world's largest manufacturers in terms of reliability is there for all to see,' says a Warranty Direct spokesman. 'Off-road may mean rugged, but the data suggests that it may not always equate with reliability.

'This is unique data based on real cars, driving real miles, over the past five years. It is the kind of information manufacturers would probably rather you didn't see.'

The failure rates by marque, in order of reliability, were: Mazda 8.04%; Honda 8.90%; Toyota 15.78%; Mitsubishi 17.04%; Kia 17.39%; Subaru 18.46%; Nissan 18.86%; Lexus 20.05%; Mini 21.90%; Citroen 25.98%; Daewoo 26.30%; Hyundai 26.36%; Peugeot 26.59%; Ford 26.76%; Suzuki 27.20%; Porsche 27.48%; Fiat 28.49%; BMW 28.64%; Vauxhall/Opel 28.77%; Mercedes-Benz 29.90%; Rover 30.12%; Volvo 31.28%; Volkswagen 31.44%; Jaguar 32.05%; Skoda 32.12%; Chrysler 34.90%; Audi 36.74%; Seat 36.87%; Renault 36.87%; Alfa Romeo 39.13%; Saab 41.59%; Land Rover 44.21%; and Jeep 46.36%.

Do these findings match your experience of cars in Hong Kong? Tell us on [email protected]

The first Volvo C70 coupe-convertible has arrived, 10 months after its launch in Europe. Volvo Hong Kong spokeswoman Alice Siu says Volvo only made 5,000 new C70s, and sales were better than expected in Europe and the US. 'Asia had to wait until the next production slot,' she says.

Volvo Hong Kong's lone T5 demonstrator (below, HK$488,000) impresses Siu. 'I'm deeply in love with that car,' she says after a drive in the open-and-hard top that's said to hit 100km/h in eight seconds, sip an average of 9.8 litres per 100km and fug 217g of CO2 per km (gpk).

Built on the S40's Ford C1 platform, the new C70 is shorter and lower than its predecessor. The interior looks hip, with the S40's thin, centre 'stack', but we'll soon find out if the C70 fits two adults in the back.

Finally, we've just learned that AutoFrance will present the tiny 107 for an undisclosed price at its Peugeot Show (open 10.30am-8pm) at Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong, today and tomorrow.

'We will import the Urban 1.0 2-tronic,' says the dealer's spokesman, Calvin Lam. Its standard features include a rev counter, four airbags, air conditioning, and 14-inch alloy wheels, he says.

'This city bug is environmentally friendly,' Lam says. 'Its fuel consumption can be as low as 4.1 litres/100km [in extra-urban drives] and its CO2 emissions are only 109g/km.'

Now, that's a tiny CO2 footprint for marathon weekend. If you're running tomorrow, good luck.

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