Mazda here is hoping to move a lot of metal with the new 626, which has just made its Irish debut. John Coffey, the managing director, is expecting 2,500 registrations with the car next year. To put that objective in perspective, in the neighbouring high volume British market, the plan there is for 10,000 sales in a year, or a doubling from the present figure. Clearly the 626 makes a bigger impression on this side of the Irish Sea in the all-important repmobile and fleet market.
The 626 in its latest form is very much a case of evolution rather than revolution. The front grille is bolder, smarter, less bland but overall the stying is conformist and conventional. Most new models put on a few inches compared with their predecessor but the 626 bucks the trend by being a significant five inches shorter. Happily, there's no loss of cabin space: Mazda even claims greater driver and passenger space with all the interior dimensions increased. The boot incidentally, is cavernous, one of the biggest in the class.
There's much of the old model in the new 626 and it retains the existing floorpan, chassis and engines. Mazda, however, insists that it is now a much more European car. Mazda's European styling centre near Frankfurt was the European influence.
The petrol engine line-up has a 90 bhp 1.8 litre and 115 and 136 bhp two-litre versions. When we drove all three at the European launch in Finland, they were pleasantly smooth. Noise levels, never really a problem in the old 626, have been further subdued. The steering also has been made more responsive.
The best news of all comes in the Irish pricing. Prices compared with the old models, remain largely unchanged. John Coffey points to an enhanced specification with the incorporation now of a side airbag system for both driver and front passenger. Prices start at £15,750 for the LX 1.8 litre saloon while the equivalent hatchback is £16,330. The higher specification 1.8 GLX versions are £16,450 and £16,955. The two-litre cars start at £17,470.
The relatively small number of 626 customers in Britain will, however, have one important advantage over their counterparts here. It's called Intelligent Air Conditioning, and IAC actually appears on the outside badging, being standard across the entire 626 range there. As we write, the days are unpleasantly hot and humid and in stop-go traffic keeping the cool isn't easy. AC literally and metaphorically is the answer.