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Mazda2 nets Japan Car of the Year, Cherokee first US model to ever crack top 10

The 2015 Mazda2 is quite high up on our must-drive list. Yes, the teeny, tiny successor to the 100-horsepower five-door is worth getting excited over, largely because the previous generation was one of the absolute best smiles-per-dollar values on the market.
While we eagerly await for our opportunity to take to the 2's helm, our expectations of the new car have just been heightened thanks to its win in Japan's Car of the Year competition. Called "Demio" in the land of the rising sun, Japanese journalists handed out Mazda's second COTY award since the CX-5 took the title in 2012.
In more surprising news, the new Jeep Cherokee has made the list of 10 Best Cars in Japan. The Jeep's triumph marks the first time an American car has cracked the top ten, finishing eighth. It's not, however, the first Fiat Chrysler vehicle to snag the title, following in the footsteps of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Fiat Panda. Still, the fact that an American brand can make such impressive inroads into the traditionally tough-to-crack Japanese market is a seriously big deal.

5 stars in Euro NCAP crash tests for 5 new cars available in U.S.

Seven new cars have received a full five-star rating in the latest Euro NCAP crash tests. Of these, five are available in the United States: the Audi E-Tron, Lexus UX, Toyota Corolla, RAV4 and Mazda3. The Renault Clio and the Volkswagen T-Cross also took part, also receiving five stars. The Mazda3 hatchback was the fourth car in Euro NCAP history to reach an adult occupant protection score of 98%, after the Volvo V40 and XC60 and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. No NHTSA ratings for the Mazda3 or the Audi are yet available, but the Lexus and the Toyotas have all received five-star NHTSA safety ratings as well. Those three were tested as hybrid variants by Euro NCAP. Audi's first fully electric vehicle, the E-Tron, scored 91% in Euro NCAP's adult occupant rating, with unavailable knee airbags bringing down the score. The Mazda and the Toyotas offer them for the driver only, and the Lexus has the passenger's knees covered as well. The Lexus UX managed a 96% adult occupant score, close to the Mazda, and it provided better pedestrian safety (82%) than the Audi (71%), despite neither, or none, of the test vehicles having an active hood to catch pedestrians. As for the Toyotas, the Corolla, tested in both sedan and hatchback guises, scored 95% for adult occupant safety, with the RAV4 a couple notches down at 93%. Still, the five-star rating means all these vehicles are a very safe choice in their respective classes. Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP, states how important it is that even family hatchbacks perform well and have the latest safety tech available. "It is encouraging to see that all manufacturers did well, regardless of type of powertrain or class of vehicle tested," said van Ratingen. "New cars on the market continue to offer more advanced technology as standard, systems that were not even considered an option a few years ago." More crash test videos are available on Euro NCAP's YouTube channel. Audi Lexus Mazda Toyota Car Buying Safety audi etron lexus ux

2019 Mazda3 fuel economy announced for AWD, hatchback models

Although Mazda engineers gave us fuel economy numbers for one configuration of 2019 Mazda3 at the car's Los Angeles debut, there were still a few versions left out. Now Mazda has released the data for every body style, drivetrain and transmission configuration. That includes the all-new all-wheel-drive iteration, which we will have a full review of this week. Discerning these numbers is a tad tricky since there are three powertrain combinations for each 2019 Mazda3 bodystyle, and they all get slightly different fuel economy. We've listed the different combinations in a chart below: There are a few key takeaways, the first being that the sedan is always the most efficient version of the Mazda3, likely because of better aerodynamics compared to the hatchback. Second, all-wheel drive will cost you fuel economy due to the extra weight of the axles and differential, and the added drag on the engine. Third, the most efficient versions of each body have the same fuel economy numbers as the outgoing Mazda3. The manual transmission-equipped Mazda3 has actually improved fuel economy over the old version by 2 mpg on the highway, and 1 in combined driving. Also worth noting is that only one trim level of the sedan is available with cylinder deactivation and front-wheel drive, and that's the top-level Premium trim. Opting for all-wheel drive on any trim or body style will come with an engine with cylinder deactivation. The hatchback is also the only Mazda3 available with a manual transmission, and it's only offered on the front-drive version.