(Wed 14 May 08)

The three-door version of the Mazda2, officially unveiled at the Geneva Show in March this year, is going on sale in the UK this month at prices starting from just below £8000.

The new model range closely resembles that of the five-door, which was introduced late in 2007 and was subsequently crowned World Car of the Year. The three-door is the same size, though with slightly less shoulder room for rear passengers, and it's available initially with Mazda's 1.3-litre petrol and 1.4-litre turbo diesel engines in TS and TS2 trim levels.

The diesel engine produces 67bhp in each model, but the 1.3 petrol's power output depends on which trim you pick - 74bhp in the TS and 85bhp in the TS2. The 102bhp 1.5-litre engine (which comes with its own trim level, called Sport) will arrive here in July.

Prices are £500 lower than for the five-door, so you pay £7999 rather than £8499 for the 1.3 TS and £10,504 for the Sport. Insurance is Group 3 for the 1.3 TS and the diesels, Group 4 for the 1.3 TS2 and Group 5 for the Sport.

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