The Civic was no longer the unchallenged king of the Japanese front-drive minis. Mazda’s second-generation GLC was not only an all-new design, it was stuffed with enough innovations to make it a strong contender for engineering state-of-the-art honors in this class. All independent suspension, crisp new transaxle, virtual elimination of torque steer, self-correcting rear suspension and a welcome boost in engine displacement to 1.5-liters, all in a package that weighed less and looked better than its predecessor. Interior volume was now as good as anything in the class – better than Civic – and the Mazda engineers did an exemplary job of apportioning the extra space. All three body styles – 3-door, 5-door or 4-door sedan offered exceptional luggage volume, particularly the 4-door’s cavernous trunk, and the car could be had in four different levels of trim.
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