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Last weekend saw RRG Kia Bury celebrating Kia’s 20th UK anniversary. It has been 20 years since the manufacturer’s first car went on sale in the UK – less than a fortnight after the all new Picanto, went on sale at the dealership.

Gareth Mawdsley, Sales Manager, says: “Out of all the car manufacturers on the roads today, Kia has been the most exciting to watch. As each year goes by, Kia is making its cars more attractive to consumers; build quality, kerb appeal, environmental credentials, value for money – all of these factors are important to our customers and as a result, they’re walking through our doors and becoming more and more impressed with Kia.”

Kia’s 20th year in the UK is a busy one for new models and has already seen the launch of new Picanto onto RRG Kia’s forecourt. Later this year, Bury will see the launch of new Rio and the brand new Kia Optima.

Kia’s progress

Back in 1991 the Kia Pride was the only Kia model on sale in the UK and the small hatchback went on to find 1,786 British homes in its debut year.  Since then the firm has changed beyond all recognition and grown at an extraordinary rate to become a major global brand.  In 2010 Kia recorded its best ever year in the UK with 56,114 vehicles sold – a feat matched at an international level as Kia sold in excess of 2 million vehicles worldwide for the first time.

Early models such as the Pride and first generations of the Sportage crossover and Sedona MPV were renowned for offering great value for money and brought many customers to the brand.  Recent models such as the European designed and manufactured cee’d, along with Kia’s industry-leading seven year warranty, have built the South Korean firm a reputation for quality and reliability. 

The appointment of Peter Schreyer as Chief Design Officer in 2006 coincided with a shift in direction for the brand to put exciting design at the heart of all its new products and to appeal first and foremost on an emotional level.  The popularity of stunning new models such as the Soul urban crossover, Venga mini-MPV, Sportage and all-new Picanto is testament to these efforts.

Kia Motors Corporation is considerably older than its UK subsidiary having recently celebrated its own 67th anniversary on the 25th May 2011.  From its origins of manufacturing bicycles in the 1950s Kia has now grown to be part of the 4th largest automotive group in the world and is present in over 170 countries.

To arrange a test drive, call RRG Kia Bury on 0161 635 0167 or visit the showroom at 128 Bolton Road, Bury.

Visitors to this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will be in for a unique treat when the Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B takes to the hill, filling the West Sussex venue with one of motorsport’s most evocative and distinctive soundtracks.

In 1991 Mazda confounded its critics and rewrote motorsport history when its rotary-powered 787B won the 24-Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most arduous and taxing endurance race. Mazda became the first - and to date the only - Japanese car manufacturer to win the race, and the only marque ever to do so with a rotary-engined car. The 700PS carbonfibre-bodied racer, which has a 210mph top speed, completed 362 laps at an average speed of 127.62mph.

Under the seasoned eye of six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx, the factory-backed team entered three cars into the 1991 race. The winning 787B, number 55, wore the iconic green and orange livery, and was driven by the crack team of Johnny Herbert, Volker Weidler and Bertrand Gachot. It ran faultlessly - its only mishap being a blown headlight bulb - and 24 hours and 3065 miles later, Herbert took the chequered flag. The two other 787Bs also finished in the top ten, underlining the strength and dependability of their rotary powerplants.

Ex-Formula 1 driver and Le Mans veteran Mike Wilds and current Mazda works driver Mark Ticehurst will be driving the 787B up the hallowed Goodwood hill throughout the festival weekend. The Mazda 787B arrives at Goodwood after a painstaking restoration and test programme to bring it back to driving condition for the first time since it took to the track in 1991. Last month saw the 787B participate in an evocative demonstration drive by Johnny Herbert in front of a huge audience before the start of the Le Mans race.

The 787B will be joined by Mazda UK’s latest motorsport sensation, the MX-5 GT. Taking on top racing brands like Aston Martin, Porsche, Lotus and BMW in this year’s Britcar Dunlop Production GTN Championship, the MX-5 GT racecar epitomises the MX-5’s giant-slaying attributes of lightweight athleticism, wrist-flick agility and bullet-proof reliability, all at an affordable cost.

The MX-5 GT is powered by a tuned 275bhp 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated engine and features a six-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox, carbonfibre doors and polycarbonate windows. With a kerb weight of just 850kg – the result of a painstaking 400-hour build by motorsport engineering specialist Jota Sport – the MX-5 GT accelerates from 0-to-60mph in just three seconds and has a top speed of 160mph.

With Mark Ticehurst and talented Auto Express journalist Owen Mildenhall behind the wheel, the MX-5 GT has already racked up two podium results and currently lies fifth in the championship.

As if one red-hot MX-5 wasn’t enough, Banzai Magazine will also be displaying its jaw-dropping MX-5 conversion. Created by the UK’s best-selling Japanese tuning magazine as an homage to the Mazda Furai concept car, the matte black and glossy red 2.0i Roadster Coupe is fitted with a raft of dynamic and visual upgrades. The stunning 1967 Cosmo Sport, also on Mazda’s show stand, will be the perfect foil for the Banzai MX-5.

And coming right back to the 21st Century, Mazda will also have full details on its revolutionary SKYACTIV technology. This technology will ensure driving remains fun while also addressing environmental concerns with fuel economy and CO2 emissions on a par with hybrids.  Every new model from 2012 will embody SKYACTIV technology, this radical new efficiency and lightweight system saw Mazda’s engineers go back to the drawing board for a radical rethink of how the car’s chassis, body, engine and transmission could be redesigned to be inherently lighter and more efficient while still delivering Mazda’s hallmark on-road dynamism.

“Exactly half a century ago, Mazda started development of the rotary engine. The line that can be drawn from that bold new initiative, through to our 1991 victory at Le Mans, and on to our exciting SKYACTIV technology development programme, is founded on our desire to never stop challenging and to defy convention,” said Mazda PR director Graeme Fudge.

IMAGINE the engine in your everyday vehicle operating at a greater pressure than that of a Formula One car.

Then imagine it can average more than 60 miles to the gallon while still being capable of 0 to 60 acceleration in around eight seconds.

It’s no pipedream but the goal of Mazda with its next generation of cars.

The technology is called SKYACTIV and it is Mazda’s way of keeping motoring fun and affordable.

Instead of developing hybrid and electric vehicles, the Japanese car maker has decided to rewrite the rule book for conventional engines making them absolutely lean and mean.

And the approach is not limited to engines. To make its future models as efficient as possible there’s also a new wave of gearboxes, chassis and lightweight bodies on the way.

We have just sampled the new technology in a test session around the Rennarena circuit in Majorca – and the results are impressive.

The SKYACTIV prototypes are based on the current Mazda6 family car – already known for its sporty feel.

With the new systems in place the car feels even more planted on the road and the engines are punchy and highly responsive.

The trick is to make petrol engines behave more like diesels and vice versa.

To achieve this Mazda has pumped up the compression ratio – basically the pressure inside the combustion chamber – of its petrol engines from 10:1 to 14:1 and reduced the diesel from 16:1 to 14.

Formula One engines currently have compression ratios of around 12:1 and even supercars such as the Ferrari 458 operate at 12.5:1 while diesels are around 16:1.

To make such changes to regular engines Mazda has had to overcome plenty of problems which involved improving control of the fuel mixture, altering the exhaust arrangement and in the case of the diesels clever use of turbocharging.

The result is better combustion which translates into a petrol engine being some 15 per cent more economical and a diesel which is 20 per cent better, with both delivering improved performance.

Mazda’s achievement is quite remarkable and its engineers have been working on the SKYACTIV programme for the past five years.  It will make its debut in Britain next year with the arrival the futuristic looking CX-5 compact crossover model.

The CX-5 will be powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine developing 172PS yet with CO2 emissions as low as 120g/km and average mpg in the region of 60.

That’s more power than Mazda’s current 2.2 diesel engine but with significantly better economy and much more tax friendly emissions.

It will also be available with a six speed auto gearbox making it Mazda’s first diesel automatic.

A characteristic of the SKYACTIV diesel is plenty of power both at low and high revs and the engine redlines at 5,200rpm – unusually high for a diesel.

It produces a very sporty drive and so does the petrol version which uses a two-litre engine that develops 165PS.

The handling is sharp and on manual versions the gearbox has a short throw and crisp action akin to that of sports cars.

The new auto is equally impressive with fast shifts and seamless but wide ranges.

Even on the prototypes noise levels were surprisingly low in both diesel and petrol versions and the ride was impressively composed.

To help handling the suspension has had a major overhaul and the SKYACTIV set up has much less pitch when braking while the use of high tensile steel in the body has saved on weight.

Mazda has set itself a target of shaving some 100 kilos off the weight of each new model compared to its predecessor – something it has already achieved with the current Mazda2 supermini.

The CX-5 - based on the Minagi concept car seen at this year's Geneva Motor Show - will be the first of Mazda’s sixth generation of vehicles and from that point onwards every new Mazda will use SKYACTIV technology.

It is a move similar to the way that BMW has made its energy saving EfficientDynamics system a feature of all of its cars but so far no other car maker has gone about changing its engines so radically as Mazda.

As such Mazda’s petrol models should be capable of returning similar fuel economy as its diesels – so expect 50mpg to be easily achievable – while the new diesels will be closer to 70 to the gallon.

Mazda’s decision to improve conventional engines rather than resort to expensive electronic solutions to reduce CO2 emissions looks like a shrewd move under the current climate where there is no sign of a real infrastructure being put in place for the likes of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

Not only does the SKYACTIV system mean drivers won’t have to resort to plugging in their cars overnight and be saddled with limited ranges but it should keep prices for mainstream models similar to current levels for new and used cars alike.

Factor in less visits to filling stations and cars which have the right amount of get up and go and it looks like a winner on every front.

To find out more about the Mazda range, please contact RRG Mazda Manchester, RRG Mazda Rochdale or RRG Mazda Stockport

The RRG Group are delighted to announce the winner of their recent “Win an iPad” Social media promotion, which gave people who followed the Group’s Twitter feed or liked the group’s Facebook page the chance to win a 32gb iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.

The lucky winner was Dennis Wright, an Actuary from Manchester who is one of the Group’s Twitter followers. He was delighted to receive his iPad from RRG Group Marketing Manager, Nikki Jolley, at the RRG Salford Quays branch earlier today.

Dennis said “I was really pleasantly surprised to receive the message from RRG telling me that I had won the draw. I’m a big fan of the latest technology and mainly use Twitter to keep up to date with the latest tech news and industry news and am delighted to have won.” 

Although Dennis came in to collect his prize we’re not sure how long he’ll get to make use of it as he explains: “Even though I am a big tech fan, I didn’t have an iPad and am looking forward to using it but the children were very excited to hear that I had won and I am sure they’ll want to get their hands on it as soon as possible.”

Dennis who currently drives a Prius is a loyal RRG customer, “I have been using RRG for servicing for the last 4 years and have always received a good level of service, working in Manchester city centre it is convenient for me and the use of a courtesy car is particularly helpful.” he adds.

RRG Group Marketing Manager, Nikki Jolley, said “We are continuously looking to improve and develop our social media strategies, helping us to communicate to our existing customers and potential customers in a timely and less intrusive way.  Facebook and Twitter are excellent ways to do this and as a Group we are striving to be recognised as a forward thinking organisation highlighted by developments such as our two iPhone apps and mobile optimised website.

“We will be continuing to offer promotions and incentives exclusively to our social media followers so it will be well worth keeping an eye on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news, promotions and special offers.”

RRG Mazda Manchester are celebrating after achieiving success at Mazda UK's Finance Awards on June 9th.

The centre located on Bury New Road, Manchester was represented by Dealer Principal Neil Perrin (pictured) who picked up two awards at the Mazda Financial Services event.

Mazda have a great selection of finance offers across the range with special offers available on the Mazda2, Mazda3 and Mazda MX-5.

Contact RRG Mazda Manchester, RRG Mazda Rochdale or RRG Mazda Stockport for more information or to arrange an appointment.