The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THURSDAY, Sept. 9, 2010 8 Pages PUT TO THE TEST Ford Focus covers the globe in climate tests PAGE 6 CRUZE LAUNCH Five-door compact to be unveiled in Paris this month PAGE 6 Special pullout section The 2011 Mazda2 GS is the top of two trim levels. It can be spotted by the alloy wheels and the side rocker panel extension. Pricing for the GS starts at $18,195. Mazda2 puts zoom zoom into a sub-compact package By JIM ROBINSON Metroland Media Group Carguide Magazine `Seat time' is a term auto writers use to describe how long they actually drive the car in real world conditions. At the recent Canadian launch of the Mazda2, my co-driver and I managed about four hours in the car or roughly two hours each. Because the Mazda2 was totally new to all of us, two hours each behind the wheel was not a lot of time to judge how good or bad the car was. Because the Mazda2 is a really big deal for the company and because of Canadian buyers' affinity to small vehicles, I asked for one for a week of testing. As it happened, this week's tester, a Mazda2 GS was exactly the same car I drove in Montreal. This sub-compact five-door is cute as all get out with a bold character line that starts behind the front wheel well and darts upward steeply to the rear fender. The `smiling' grille treatment is toned down a bit from the Mazda3. The GX is the `base' model (the other being the GS) and starts at $13,995. At that price you get as standard, six air bags, electronic stability control with traction control, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution with brake assist, power windows/mirrors/locks and a tilt steering wheel. A real benefit, and a standard feature, is a brake override system-- one of the first to fitted to any car. See MAZDA2, pg. 3 Milton 585 STEELES AVENUE, MILTON 2010 Nissan Sentra 2.0 PLUS TAXES www.miltonnissan.ca 905.878.4137 Martin St/Hwy 25 James Snow Parkway MSRP $ 401 Steeles Main St. Thompson N SALES DEPT. HOURS: Monday - Thursday 9:00 - 9:00 Friday 9:00 - 6:00 Saturday 9:00 - 5:00 DESTINATION 17,948 $ 14,614 $ 1,385 $ 15,999 * Price for 2010 Sentra C4LG10 BNOO is plus air tax, security reg, paint charge if applicable and HST. 2.0 L 4 cyl 140 H.P. engine cut automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows/locks/heated mirrors, remote keyless entry, AM/FM CD stereo, anit-lock brakes & more.