A marathon testing programme for the new Mazda3 hatchback has been completed by the vehicle manufacturer.

The Hiroshima to Frankfurt Challenger Tour 2013 was finished last weekend (September 7th), with more than 9,300 miles racked up by the model during the course of the last month, with the test getting underway on August 3rd.

Covering a wide array of different terrain and weather conditions, the vehicle was put through its paces as it passed through two continents, five countries, nine time zones and more than 30 cities during its epic adventure.

It was driven by an array of journalists and other media representatives throughout the month-long odyssey, with all those taking part advocating the many plus-points of the model's design and build.

Jeremy Thomson, managing director for Mazda UK, commented: "The all-new Mazda3 hatchback test cars … were such a joy to drive and at the same time so tough and so reliable, even when conditions were worse than anyone expected."

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