Mario James, Gleaner Writer

With all the upheaval that exists in the economy, Automotives has to return to its roots and resurrect DEPORTEE DRIVE, a look at what's out there in deportee land. Today, we look at the Mazda Demio; our offering comes from New Line Motors, cost - $1 million.

The Demio - known as the Mazda2 to the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) - is a tall hatchback that has been sold in other markets as the Mazda 121, Mazda Metro and Ford Festiva Mini Wagon, but in '06 was a taller, more of a two-box design. Based on Mazda's DY platform, the Demio was redesigned in 2007 after a 10-year-production run and became shorter.

Sporting a 1348 cc 91 hp ZJ-VE, 1498 cc ZY-VE 112 hp petrol engine - 1300's can have Miller cycle options (in which case the engine code would be ZJ-VEM); both can have cam phasing technology installed. There is a 1.4-litre common rail diesel option as well - engine codes could not be ascertained before press deadline.

Roomy five-seater

Demio is a roomy five-seater with extensive window area. Our tester came with a four-speed automatic transaxle which shifted smoothly enough. The 1348 cc is smooth and peppy while giving observed mileage figures of 6.8 litres per 100 km - 33 mpg. Hatch and bonnet release are conventionally situated where you would expect them to be. The rest of the switch gear is logically placed, and front seat occupants have access to cup holders. No cigarette lighter is present, and the gauge pod has no instrumentation for temperature - just a light. There was 33,000 km on the clock.

Papera Traders has an FOB (Freight on Board) '05 price of $5100; IBC has a CIF of $4600, and RamaDBK's sells an '06 Demio for (FOB) $7,140. Zulfiqar Motors, Yamagin and TAU did not have any '06 Demios in stock. Prices quoted are in US dollars.

The dealer designated tax bracket is a cumulative 79 per cent, which includes such taxes as the CUF, Input/Output, Environmental and other taxes. FOB prices do not include freight and insurance charges to our shores - figure US$1200 for freight and one per cent of FOB for insurance.

To arrive at a benchmark price for this model, we throw out the high and low quotes and average the rest - only three figures were obtained for this particular model at this particular time - that leaves us with the FOB price $US5100 from Papera Traders.

The formula works like this: one per cent of FOB for insurance = $51, add $1200 freight to get a CIF of $6351 US; today's rate of exchange = J$88.90 to $1 US. So in Jamaican money the CIF (Cost Insured Freight) would be $564603.90. Add to this the 79 per cent aggregate duty and we have J$1,010,640.98, which is a ESTIMATE of what it costs to get here. This price does not include dealer mark-up and recoverables!