Two cars are having quite a battle north of the border for sales supremacy. In one corner, hailing from Japan is the smiling zoom-zoom of a car known as the Mazda3->ke504 and in the other corner, also from the Land of the Rising Sun, is perennial top-seller and all-around Canuck favorite, the Honda Civic->ke236.

OK, fancy introductions aside, the battle between the Mazda3 and the Honda Civic for the top spot in Canada's top five sellers is as thin as a strand of hair with the Mazda3 outselling the Honda Civic by only 135 units (5,436 to 5,301). For the whole year, the gap between the two Japanese sedans is even smaller, with the Mazda3 leading the Civic with 17,198 units sold from January to the end of April, compared to 17,095 - a 103-unit gap. Rounding out the top three is the Toyota Corolla->ke1039, which still has an outside chance of catching up to the two front-runners with 13,509 units sold.

The race is interesting particularly because the Mazda3 and the Honda Civic are neck-and-neck with each other for the number one spot. So the next couple of months should an interesting period for the two companies, one in which we're pretty sure they're going to keep close tabs on, not just on their own sales, but on the other as well.

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