A little less Mazda

The second generation of Mazda2 is here. The new car looks sleek, consumes less fuel than its predecessor and has a sporty feeling on the road. But will it give competitors Corsa and Fabia a run for their money? Sofie Lidefjard takes to the road to find out

The new Mazda2 marks a change within the car manufacturing industry. When its competitors in the B-segment only get larger and heavier, Mazda does the opposite and makes its new model smaller and lighter than its predecessor. Through taking off 100kg the new Mazda2 attains a 15 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and better driving qualities.   

An increased use of high-tensile steels, alongside other weight reducing measures, means the Mazda2 weighs in at under a ton. It’s also a little shorter and lower than before, but it rides on the same wheelbase despite having an all-new platform. Other weight savings come from the suspension, the exhaust system, wiring and loudspeakers.   

The Mazda2 range of five-door hatchbacks will offer customers a three-strong model line-up with a choice of tree powertrains and three equipment levels: TS, TS2, and Sport. The TS model is priced at £8,499 with an extra £1,500 buying the TS2 model and a further £1,800 getting you the Sport model.   

Mazda2 will be offered with a choice of three four-cylinder petrol engines. Customers can choose from the 1.3-litre power unit in 75ps or 86ps forms, both returning 52.3mpg on the combined cycle and generating 129g/km of CO2. For higher performance customers can opt for the 103ps, 1.5-litre engine recording 47.9mpg and has a CO2 rating of 140g/km.

On the road
The feel of the car, with its sophisticated design, is sporty. The car attacks bends with enthusiasm making it fun to drive. The steering uses electric power assistance with a motor mounted on the column, and the brakes feel firm.

Mazda claims that through combining a low belt line with a significantly lower positioning of the door mirrors, the driver will benefit from improved visibility diagonally to the front and downward. Driving the car, however, I found vision to be poor; pillars seemed to be in the way wherever I looked.   

When it comes to equipment and interior, Mazda has also found ways to aid the weight loss. Every detail has apparently been checked to see whether it is necessary and if it has been designed with a ‘light’ concept in mind.

Mazda takes this hunt for weight savings a little too far on occasion. For example, the steering wheel is not multi adjustable and there are no storage facilities or bottle holders in the back seat. There is, however, a specially designed magazine rack in front of the passenger’s seat, but the dashboard looks boring and plastic.

Although smaller and more compact the car still feels spacious enough. The driver’s seat can comfortably accommodate a person measuring up to 1.85 metres (6' - 0 8/10"). Two adults will easily fit in the back seat although the seats are on the short side, as they are throughout the car.   

Customers can choose between nine exterior colours and three interior colours. Standard equipment includes ABS with Brake Assist and EBD, driver and passenger front airbags, remote central locking with deadlocks, and MP3 compatible CD radio.   

The TS2 model will have 12 additional features, including 15-inch alloy wheels, side and curtain airbags, and electric folding door mirrors, and the Sport version will come with a further 12 extra items of equipment, such as cruise control and 16-inch alloy wheels. 

Also on the negative side, the size of the boot has shrunk from 268 litres to 250 litres, with a smaller hatch and a load threshold that is 20 centimetres (7 9/10") higher.   

Mazda is confident of the prospect of the new Mazda2 tripling its sales in the B-segment during next year, which will also see the introduction of a 1.4-litre, 68ps MZ-CD diesel engine.

Verdict
The design will be the key selling point, along with the low fuel consumption achieved by its lighter weight. It’s a good little car, but as it lacks the details that make the Corsa the market leader, it might not be the first choice for a fleet manager.

Other green features
The design team focussed specially on volatile organic substances (VOCs) and how the use of these could be minimised. Mazda used for the first time a new substance for waterproof sealing the joints between interior panels, which gives off one tenth of the emissions previously emitted by conventional sealers. The amount of xylene, formaldehyde, acetoladehyde and polyvinyl chloride has also been lowered. Lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium were banned from the new Mazda2. The Mazda2 also has high recyclability. It meets the ISO 22628 standard and is more than 95 per cent recyclable.