New Mazda 2

Mazda 2

WHAT'S THE VERDICT?

“Mazda’s oft-overlooked Fiesta rival isn’t a bad all-rounder, but is let down by its weak naturally aspirated engine range”


The 2 is a very rounded product – if starting to show its age, but the fact it’s still here is credit to a strong original design – save for the engine which, if you’re trading in from a turbocharged rival, will take some getting used to.

As much as we’d like to come over all traditional and say ‘hurrah for having to wring a car’s neck for once’, to a great many folk, the easy-going performance of a Fiesta may well be what wins them over, despite the fact the 2 boasts a very sensibly laid-out cabin, decent space, fabulous dynamics and competitive pricing.

Opt for the 2 however and no one will be able to accuse you of being a sheep, and it'll get you and the family from A to B without too much effort. You’ll also be able to proudly claim that you’re one of the last bastions of natural aspiration. If, that is, anyone will listen.


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So I bought my Mazda 2 in December 2017, has anyone bought the new one.

Since I bought it, everytime you start it, always revs up to 1500 rpm because its cold. Is this happening on all Mazda's?

Look its not a problem, I just always wait for it to calm down and then I go on my way.

Its just so loud for no reason.
 
So I bought my Mazda 2 in December 2017, has anyone bought the new one.

Since I bought it, everytime you start it, always revs up to 1500 rpm because its cold. Is this happening on all Mazda's?

Look its not a problem, I just always wait for it to calm down and then I go on my way.

Its just so loud for no reason.
Same with my 2018 model
 
This adorable Mazda Demio racecar is here to say diesel's not dead

Thought diesel racecars belonged in the Le Mans history books? Mazda's here to prove you wrong

Thought diesel was dead? Or at the very least, dreadfully wounded with no one rushing to its aid? Well Mazda appears to be bounding over clutching a bandage. A bandage shaped like a titchy My First Racecar.

You’re looking at a Mazda Demio 1.5-litre Skyactiv-D – ‘a diesel Mazda 2’ in plain English – which has just completed a 94-lap race in Japan. And you though diesel racecars lived in the history books of Le Mans’ top tier.

It competed in the ST-Q class – “a non-championship category introduced for the purpose of showcasing experimental vehicles and new technology” – which yes, tells us it wasn’t ordinary diesel being pumped in via a greasy Esso pump.

The ickle Demio was powered with biodiesel, and a next-gen version of it no less. Mazda informs us it’s “made from sustainable raw materials such as microalgae fats and used cooking oil,” which don’t step on the toes of human food supply, an apparent issue with existing biodiesel fuels.


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New 2022 Mazda 2 Hybrid is Toyota Yaris-based supermini

Mazda will sell Yaris-based 2 Hybrid alongside the existing petrol-powered 2 in the UK from April

The new Mazda 2 Hybrid is a Toyota Yaris-based supermini that will be sold alongside the current petrol-powered 2.

On sale in the UK from April, it's the first production Mazda to arrive as part of a new electrified vehicle partnership between Toyota and Mazda. It will be built and supplied by Toyota but marketed exclusively as a Mazda model.

The first full hybrid to join Mazda's line-up, it will sit alongside mild-hybrid versions of the 2, 3, CX-30 and CX-5 and will eventually be joined by the brand's first plug-in hybrids, which are due from 2023.

The powertrain is carried over from the Yaris Hybrid, pairing a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine with a single electric motor for a total system output of 114bhp. It will get from 0-62mph in 9.7sec and reach a top speed of 109mph.

The new 2 Hybrid is capable of up to 74mpg on the WLTP combined cycle while emitting between 87g/km and 93g/km of CO2.

Like the Yaris, it starts automatically in EV mode and can be driven with the engine off for short distances at low speeds. It's also equipped with regenerative-braking technology.


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Mazda 2 Hybrid

The new Mazda2 Hybrid goes on sale throughout Europe from spring 2022 and brings self-charging full hybrid powertrain technology to the Mazda model range for the first time. The Mazda2 Hybrid is a self-charging, full hybrid that combines a 1,490cc 93hp three-cylinder petrol engine with a 59kW electric motor for a total system power of 116hp.

Mazda's new hybrid will accelerate from 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds and returns a WLTP combined cycle fuel economy of between 70.6 to 74.3mpg and CO2 emissions of just 93-87 g/km depending on the specification of 16" or 15" wheels.

At start-up the Mazda2 Hybrid automatically runs in EV mode, offering smooth, seamless and quiet running on electric motor power in urban environments, with zero CO2, NOx and particulate emissions. During normal driving, power allocation is adjusted between the petrol engine and electric motor for optimum performance and the best possible fuel efficiency. During deceleration and under braking, kinetic energy is recovered as electrical energy for storage in the high-performance battery.

Battery power level is constantly managed via an engine-driven generator to remove any need to recharge the system from an external source. Although it is a compact B-segment vehicle, the new Mazda2 Hybrid's long 2,560 mm wheelbase offers comfortable accommodation for up to four adults, as well as 286 litres of boot space. It is available throughout Europe in a choice of three grades - Mazda2 Hybrid Pure, Mazda2 Hybrid Agile and Mazda2 Hybrid Select - and has a maximum five-star Euro-NCAP crashworthiness rating.

The new Mazda2 Hybrid is the latest outcome of a long-standing collaboration between Mazda Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation. It will be an OEM model supplied by Toyota Motor Europe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, and will be added to the Mazda2 European line-up as Mazda's own brand vehicle.


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The ‘new’ Mazda 2 Hybrid looks suspiciously like a Toyota

The hybrid Yaris (sorry, Mazda) will be sold alongside the current 2 in the UK

“Mazda’s design team are on fire right now.” That’s us pretty much every time a new Mazda is unveiled. And yet, it looks as though the design team had no idea the new 2 Hybrid was even happening…

If you’re reading this and you work in Mazda’s design department, we’re sorry to be the bearers of bad news. Someone in a boardroom somewhere has whipped the badges off the current Toyota Yaris and replaced them with Mazda items, proclaiming this a new car and the “result of collaboration between Mazda Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation”. We doubt they were even wearing a turtle neck jumper at the time.

Mazda has form with its city cars, of course. Old 121s were based on the Ford Festiva/Kia Pride and the fourth generation Ford Fiesta, but at least they had slightly different faces to the cars they were based on. There’s not much of that KODO design language going on here, is there? It's not like Toyota is immune either, in the US the old Yaris was a rebadged Mazda 2.

In another slightly strange move, the 2 Hybrid will be sold alongside the facelifted 2 in the UK. The stats are as follows – a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine is connected to a small battery and a 78bhp electric motor for a total system output of 114bhp. There’s an e-CVT gearbox and like the Yaris, 0-62mph comes up in 9.7 seconds. Using Toyota’s hybrid setup means Mazda can also claim around 70mpg and CO2 emissions of between 87 and 93g/km.

 
Mazda2 Hybrid revealed as familiar looking subcompact hatch

The new Mazda2 Hybrid will be introduced to throughout Europe from spring 2022 and brings self-charging full hybrid powertrain technology to the Mazda model range for the first time. We can’t help but notice that the new offering looks shockingly similar to the current Toyota Yaris.

The Mazda2 Hybrid combines the brand’s 1 490-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a 59 kW electric motor for a total system power of 85 kW. The new hatch will accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 9,7 seconds and returns a WLTP combined cycle fuel economy of around 3,3 L/100 km and CO2 emissions of 93 to 87 g/km depending on the specification of 16-inch or 15-inch wheels.

At start-up, the Mazda2 Hybrid automatically runs in EV mode with zero CO2, NOx and particulate emissions. During normal driving, power allocation is adjusted between the petrol engine and electric motor. During deceleration and under braking, kinetic energy is recovered as electrical energy for storage in the high-performance battery.

Battery power level is managed via an engine-driven generator to remove any need to recharge the system from an external source. The new Mazda2 Hybrid has a 2 560 mm wheelbase figure that claims to offer comfortable accommodation for up to four adults, as well as 286 litres of boot space.

It joins the battery electric Mazda MX-30 and the Mazda M Hybrid mild hybrid system equipped 2022 Mazda3, 2022 Mazda2 and 2022 Mazda CX-30 in Mazda’s electrified range. There’s no word of a local introduction as yet.

 
Wait, what? New Mazda2 launched in Europe as rebadged Toyota Yaris

No your eyes are not deceiving you, what you see here is a new-generation Mazda2 hybrid model and it’s essentially a rebadged version of the European market Toyota Yaris.

At this stage, the new model appears to be for Europe only and hopefully it will stay that way as it would be sad to see the Mazda brand lose its uniqueness. But why a rebadged Toyota? With strict new emission rules coming into effect for Europe in 2023, and no self-charging hybrids in its current range, Mazda needed to make a plan, and fast, and so it turned to long-time partner Toyota.

Apart from the Mazda badging, the new Mazda2 hybrid appears identical to the hybrid version of the Toyota Yaris hatchback, which is now only sold in SA in its hardcore GR form.

Under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder normally aspirated petrol engine that teams up with an electric motor to produce a system output of 86kW. But the most impressive figure is its fuel consumption, listed at 3.8 litres per 100km on the WLTP cycle, and claimed emissions amount to between 87 and 93 g/km depending on what wheels are fitted.

This is the first self-charging hybrid that Mazda has ever sold. At start-up, the vehicle runs in EV mode automatically, and in normal driving conditions the power split is adjusted between the petrol engine and electric motor.

 
Latest Mazda2 is a Toyota Yaris

Mazda adds hybrid option to its popular compact hatch.

Badge engineering happens. And in a world of escalating R&D costs, you can expect to see it happen – a whole lot more.

Mazda is the latest company to ask for a favour. This time, from Toyota.

Although Mazda has a promising fleet of pure electric and PHEV vehicles on the horizon, it needs to dramatically reduce its fleet CO2 numbers – now.

To help Mazda, it has a new hybrid that looks an awful lot like Toyota’s European specification Yaris. Because it is.

Requiring a Mazda2 hybrid right away, Toyota has allowed its Japanese rival to put a Mazda badge on the Yaris hybrid. The result is an absence of Kodo design, with Mazda badging inside and out.

The Mazda2 hybrid uses a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine, augmented by a single electric motor. Total system output is 85 kW, which is good enough for a benchmark 0-100 kph sprint time of 9.7 seconds.

Top speed is an undramatic 175 kph, but as with any hybrid vehicle, the true appeal is fuel economy.

 
Mazda2, 3, CX-3 and CX-30 get spec enhancements for South Africa

The Mazda2, Mazda3, CX-3 and CX-30 have been treated to a standard specification revision for South Africa which will be implemented into models for 2022. Included across all four ranges is more kit without the additional costs.

Now standard across all ranges of the Mazda2 are LED headlamps, push start ignition, dual airbags, front and rear electric windows, a 60/40 split fold backrest, multifunction steering wheel, ISOFIX and auto levelling headlamps. The 1,5 Active manual remains the entry-level point of the range which ships with 15-inch steel wheels, black cloth seats, four speakers, manual air conditioning, one USB port and an aux port for the radio.

Across all grades of the Mazda3 hatchback, stop-start, LED headlamps with auto-on and auto-levelling functions, rain-sensing wipers, a heads-up display, auto-locking doors, an electronic parking brake, a 7,0-inch LCD digital TFT, leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear shift knob, auto hold, black cloth upholstery, push-start ignition, 8,8-inch display screen, hill launch assist, two USB ports and six airbags are all fitted as standard.

 
REVIEW | Mazda2's out-of-its-depth pricing does not justify ageing product's relevance

Mazda South Africa expanded its Mazda2 portfolio with a new top model late in 2021.

The small car is powered by Mazda's trusted and familiar 1.5-litre petrol engine.

At R383 900, the new Mazda2 Hazumi Auto is more expensive than some of its rivals.

In summary


While we like the Mazda2 and what it brings to the table, there are just too many things counting against it. Aspects like its age-to-price ratio are off, and the infotainment system won't find favour with tech-savvy consumers. It's a tough one for Mazda South Africa, but they need to seriously reconsider and reevaluate the Mazda2's position in the local market.

How they will do that is anyone's guess.

Yet, if Mazda SA is happy with how sales are going and the car's traction in the local market, kudos to them. But they can't ignore the car's position to its rivals for much longer.

 
Just got back from a coast trip on my 2021 Mazda 2 1.5 Individual Auto. Such a pleasant car, enough power for the hills.
Handled beautifully on Michelin Primacy 4 195/55/16, absorbed the rough south coast roads without any issues.
Very quiet on the roads as well, they made big strides in improving NVH over the original 2014 model while reviewed poorly for road noise.


Good fuel consumption, averaged 5.8L/100km for the whole trip (cruise control on most highway stretches and aircon on most of the time at the coast).

Since I bought it, everytime you start it, always revs up to 1500 rpm because its cold. Is this happening on all Mazda's?

Look its not a problem, I just always wait for it to calm down and then I go on my way.

Its just so loud for no reason.

Got the same on mine, except it's only present in park. As soon as I switch to drive or reverse, the rpm goes down. And then goes down even further when its warmer.

I kinda like it actually, the exhaust sounds nice and loud when it starts.
 
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