Road Test/Mazda2: Tall, boxy and unglamourous it may be, but Mazda's 2 is a competent workhorse. Andrew Hamilton finds Demio's replacement well up to its chores.
It's zoom-zoom time for Mazda these days due to the success of the 6. The upper-medium model boosted Mazda's Irish sales by almost 60 per cent in the first third of 2003 and in the wider European market, the jump has been over 40 per cent. What a change one model can bring! A few years ago, Mazda was in the doldrums, its last high being in the early 1990s when the 323 charmed customers.
But there'll be more to Mazda than the 6 and another model in its revival has just gone on sale here. The 2 takes over from the unloved Demio and the 121 which was simply a rebadged old Ford Fiesta. The Ford connection lives on in the 2 which shares a platform and drivetrain with the new Fiesta and Fusion. Mazda is Ford-controlled and is one of the brighter stars in Ford's firmament.
So what of the 2? It doesn't have the 6's style and appearance - the profile is tall and boxy and the looks non-arresting. But there are benefits to 2's shape. Driver and passengers get plenty of headroom and those in the back have lots of legroom thanks to the front seats which, even on their lowest height setting, allow your feet to move around beneath them. With the rear seat bottoms folded up and the seat backs pushed down - a five-second job - luggage volume grows from 267 to 1,044 litres. In this configuration, the cargo area isn't totally flat, because the boot floor is so low. Access through the rear tailgate is excellent.
Our test model, the 1.4-litre Exclusive, has an ex-works price of €18,515. (The entry-level model, with a 1.24-litre unit, is €15,540 ex-works). The same 1.4 engine that services the Fiesta, Fusion and Focus gives 80 bhp in Mazda mode, going from 0 to 62 mph in 13.9 seconds with a top speed of 102 mph. The statistics suggest it: performance is adequate rather than spirited. But the 2 never feels deficient in most driving chores and on the open road it maintains a smart pace.
The handling is reminiscent of the Fiesta: there's good resistance to understeer and limited body roll. We tried some torture treatment on back roads in Donegal and for a small, everyday sort of vehicle the ride was surprisingly absorbent. Like most manufacturers, Mazda emphasises weight saving. Anyone opening the 2's bonnet will only see the fibreglass composite valve cover which weighs 187 grams, compared to the 400 grams of a metal valve cover. As well as weight reduction, it provides more isolation of engine sound from the cylinder head.
The 2 is quiet at normal speeds and there's not much intrusion of wind or road noise. Mazda says its safety package is one of the best around on a small car. There are front, side and head airbags, as well as a special brake pad mechanism that, in a major front impact, decouples the pedal and pulls it away from the driver. Three sets of three-point safety belts for adults and ISOFIX brackets for mounting child seats come as standard as do three head rests which can be pushed down when the rear seats are unoccupied. ABS brakes with EBA (Emergency Brake Assist) are there when the anchor has to go down suddenly. From the driving seat, there's a good scene while the seat and steering wheel are height adjustable.
The Exclusive specification also gives effective air conditioning, body coloured electric mirrors that can be heated for frosty mornings and electric power windows, front and rear. The audio system is similar to the 6's, with controls mounted on the steering wheel.
Fuel consumption at 38.2 mpg on a diet of mostly long journeys seemed creditable. Official mpg figures are 32.5 urban, 53.3 extra urban and 43.5 combined. We look forward to the most frugal 2, the acclaimed 1.4 turbodiesel which gives 62.8 mpg in the Fiesta in the official combined mode. The 2 diesel which sells at €17,495 ex-works will be a small seller: small diesel cars just don't have market appeal in Ireland.
The 2, in terms of versatility with the furniture, looks dated compared with the Opel Meriva and Honda Jazz. Its seat perch has the familiar 60/40 split folding action. In the cabin, materials and build are high quality and the styling echos the 6. Access and exit are easy and we noted lots of storage areas scattered around the cabin.
On price, the more accomplished Meriva is more expensive, with ex-works prices for its 1.6SE starting at €19,700, but it's not really part of the supermini scene, where the 2 is aimed. The Honda Jazz, available only as a 1.4-litre five-door, is €16,665 ex-works, or €1,850 less. Ford's 1.4-litre Fusion with specification comparable to the Exclusive is €840 cheaper. There's nothing much wrong with the 2. After the 6, we expected too much. The styling is tailored to a conservative following out for a spacious interior. Even if the 2 doesn't match the 6's impact, it should garner new business for Mazda. Maybe there's a constituency uninterested in all that seat shifting and swivelling, buyers who just want old-fashioned space.
Next in line is 3, the 323's successor on Irish sale late this year. The 3, previewed at the Geneva motor show, is gorgeous. Mazda's winning streak is set to continue. There's a hint of Fusion in the appearance but the 2 also looks like an evolution of the Demio it replaces. Still, the front end has the familiar Mazda corporate nose, the smart horizontal rear lights are reminiscent of the Alfa 147's, while the squat stance is preferable to the tippy-toed Fusion's.
Mazda's European design team produced a more radical proposal but it was decided that 2 needed to be blander to sell in Japan. At 3,925 mm long and 1,680 mm wide, the 2 is 93 mm shorter and 40 mm narrower than the Fusion, but at 1,545 mm high it is 16 mm taller, all on an identical 2,490 mm wheelbase. It is also 117 mm longer, 30 mm wider and 45 mm taller than the previous Demio.
FACTFILE:
ENGINE: 1,388cc four cylinder 16-valve developing 80 bhp at 5,700 rpm and 124 Newton metres (Nm) of torque at 3,500 rpm.
PERFORMANCE: top speed 102mph, 0-62 mph of 13.9 seconds.
SPECIFICATION: 1.4 Exclusive package. Driver front passenger and side airbags. ABS brakes with Emergency Brake Assist and Electronic Brake Force Distribution.
FUEL: Urban: 32.5 mpg. Extra-urbn: 53.3 mpg. Combined 43.5 mpg.
PRICE: €18,515 for 1.4 Exclusive. Mazda 2 prices €15,540 to € 20,105.
THE COMPETITION
Mazda 2 1.4 Exclusive. 1,388cc; 13.9 (0-60); 102 max speed; 80 bhp; 43.5 mpg combined; €18,515.
Ford Fusion 1.4 five-door Level 2. 1,388cc; 13.7 (0-60); 101 max speed; 80 bhp; 43.5 mpg combined; €17,675.
Opel Meriva 1.6SE Life. 1,598cc; 12.7 (0-60); 109 max speed; 100 bhp; 37.7 mpg combined; €19,700.
Honda Jazz 1.4 five-door. 1,339cc; 12.0 (0-60); 106 max speed; 82 bhp; 49.6 mpg combined; €16,665.
Toyota Corolla 1.4 WT-1 five-door E. 1,398cc; 12.0 (0-60); 115 max speed; 96 bhp; 42.2 mpg combined; €18,830.