Although not currently available in the United States, the Ford-Fiesta-based Mazda2 (also known as the Demio in some markets) has been a big hit in the B-class segment in Europe and Asia. And since Mazda showed the MX Micro Sport Concept at the 2004 Detroit auto show, there has been some speculation that the third-generation Mazda2 may reach the States when it arrives for the 2008 model year.



The upcoming Mazda2, which is an evolution of both the MX-Micro Sport Concept and the Sassou Concept from the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, should begin arriving in select markets late this summer.



The compact five-passenger, front-wheel drive Mazda2, seen here, was photographed in northern Sweden during cold-weather testing on Friday.



Brenda Priddy & Company

Try to picture the old Mazda2. No? Unaccountably tall of physical stature, but short on significance or interest, it was a car to forget. The new one's much more compelling. It looks better, and it drives better. It also - I hope - marks an engineering milestone and turning point for superminis in general.

Mazda has managed to cut 100kg - around 10 per cent - out of the car compared with the old one, so it goes faster and uses a lot less fuel. Cars in general are locked into a cycle of porkiness, where each generation is bigger, safer, better- equipped and thus heavier than the last. This one is safer and better- equipped, but smaller and lighter.

Breaking the cycle is an achievement. Especially in a supermini, where aluminium is too expensive -meeting crash standards is hard enough anyway, but harder still with reduced weight and size. Yet they tell us the Mazda2 is set up for a five-star Euro NCAP rating. The secret is a new body structure, using a lot of newly developed steel that's four times as strong as the usual stuff.

You don't just feel the result in performance, though under 10secs to 60mph from a 1.5 is more than respectable. It's the whole way the car feels. It's agile, lively into the turns and on the brakes, sharp to the throttle, a machine that dances where a fatboy Clio plods.

Admittedly, on this early short test run (it goes on sale in September),it was hard to be definitive about all this, and there was a sense of slight imprecision to the motions. It also seems Mazda has managed to go some way to addressing its old bogeys, road noise and running refinement. It doesn't feel tiny or tinny.

The swooping arches, dart-like windowline and compact size make it a looker, and next year's three-door is better again. Inside, the atmosphere is fresh and airy, and the style of the dash is fine on the eyes, but cheap to the touch of your fingertips. Is low cost or low weight the excuse for these hard, nasty plastics? Either way, they're a mistake - a few pence or a few grammes would make all the difference.

Has this compactness and lightness made things more cramped than the old boxy Mazda2? Although the front and rear passenger space hasn't shrunk - unless you wear a tall hat - some things have had to give. To make the back end stronger, the tailgate opening is smaller. To save weight, the seat-fold mechanism is simpler.

You probably won't notice. It should sell well, but not well enough to save the world alone. But the same platform will go into next year's Fiesta, too. Every little helps...

Mazda2’s MPS super light cracker is planning its own entry into the league of fast hatchbacks. Using the same 1.5-litre engine as the normal car, a turbo will give boost to suit Mazda2 up to the tune of 130 odd kiloWatt, a little shy off what Corsa OPC/VXR and MINI Cooper S JCW are capable of but still quite competent in this league.

We’ve long suspected it, but now it’s official. The 2011 Mazda2 will be offered in North America starting in late 2010. Mazda North America’s CEO, Jim O’Sullivan, made the announcement during a meeting of the company’s top dealers on Friday. He said the U.S. version(s) of the car will be unveiled at the LA auto show in December.


“You’ve asked us for it for a while now, and we’ve been studying the market to make sure we can make a business case for it across North America,” O’Sullivan told the dealers. “As consumers’ tastes and attitudes toward small vehicles have changed, we now believe strongly there is a place in our lineup for a car below our current least-expensive car, the Mazda3. Mazda2 will be true to everything that makes our cars stand apart from the competition: it will be stylish, fun-to-drive and a heck of a value.”

No further details were released at the meeting. Information on specifications, content, pricing and on-sale timing will be provided closer to launch.

Around the world, the Mazda2 is offered in sedan, three-door hatch, and five-door hatch configurations. It’s not known which variants will make it to U.S. shores.