Tuesday 13 February 2007


Mazda will use next month’s Geneva Motor Show to officially debut its new compact car. The ‘Zoom-Zoom’ company is moving from strength to strength with the reinvention of its image that started with the introduction of the Mazda6 back in 2002 and continues with its latest addition, the second-generation Mazda2. Gone is the old boxy shape and in comes a stylish new hatch with much larger headlights and a smaller five-sided Mazda grille.

In a surprise move, the dimensions of the new car have actually shrunk compared with its predecessor. The new Mazda2 is 4cm shorter at 3.88m and sits 5.5cm lower with a height of 1.475m. Fortunately, the car has either increased in size or remained the same where it counts. The wheelbase is unchanged at 2.49m and width has increased 1.5cm to 1.695m, meaning more interior room all ‘round.

Inside, the car gets a large storage box between the front seats and fold-down seats in the back, which allow up to 469L of storage when down. Safety features include front and side airbags as standard, as well as ESP and ABS. Three new engines will initially be offered, a 1.3L unit with 75hp and two 1.5L engines delivering 84hp and 103hp respectively. A 1.4L turbodiesel unit is expected to join the range by the end of the year.