MOTORS: Who have Mazda teamed up with for its entry-level hybrid hatchback supermini?
In the latest example of co-operation between automotive giants, Mazda have revealed their new-look entry-level hybrid hatchback supermini.
It looks more than a little familiar and that’s because in spite of the well-known Mazda badge at the front, under the surface the Mazda 2 is based on the Toyota Yaris.
That’s not such a bad thing. Both Toyota and Mazda are renowned for their engineering expertise and build quality and by coming together they both benefit. Toyota are happy to share their well-established hybrid technology and as a result increase production levels while Mazda can save time and expense on having to develop their own.
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It’s similar to the deal between Toyota and Suzuki which created the latter’s Swace estate car, based on the Corolla and it makes sense and not just technically.
I like the look of the new Mazda 2 which has far more personality than the previous model. In spite of impressive ability and economy and regular updates it tended to disappear into the landscape because of its pretty ordinary looks.
Mazda have taken the Yaris and through a series of tweaks have given it a distinctive Mazda look and feel with new colours, a refreshed interior – even if it has a familiar Toyota look about it - and subtle changes to the exterior design.
What hasn’t changed is the engine choice with the 1.5-litre petrol engine offered in 75ps, 90ps and 115ps outputs.
The front wheels are driven by Toyota’s three-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol engine, connected to two electric motor generators powered by a 178V lithium-ion battery.
It’s an efficient set-up which returns great economy approaching 70 mpg with low emissions while at the same time there’s enough power available for everyday driving with the hybrid system designed to run on electric power wherever possible at lower speeds.
The three cylinders work hard sometimes sounding as if they’re struggling and while I like the e-CVT transmission it also has its work cut out if you put demands on it.
Weighing just 1615 kgs it feels light which is fine for manoeuvring around town streets and through the bends on the open road it feels secure thanks to Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control Plus system, which uses the brakes to apply direct control to keep you out of trouble.
The Homura version test car has a black honeycomb grille matched to gloss black door mirrors, 17-inch black alloy wheels, LED lights all round plus a black shark fin roof antenna and it looks pretty good.
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On the inside, the black cloth sports seats with synthetic leather trim are firm and supportive and there’s the usual stack of equipment as standard with lots of extras in the Homura version.
I was delighted to see proper buttons for the heating while almost everything else is controlled through the 9-inch colour central touchscreen. The test car came with a 7-inch digital customisable speedo and hybrid system indicator. Everything is kept simple and clear and the various functions are easy to access.
Thanks to slender front and rear window pillars, there’s good visibility all round for everyone on board and every version comes with a rear-view camera.
Space in the back is understandably a little restricted for full-size adults and the boot is about as big as you’d expect in a car in this class.
The Mazda 2 range starts at just over £24,000 while the Homura test car was £3000 more which is towards the top of the price range in this class but you know you are getting the renowned Mazda quality and tried and tested engineering expertise.
I like what Mazda have done with their entry-level car and it’s good to see something new in the supermini market which has taken a hit with the departure of the long-established Fiesta from Ford.
But there are still a lot of attractive alternatives, including the latest Suzuki Swift which has the added useful option of four-wheel-drive.
CAR: Mazda 2 Hybrid Homura e-CVT auto
PRICE: £27,280 (£27,865 as tested)
ENGINE: 1490cc hybrid front transversely-mounted 3 cyl petrol
POWER: 116 PS
TORQUE: 120 Nm
TOP SPEED: 109mph.
0-62mph: 9.7 secs
ECONOMY: 67 mpg combined
CO2 EMISSIONS: 97 g/km
