Japanese Diet

"Two cheeseburgers,
large fries,
... and a diet cola, please..."

This joke is definitely not about the Mazda2. The Japanese have long figured out how to make a car slim and elegant: "send" it to the gym and put it on a strict diet. Cruel? Maybe... But while its "girlfriends" in the B-segment are forced to carefully hide their growing extra weight, trying on increasingly original "dresses," the Mazda2 can calmly wear the shortest skirt and a tight top - with such looks, it certainly won't be deprived of attention from passersby. Especially men.

Here, by the way, lies one very annoying contradiction. Due to stereotypes in Russia, small cars like the Mazda2 are considered exclusively "female." What nonsense... Personally, after a trip to Italy for the presentation of the new Mazda hatchback, I became even more convinced that a "real Russian man" who buys a Mazda2 for his wife actually secretly dreams of driving this car himself. He's just embarrassed to say it out loud - his friends would laugh at him...

But I'm not shy - I really like the new "Mazda." And how could I not like a car designed by Ikuo Maeda himself, the author of the RX-8 sports coupe and the entire modern Mazda style with flared wheel arches and signature "sharp" headlights.

The body stampings, short overhangs, and elegantly raised window line - all this makes the Mazda2 swift and dynamic. Or, as the developers themselves say, creates an "impression of athletic aspiration."

The Mazda2 is especially good with the optional sport body kit: it seems they just flipped the air intake trapezoid in the front bumper upside down, installed a more powerful front bumper, side sill covers, and a spoiler on the trunk edge. And that's it. But compared to a regular hatchback, such a car looks more cohesive and interesting. A little devil from a snuffbox...

Do it one!

I mentioned fitness and diet at the beginning of the article for a reason. The Japanese first applied the "weight loss program" when developing the new generation of the sports Mazda MX-5. The most successful roadster of all time had to be made more modern, safer, and generally better in every sense, while preserving the lightness of handling and agility so loved by its fans. And if the MX-5, as a result, still grew slightly in size and gained 10 kilograms, the Mazda2 "gave it all" in the gym. With an unchanged wheelbase of 2490 millimeters, the car became slightly shorter (by 40 millimeters) and lower (by 55 millimeters), and also shed a full 100 kilograms!

"The car has become not only more compact - shorter and lower, it also lost 100 kilograms at once"

When creating the new hatchback, the strictest "diet" was observed in everything. The more compact dimensions of the car and the new structure of its power frame allowed Japanese engineers to save 22 kilograms of weight. Thanks to parts made of ultra-high-strength steel, which are used to reinforce the "slimmed-down" body, they gained another 23 kilograms. By the way, to achieve such rigidity with regular steel, the same components would have to be made more massive and heavier.

The suspension became 13 kilograms lighter, and the remaining excess weight was "removed" from the hood, exhaust system, electronics, and so on. Even the speakers in the front doors of the Mazda2 are "lightweight," with neodymium magnets - minus another kilogram...

There are several advantages to such a reduction in vehicle mass. First, a lighter car consumes less fuel and, consequently, is more environmentally friendly - in these indicators, the new Mazda2 is now one of the leaders in its class. Second, it's much easier to "teach" a light car to accelerate, brake, and turn correctly. Moreover, Mazda specialists spent a lot of time fine-tuning the handling: first in Japan, at their own test site, and then in Europe, where a team of 18 engineers spent several months driving the hatchback on local roads, and even visited the legendary "Nürburgring."

So, it's them we should thank for how the Mazda2 drives - behind the wheel of the hatchback, you experience a slightly forgotten feeling of a very light and agile little car. Delight!

"Behind the wheel of the Mazda2, you experience a slightly forgotten feeling of a very light and agile little car"

You don't need to fight it, and you don't have to forcefully "shove" it into a corner. No! You just show the steering wheel the direction and angle to turn, and the Mazda2 obediently follows all commands. Want to go faster - please. The turn turned out to be sharper than you expected - no problem, just turn the wheel to the desired angle, and no understeer or oversteer. Reactions to driver inputs are very precise but soft, as if the car already knows in advance what and how it needs to do...

Of course, if you really overdo the speed, the tires will eventually give up, and the Mazda2 will drift outward of the turn. But that's not scary - you can ease off the throttle a bit and let the rear axle help turn the car, or you can rely on the stability control system, which intervenes almost imperceptibly and doesn't interfere with the driver at all.

And the brakes are excellent - over the course of the run, there wasn't a single complaint about them. The brake pedal is moderately sensitive, allowing you to decelerate with exactly the intensity needed, and the mechanisms themselves aren't prone to overheating even on mountain roads.

All these "delights" apply to the car with optional 16-inch wheels and tires sized 195/45. According to colleagues who had the chance to ride in a Mazda2 fitted with regular 14-inch tires, such a hatchback starts to slide off the trajectory earlier, and the steering responses seemed less sharp to them. But it rides softly.

But even on low-profile tires, the light Mazda2 doesn't turn into a "stool" - it handles the cobblestones of Italian villages and cracks and patches on roads quite well. However, the European-style short-travel suspension doesn't always manage to absorb long "series" of large bumps, and when driving over expansion joints on bridges - like those on the Third Ring Road in Moscow - unpleasant impacts are transmitted to the hatchback's body.

Do it two...

Our test hatchback was equipped with the most powerful 1.5-liter gasoline engine (103 horsepower) and a five-speed manual transmission. It would seem, for a car weighing 960 kilograms - an excellent combination.

On one hand, yes: the "1.5-liter" Mazda2 accelerates to a hundred kilometers per hour in ten and a half seconds and has a top speed of 188 kilometers per hour. But it does this somehow boringly, without excitement - such an excellent chassis clearly begs for a more emotional engine. Oh, if only it had the same "one point five," but with a small turbocharger or supercharger... I want to believe that something similar is simply being kept in reserve - for example, for the MPS version.

In Europe, the Mazda2 will also be offered with two 1.3-liter gasoline engines. They are equipped with a new variable valve timing system that controls the opening time of both intake and exhaust valves, but have different power outputs - 75 and 86 horsepower. In Russia, one of these engines will most likely also appear, but this will happen no earlier than mid-2008. And Europeans will be offered a modern 1.4-liter turbodiesel as early as this coming winter.

All these engines are currently only available with five-speed manual transmissions. The Mazda2 modification with the 1.5-liter engine and "automatic" will begin production only in January next year, and one of the main consumers of such cars will be Russia.

Do it three!

Despite its rather modest dimensions, the Mazda2 doesn't feel cramped inside. With my height of 189 centimeters, I sat comfortably behind the wheel, although I had to slide the seat almost all the way back. And it's a pity there's no reach adjustment for the steering wheel.

"Inside, the Mazda2 is just as playful and fun as it is outside..."

But, as the developers assure, the driver's seat will be comfortable even for short people - the position of the steering wheel and pedals was chosen so that those whose height does not exceed 150 centimeters, and even those who wear high heels, can drive the "Mazda two"...

I tried to sit behind myself - it's cramped for the legs, of course. But that's because I'm so tall, while passengers of "average height" will find it much more comfortable here.

The interior of the Mazda2 fully matches its exterior - all playful and rounded. There is nothing superfluous on the front panel, only the stereo control buttons, the round knobs of the climate system and... that's it. Well, there are also plenty of compartments for various small items: a box between the front seats with a connector for an mp3 player, an open compartment for magazines or an atlas in the glove box lid, a shelf for a mobile phone, and large pockets in the front doors. There are even niches in the floor at the feet of front passengers, and for the trunk you can order a double floor with several hidden compartments.

The trunk itself, although small even by B-segment standards - its volume is 250 liters, is convenient. The rear seat backs can be folded down, increasing the useful volume of the cargo area to 787 liters.

Moving on to water procedures…

By the way, about Russia. The Mazda2 will appear here in about six months. Cars for the Russian market will start production in January 2008, and sales will begin in April.

"Russian prices for the Mazda2 will start at $16,300. The surcharge for the automatic transmission is $1,200"

The base version of the hatchback with a 1.5-liter engine producing 103 horsepower will be equipped with a five-speed manual transmission. The standard equipment of such a car will include heated front seats, front power windows, a CD player with mp3 support, audio controls on the steering wheel, 15-inch steel wheels, ABS with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, as well as six airbags. The price is $16,300 or 423,800 rubles (tentatively).

The more expensive version with the "Sport" package will be supplemented with a body kit, 16-inch wheels, stability control, climate control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power windows on all doors, fog lights, an onboard computer, and two additional speakers. However, the price of this package has not yet been determined.

According to forecasts from the Russian office of Mazda, most hatchbacks sold in our country will be equipped with an automatic transmission, for which the surcharge will be about $1,200.

In total, in the first year of sales in Russia, it is planned to sell 2,000 cars. Not much? But these are only preliminary figures - if demand is higher, Mazda2 supplies will be increased immediately.

So…

… would I like to drive a Mazda2 myself? Definitely "yes"! Although... I would probably wait for the three-door version - something tells me it will be even more beautiful. And then, who knows, the Mazda2 MPS might be on its way…