2011 Mazda2: Up Close
The Mazda2’s styling charms me in a way the redesigned Mazda3 failed to do. I think it’s the Mazda2’s lower air dam, which still bears a smile-evoking plastic garnish, but the space is narrower, so it stops short of the Mazda3’s overblown grin. The car’s other elements have a cohesive execution that’s hard to argue with. This is Mazda’s Mini Cooper.
It’s also Mazda’s kiddy car. It seems fitting that the automaker would reveal the Mazda2’s full specs in Lower Manhattan, the land of alley-wide streets and cubicle-sized hotel rooms. Headroom up front is good, but the seat’s vertical adjustment runs on a forward incline, as many do. I’m 5-foot-11, and I had adequate legroom with the seat lowered all the way. Jack it up to a comfortable height, and drivers my size will find the steering wheel too close for comfort.
The rear seats are tight, and the cargo volume behind them – 13.3 cubic feet – is par for the field. Cabin materials are good for the class, with low-gloss textures and a sporty, Miata-like steering wheel. Controls in the uplevel Touring models on display have inventive styling and a substantial feel, and Mazda deserves kudos for making an electronic stability system standard. (It’s standard on the Yaris but still optional on the 2010 Honda Fit and Nissan Versa.)
There’s no doubt the Mazda2’s four-speed automatic keeps highway gas mileage at an unremarkable 34 mpg. Keep in mind, however, that while a number of larger cars boast better highway mileage, the Mazda2’s relatively high city figure – 28 mpg – will pay dividends in the day-to-day grind. The small-car class, after all, is nothing if not thrifty around town.
