GTP Cool Wall: 2007+ Mazda2 hatchback

[YSSMAN]

I fail to see how that makes it the "better" car. It sucks in nearly every aspect when compared. There are many way better options out there if you are in this kind of market. You'd have to be an idiot to buy one of these.

The Fiesta was pretty good. A bit soft around the edges, you know, to suit American tastes. You were going to be hard pressed to find one that wasn't optioned to high-heaven, and good lord, there were so many buttons. So, so many buttons.

But hey, Mazda was here to make you a deal. Hey look at this little guy. See this thing? Same chassis as that Fiesta over there. But hey, ours is lighter! Oh, the Ford has 20 more BHP? Who cares, ours is lighter! The Ford has bigger wheels and tires? Makes it heavier, not like this Mazda right here. You think that Ford handles? What are you, some kind of illiterate American? Ours is better... Its lighter! That Ford can talk to your cell phone? Hey, you can too, while holding it in your hand and using it while driving in our lighter Mazda 2! Mazda chassis tune, Mazda transmission, Mazda brakes! You want an MX-5 hatchback? You're a madman... Buy this car!

Absolutely, the Fiesta was better-equipped and more civilized, but it was a good bit more expensive, too. Looking at the Mazda 2 now, near-enough four years after it's release, a car that now is actually seven years old, it wouldn't have been received well given what our new expectations are with B-segment cars. As the "fun" choice, the Mazda 2 was the car to beat, and to me, that makes it cool. Other than it's sibling, there wasn't much in the B-segment in 2010. I mean, would you seriously consider the Rio a better car? The Accent? The Aveo? The G3? The Yaris? A Mini that cost $4,000 more? I'll maybe give you the Nissan Versa of similar vintage. Maaaaaaybe the Suzuki SX4 simply because, it too, was the crazy choice (especially the front-drive Sport model). Okay, the Fit. It was nicer, but it wasn't as nice as it's predecessor (because I like to complain about that, too).

But does that stop the Mazda 2 from being cool? Absolutely not. Plus, GREEN.

 

[C-ZETA]

If it had a 200bhp hot version, and that was being polled, that would be sub-zero. If it did well anyway, obviously there isn't actually a 200bhp hot version so we'll never know.

But the looks on this thing always, always get me. Just in green it's so pretttty. Sadly it will almost inevitably be replaced soon and Mazda's latest design language is not one I find that good-looking.

 

[05XR8]

I used to service them at a mazda dealership. Awesome little car. Drivers seat travel isnt the greatest but, the Genki version with the 16" wheels and body kit looks smart. I voted cool.

 

[edawg456]

Meh at best.

 

[MoLiEG]

Small cars don't do anything for me. This is an exception.

Cool.

 

[Cano]

I really like the looks of this thing.

But bleh.

 

[SVT Cobra GT]

Probably the nicest looking of the small hatchbacks. Cool.

 

[Doodle]

Sub-zero. It's a small Mazda.

 

[Bradster]

Meh for me. If I need a thrashable rental that's not butt ugly I'd consider this as an option.

 

[oppositelock]

Voted cool. I'm a sucker for cheap, light, bare bones cars that still drive well. Just a shame we never got a Skyactiv engine in the US.

 

[SagarisGTB]

Demio lineage = automatic cool.

 

[Grayfox]

I used to service them at a mazda dealership. Awesome little car. Drivers seat travel isnt the greatest but, the Genki version with the 16" wheels and body kit looks smart. I voted cool.

Issue with the Genki is it has the same weak assed lame engine.
Would be nice if they offered a turbo version with the genki but you are paying extra for just rims and bodykit.

 

[JMoney]

Looks like it's headed for the wastelands.

 

[Famine]

Here's what's probably replacing it:

Though the door mirrors and handles won't survive to production...

 

[Roger the Horse]

Reminds me of an Edsel...

 

[05XR8]

Almost looks like an Alfa...

 

[Grayfox]

Almost looks like an Alfa...

Almost, but it wont look like that when it comes to production.

 

[TheCracker]

Dull-looking small Japanese hatchback. Uncool.

 

[05XR8]

Definitely not. You can see the new 3 has little bite size oreos as tyres.

 

[GranTurismo916]

Almost, but it wont look like that when it comes to production.

It'll probably be close. Like Famine said, the handles and mirrors won't survive, and the wheels probably won't either. And they'll be much smaller.

 

[Azure Flare]

Almost, but it won't look like that when it comes to production.

Has the same design language as the 6, so it probably will.

 

[NFSCARBON1]

Its not a bad car tbh. The sports bodykit and spoiler improve the appearance too. The 1.5 while more powerful is a bit lumpy with its delivery, the 1.3 is a bit more rev happy and fun (although still not a rocketship).
As they are based on the same chassis I presume the Fiesta ST engine could be swapped in relatively easily?

In any case I vote cool

 

[niky]

The engine will physically fit, but the electronics will likely be completely different.

The first-generation Mazda3 and Focus were so similar you could swap suspensions between them. But even though they shared engine architecture, they used different ECUs.

 

[Slash]

The engine will physically fit, but the electronics will likely be completely different.

The first-generation Mazda3 and Focus were so similar you could swap suspensions between them. But even though they shared engine architecture, they used different ECUs.

I wouldn't really call that a huge issue though. It would just require the different harness but for someone who wants a simple swap that would not be it.

 

[Grayfox]

It'll probably be close. Like Famine said, the handles and mirrors won't survive, and the wheels probably won't either. And they'll be much smaller.

Headlights, grille and bumper will change.

The mazda2 is the cheap entry level car.
That design is way to crazy for entry level.

Maybe a Genki will be similar, but like most of the time, prototypes that have a crazy design dont make it to production.

And the company reverts to a look and shape that the last gen had.

 

[Famine]

Headlights, grille and bumper will change.

I'm almost certain that they will change, but not in any substantial way (the addition of the hated fake vents/foglight recesses aside).

Mazda has sunk $3bn so far into redesigning every part of every car they make to follow external "KODO Soul of Motion" principles and internal "SkyActiv" principles - the latter of which can be summed up as "lighter and more efficient". They brought it to the CX-5 first (an all new product line), followed by the Mazda 6 and more recently the Mazda 3. You'll notice they all look broadly similar on the outside (that's KODO) and all use the same, new generation engines and gearboxes - and all sit on brand new platforms, independent of the previous Ford ones. All are lighter than the models they replace, more aerodynamic (the 3 fastback has a ludicrously low Cd) and the engines are more fuel efficient.

The Hazumi concept clearly follows the KODO external design with a few concept touches like the door mirrors and door handles and those weird, bladed spotlgihts and, as such, should represent a substantial proportion of what the 2 will look like - and it's due out this year...

All that's left now is the Mazda 5 - which is a Mazda 3 underneath, so shouldn't be around much longer - and the MX-5 which is being replaced this year as part of the the Alfa link-up and probably won't depend so much on KODO design (though it might have the 1.5 SkyActiv-D that this Hazumi "uses").


That said, I don't think the back end will make it to market unscathed, which is a pity..

 

[niky]

I wouldn't really call that a huge issue though. It would just require the different harness but for someone who wants a simple swap that would not be it.

It becomes a big issue when you consider how complex the controls are. The amount of effort required to swap even another modern Mazda motor into the Mazda2 is pretty intense.

 

[Grayfox]

The thing I really hate is they spend hours designing this prototype, spend millions on it, then when it comes to production time they use the last gen and just add a more curves on it.
Why waste all that money if your not going to release it the way they showcased it.

Don't know what the CD value is on the fastback but only car that had a very low CD that was on the road that I know of had a CD value of 0.19 and that was in the late 90's

 

[Famine]

The thing I really hate is they spend hours designing this prototype, spend millions on it, then when it comes to production time they use the last gen and just add a more curves on it.

Did they do that with the 6 and 3 then?

Why waste all that money if your not going to release it the way they showcased it.

Here's the concept for the 6 (Takeri):

​

Of note, it has the same mirrors, doorhandles and weird bladey spotlights as the Hazumi. Now here's the production Mazda 6:

​

Mirrors and handles changed for conventional ones, foglight recesses added... and I'm struggling to spot any other substantial changes. The grille line doesn't continue through and split the headlights... uhhh...

Don't know what the CD value is on the fastback but only car that had a very low CD that was on the road that I know of had a CD value of 0.19 and that was in the late 90's

The average road car has fallen from around 0.33 to around 0.30 in the last 20 years. A Mazda MX-5 Mk1 with the roof up is 0.34, with it down is 0.38 and with the headlights up it's 0.breezeblock. A current Toyota Prius - a slippery eco car by design - is 0.25, whereas the first generation was 0.29.

The Mazda 3's is 0.275, dropping to 0.26 for the fastback. If it was the same dimensions but an average Cd, it'd need 5% more power to reach the same speed...

 

[niky]

Don't know what the CD value is on the fastback but only car that had a very low CD that was on the road that I know of had a CD value of 0.19 and that was in the late 90's

The EV1 was hardly a regular production car. More like a lease-able lab experiment. Most cars in the 90's hovered around the low 30's, with very few dipping under.

Amongst regular production cars, 0.26 is smashingly good.