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Mazda2 Review

Published: 21st November 2003

Mazda2

Mazda2

continued from < part one

How It Drove - Performance

The Mazda2 is available with four different engine variants the 1.25, 1.4, 1.6 petrol and a 1.4 MZ-Cd Common rail diesel engine.

We tested the 1.6 Sport which boasts a 100bhp 16V engine. The Mazda2 is lively around town and absorbed speed bumps and pot holes comfortably. The gearbox is slick resulting in smooth gear changes and coupled with a light springy clutch the Mazda2 makes town driving effortless. The Mazda2 is also now available with Auto-Shift-Manual transmission (Optional at extra cost) which enables you to make clutchless gear changes. It has the all the advantages of a automatic transmission wiith the fuel economy of a manual (click here for more information).

On 'A' and 'B' roads the larger 1.6 Sport engine is more than capable and had the feel of a much larger car. However, on the Motorway road noise became more intrusive but the engine was powerful enough to keep up with the flow.

Mazda engines are renowned for their superb performance and fuel efficiency and the Mazda2's engine is no exception. Its lightweight aluminium construction with advanced combustion technology and precision drive-by-wire throttle control returned an impressive average 40mpg on our road test.

How It Drove - Ride/Handling

Mazda engineers have concentrated much of their efforts on the body shell and chassis design of the Mazda2 and this really shows, they have created an exceptionally stable car with superb driving dynamics. The overall ride is both reassuring and reasonably firm. The steering is well balanced and precise with power assistance standard throughout the range.

The Mazda2 has an agile front-wheel drive chassis, well damped suspension, ABS with EBD (ABS with EBD optional on the 'S') and EBA (which is standard throughout the range). However, if pushed beyond the parameters of safe driving the car will become unsettled and will understeer which is only to be expected. Our test car had Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) which is available as an option on the Sport model and is designed to assist the driver in maintaining control during acceleration, cornering and avoidance manoeuvres.

The Mazda2 has exceptional levels of grip and on the open road you could easily forget that you are driving a supermini.

Mazda2 Review ( continues > part three )

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