When we plonked the Mazda2 onto MIRA’s weighbridge we were at first slightly disappointed to see a number beginning with a 1; Mazda, after all, claims that the 2 weighs comfortably under a tonne even this 1.5-litre form.
But then we put it in perspective. When we tested a 1.4-litre Peugeot 207 last year, it tipped the balance at 1224kg. No other competitor has looked like dipping under 1100kg since. The Mazda’s 1045kg, by comparison, is positively sprightly.
The new 2 is a tad smaller than the old one – at 3885mm long, it’s 40mm shorter. But otherwise there’s no one trick to the successful weight loss regime. Rather, it’s a range of weight-cutting measures we’ve got to thank for the car’s trimmer mass: lots of small reductions equals one big one.
Almost 1kg has been taken out of the door speakers, 13kg has been removed from the suspension, the body’s lighter by 22kg alone (thanks exclusively to the use of high tensile steels), a thinner bonnet means a 0.69kg reduction, and so on. In all, the new 2 is 100kg lighter than the old one which, as we’ll see later, has both dynamic and economy benefits. Mazda also claims that the 2 manages to be stiffer, stronger and suffer less NVH than the last, despite its more modest kerbweight.
It also benefits the 2’s appearance – the Mazda’s taught lines and bloat-free overhangs won it quite a few friends while in our hands. It’s refreshing when a supermini doesn’t try and wow you with its big-car feel, and instead revels in its smallness.
Conventional wisdom does suggest, however, that weight loss does not benefit passive safety. The 2 hasn’t been independently crash tested yet, but Mazda nonetheless predicts the full 5 star EuroNCAP rating.
What’s also unusual is the 2’s engine line-up. Instead of the typical 1.2- and 1.4-litre engines, there are two 1.3-litre petrols (74 and 85bhp) and a 102bhp 1.5-litre petrol, as tested here. A 1.5-litre diesel will follow at the turn of the year.