You may not notice it right away, but Mazda has updated the Mazda2 with a slew of new features and a slightly different exterior look. The Mazda2 Sport now ‘ahem’ sports cruise control, climate control, rain sensing wipers, and automatic headlights. The dashboard has been redesigned with more of the piano black finishing that Mazda tends to favour, and the seat trim is all new.
New Look
The nose of the Sport has been colour keyed to the rest of the body while there is a new fog lamp design. There’s also a new colour, which is a rather eye opening Aquatic Blue. The price has been increased by a marginal NZ$160 over the outgoing model, which makes the Mazda2 Sport now NZ$25,155 for the manual and NZ$26,555 for the auto, driven here.
All these changes build on the already pretty impressive Mazda2. The car is fun to drive, has reasonable performance, and while handling is not up there with the likes of the Suzuki Swift it is very close.
Automatic Gearbox
The automatic gearbox in the Mazda2 Sport tested here performed well, but with only four ratios it tends to struggle when you want power, having to change gear more often than you would like. The 1.5 litre engine puts out an energetic 76kW and 137Nm of torque, but having one extra ratio would make it much more effective. Four-speed autos are of course the most common type in small cars, so we’ll have to wait for the next incarnation of the Mazda2 to see if that number increases.
As before, the Mazda2 Sport comes with ESP, Traction Control, ABS, EBD, EBA and front, side and curtain airbags.
Like many such systems on the market the rain sensing windscreen wipers tend to be a bit erratic, but virtually every such system, including very high-end European ones tend to have this problem of understanding just how heavy the rain is falling. You can adjust the settings but you either get too much wiping or not enough.
Despite that, the Mazda2 makes for a great car, especially in the city where you won’t be challenging the aforementioned Suzuki Swift for a race through the first open road corner. You can swing the car around quickly and easily in small confines, and there’s enough room in the back for most shopping. As a stylish hatchback the Mazda2 Sport has certainly kept up with the times.
All information courtesy of Mazda NZ
Sam Domett - I have been a motoring journalist for over 15 years, beginning with my own website. I then moved on to the Manukau Daily News. My next job ...
