Mazda2 Coming to America; Fuel Economy Likely 35+ MPG, Price Around $16,000
After wavering awhile, Mazda has decided to jump into America's rapidly growing small-car segment with the company's fuel-efficient Mazda2 model.
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The vehicle will share a platform as the Ford Fiesta, which is scheduled to launch in America next summer. In addition to the Fiesta, the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and Chevrolet Aveo will provide the Mazda2 with some stiff competition.
The U.S.-spec Mazda2 will be unveiled at the Los Angeles auto show in December. The current version of the Mazda2 has been on sale in Europe and Japan since 2007. In Japan, it is known as the Demio.
In Europe, the Mazda2 is offered with several gasoline and diesel engines. The U.S. edition will feature only a gasoline-powered, 1.5-liter four-cylinder.
That version in Europe delivers 103 horsepower and 101 pounds-feet of torque. It propels the Mazda2 from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 10.4 seconds while delivering 41 miles per gallon in Europe's combined driving cycle test; in the more real-world American combined driving cycle test, fuel economy should be 35-38 mpg.
The Mazda2 is offered as both a three- and five-door in Europe, but only the five-door will be available in the U.S. It comes only with a five-speed manual transmission in Europe, but the U.S. version will be available with a five-speed automatic.
Mazda would not disclose U.S. pricing, but in the U.K. it's priced around $16,750 not including taxes and fees. A Mazda source said the U.S. version will be priced somewhat lower.
- Posted by
- Scott Doggett September 18, 2009, 2:41 PM
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- Auto Shows, Chevrolet, Ford, Fuel Economy, Honda, Mazda, Toyota
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- Chevrolet Aveo, Ford Fiesta, Fuel Economy, Fuel-Efficient, Honda Fit, Los Angeles Auto Show, Mazda2, Toyota Yaris
From this angle I think the Fiesta looks better. And don't the EPA highway estimate and the Euro combined estimate tend to match up pretty well?
Actually, it's worse than you think. Depending on the model, the spread can be off by as much as 20 percent. That often has more to do with the parts than it does the testing. In other others, a three-door gasoline-powered Fiesta sent to the States might have a different transmission than three-door gasoline-powered Fiesta. Life would be so much easier for green-car writers if the testing and parts et al were the same, but then this would be a perfect world if that were so.
Moving on: I read all of your comments, GreenPony, but until recently it was cumbersome for me to respond to them. Actually, it was worse than that: I'd write a thoughtful response and hit the Submit button and the darn thing'd vanish. I'd get annoyed and move on. It took a while, but some coding changes were made that now allow me to reply to your posts. And I'm glad to do that, because you, my friend, clearly know a lot about green cars. Keep 'em coming.