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25 W ednesday , Septem ber 1, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m Mazda2 puts zoom zoom into a sub-compact package Story and Photos by Jim Robinson Metroland Newspapers Carguide Magazine Seat time is a term auto writers use to describe how long they actually drive the car in real world conditions. At the recent Canadian launch of the Mazda2, my co-driver and I managed about four hours in the car or roughly two hours each. Because the Mazda2 was totally new to all of us, two hours each behind the wheel was not a lot of time to judge how good or bad the car was. Because the Mazda2 is a really big deal for the company and because of Canadian buy- ers affinity to small vehicles, I asked for one for a week of testing. As it happened, this weeks tester, a Mazda2 GS was exactly the same car I drove in Montreal. This sub-compact five-door is cute as all get out with a bold character line that starts behind the front wheel well and darts upward steeply to the rear fender. The smiling grille treatment is toned down a bit from the Mazda3. The GX is the base model (the other being the GS) and starts at $13,995. At that price you get as standard, six air bags, elec- tronic stability control with traction control, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution with brake assist, power win- dows/mirrors/locks and a tilt steering wheel. A real benefit, and a standard feature, is a brake override system - one of the first to fit- ted to any car. In the unlikely event of unin- tended acceleration, the system gives the brakes priority over the motor so it can be brought to a safe stop. My tester, a GS, is the top trim model of the two with air conditioning ($1,195 extra on the GX), four-speed automatic transmis- sion ($1,100) in place of the standard five- speed manual. The optional ($895) Convenience Package on the GX is standard on the GS. This adds heated door mirrors, cruise and audio controls on the steering wheel, exterior temp gauge, trip computer and various bit of trim like body color door mirrors and handles. The rest of what differentiates a GS from a GX is trim pieces notably 15-inch alloy wheels (steel on the GX) six speakers, rain- sensing wipers and a rear, body-colour spoil- er to mention a few. There arent many options after that except Bluetooth connectivity (fitted at $389) and accessories like a Pioneer in-dash multi- media centre, bigger alloy wheels and a sus- pension lowering kit. Turned out in an iridescent green that drew a lot of comments, the as tested price was $19,684. There is one engine, a twin-cam inline four-cylinder producing 100 hp and 98 lb/ft of torque. Fuel consumption with the manu- al is 6.8L/100 km city and 5.6L/100 km high- way. With the automatic, it is rated at 7.5L/100 km city and 6.0L/100 km highway. Because the Mazda2 is based on an earlier sub-compact called the Demio which was not sold in North America, the engine, while very fuel efficient, is not as powerful as competi- tors like the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris. As described in my earlier story at the Montreal launch, Mazda engineers used what they call their gram strategy for taking off the pounds to increase the power-to-weight ratio and thus improve performance. Engineers shaved off 2.9 kg (6.4 lb) by optimizing the wiring harness and 22.6 kg (50 lb) by going to a 53 per cent use of high tensile steel in the body structure. And those are just two of dozens of examples. The result was an overall 10 per cent reduction over the previous model for a curb weight of 1,042 kg, making it (with manual transmission) the lightest car in the seg- ment. Not only was the suspension lightened but it was re-tuned for increased handling and steering response. This time I put almost 600 km on the clock including a 441.1 km round trip from my home to a resort area to the east. The trip involved primarily super high- ways and rural two-lane blacktop. Average fuel consumption was 6.9L/100 km on the way to my destination. At a half tank, I cov- ered 198.3 km with 288 km more to go on the tank according to the trip computer. Coming back at a faster clip as I was try- ing to keep up to the flow of traffic and plus a subsequent 140.6 more km of pure city driving, the average went up to 7.4L/100 km. So the Mazda2 does get better mileage than a compact but youll find yourself stop- ping for fuel just as often. Thats because the tank holds only 42.8 litres of fuel, much less than the average 55 litres in a compact or mid-size car. Handling was great. Mazda always skews the ride to the sporty side as part of their spirit of a sportscar design philosophy. Power is not overwhelming but adequate and keeping up with the others on the high- way was no problem. Passing on the two-lane means making sure you give yourself ade- quate time. The engine kicks down smartly but does make a lot of noise doing so. The steering is very sharp on this car. Coming out of a very large luxury car, I found I was over steering. I think this was because of the heft of the luxury car plus the fact I couldnt feel the great weight through the steering wheel of the luxury car caused me to over steer until I got used to the Mazda2. Where this sharpness will aid the Mazda2 driver is in the city where being nimble is as important as being quick. It may be little car on the outside but dont let that fool you. There is more than enough seat travel for a guy my size and even with the seat all the way back, I fit fine. Even though the rear door opens 90 degrees, the roof arch makes getting out a challenge. Oddly, getting in is easy. Cargo volume is 377 litres behind the back seat and 787 litres when folded flat. As a test with the back seat up, I was able to put two recycling blue boxes in the trunk. As this is being written, it was announced the compact Mazda3 has become the most successful nameplate in Mazda Canadas his- tory, surpassing 300,000 sales in the past six years. This bodes well as the Mazda2 has much of the zoom, zoom spirit of its bigger brother and, based on how many Canadians have purchased Mazda3s, things looks rosy indeed for the Mazda2. Mazda2 2011 At A Glance:BODY STYLE:Sub-compact five- door hatchback.DRIVE METHOD:front-engine, front- wheel drive.ENGINE:1.5-litre DOHC inline four- cylinder (100 hp, 98 lb/ft).FUEL ECONOMY:Regular: five- speed manual 6.8/5.6L/100 km city/highway four-speed automatic, 7.5L/6.0L/100 km city/highway.PRICE:GS, $18,195, as tested, $19,684.WEB:www.mazda.ca The 2011 Mazda2 GS (shown) is the top of two trim levels. It can be spotted by the alloy wheels and the side rocker panel extension. Pricing for the GS starts at $18,195. 345 Speers Rd. (at Dorval), Oakville 905-842-9299 Valid at all GTA locations. Expiry: September 30, 2010 Code: 5669 / Cineplex Entertainment LP or used under license. with oil change FREE CINEPLEX MOVIE TICKET