Comments on: 2008 Mazda 2 – 3 door review

By: RK

RK — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:52:24 +0000

Oh, and don’t get the City, it’s terrible. Don’t understand why Honda make it. If you want something bigger than a light car, go for a base 3 or Civic or Focus or whatever instead (or if luxury is the issue, the top trim level of a 2 or a Jazz or whatever).

By: RK

RK — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:43:09 +0000

Sure.

I bought a Mazda2 Neo 3-door (with saftey pack) earlier this year having test driven a Yaris and a Jazz as well, and indeed having driven a rented Yaris around a few months earlier for a week. I was gunning for a combination of value and performance. I’m very happy with it; besides the day to day commute, I’ve taken it around the Dandenongs and the Black Spur and out on day trips to Ballarat, and it handles it all well (except steep hills, but that’s an issue for all light 1.5L cars). I was pushing the 2 hard enough on the road past Marysville to need the traction control a couple of times (buy the safety package, incidentally), so when I say that the 2’s handling limits are surprisingly good, I’m not kidding around. There are much more expensive cars that I would really, really not want to drive like that.

The downside of this is that the 2 lacks the roominess of the Jazz (which is starting to seriously creep up into the next size segment.. what is it with Honda and size creep, 20 years ago the Civic was tiny, now it’s practically a medium size car), and probably has the most road noise in the cabin and the stiffest suspension out of 2, Yaris and Jazz. I think the Jazz has slightly better fuel efficiency too, although we’re talking cents per week at this point. It really comes down to how important handling is to you, compared to ride comfort, noise and roominess.

Just make sure whichever car you get, get a 1.5L version (Yaris and Jazz still come in 1.3 as well I think, which must be seriously underpowered) and make sure you option stability control or get a version which has it standard.

By: irisaurus

irisaurus — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:46:16 +0000

Im looking at buying a new small under 20k by mid january next yr to get around from uni and back, and some night shopping! So I was tossing up between a mazda 2 and a honda jazz. Ive heard many good feedback from my friend who owns a neo 2 demo, she likes it and no complaints.. she mentioned how good it is on fuel. And i chose to look at the jazz as ive looked at honda as reliable and reasonable for repair/service, cheapest/smallest from them was ‘jazz’.

However, today i had test drive on both jazz and 2, and i must say the jazz is like a mini van.. abit too big/roomy for my liking although space is good (I realised how boxy or big it is when i turned my head to reverse!), abit of wasted space on the dash board too, changing gears was hard to feel the fiction point (maybe im not used to new jazz), car felt very filmzzy. But I got to say the 2 was fun to drive (manual), changing of the gears was smooth and easy. I actually could imagine myself driving that thing for 5 yrs or more, swirling through tight streets and taking those “Oh! i aint gonna fit my car in that spot”.

I do admit honda makes more appealing interiors, but maybe the 2 has just the same features but i didnt look into it so much, i cared safety, ergonomics and the drive respectively. After todays testdrive, I say no to the jazz, bubble car too big for its own good. And i only found out their cars are manufactures in thailand, i would prefer a car made in japan.

The reason i may have written such a LONGGGG review bcos i was so frustrated, just too much choices..(cars to choose, this/that option and pricing) I want to choose 1 car i like and like it after yrs of purchase! I really did want to purchase a honda, so i had alook at the City, yet again over priced! 1.5 ltr as well for a heavier car.

Overall, I said no to Jazz, may buy the honda city, but im leaning towards the mazda2 just bcos they won so many awards and my test drive experience was good.
Anyone want to give me some advice?

By: erneztp

erneztp — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:35:56 +0000

typo, i mean light car market.

By: erneztp

erneztp — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:30:52 +0000

I just bought a 09 mazda2 maxx auto a month ago. It is a great car. Good braking and unique exterior styling. Interior styling is a little bit weird, maybe I need more time to get used to it but very practical and build quality is excellent. However, fuel consumption is not as economical as i was expected. I quoted around 9.0L/100km combined normal driving. I don’t understand why yaris is the most popular car in the small car market. For me, Mazda2 and Fiesta is the best out there.

By: Tomas79

Tomas79 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:56:37 +0000

Thats Ford Fanboy talk!! Fiesta is essentially the same car as Mazda 2, just with a different skin… They both are built on the same platform!!

By: Simon

Simon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:46:54 +0000

So i take it you have never driven a VASTLY superior in every way European car then?

The Fiesta beats the 2, and the Fiesta is a bottom feeder in the Euro class

Great for ASIAN, Euros are in another class all together

By: Simon

Simon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:43:06 +0000

Funny your nik is safetygal

Hows the traction-control and stabilty control on your Jizz like?

Mazda2 ALL-THE-WAY!

By: Simon

Simon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:40:45 +0000

Tiida is indeed in the class you mentioned.

Just its priced/sells for the same coin as a Mazda 2

By: Maximus

Maximus — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:31:18 +0000

Looking into the new 2 currently as I just totalled my old boxy one last Monday – first model (old lady ran red light & cleaned me up at speed). I managed to walk (ok stagger) away from the crash as did my passengers & after checks at hospital were released later that day with a bit of bruising & whiplash (even with bags). Çar sacrificed itself to save us (angle hit on front r/h wheel area) and thats fine by me. That model had 4* rating on crash tests, new model is a 5* with numerous safety extras purchased (4* otherwise) which I would definitily buy on any new model if available. I bought the old one because at the time it was the safest in its price + had great carrying capacity for a small car, looking at current ratings it seems the same on safety, a bit smaller on carrying I suspect. Review to come when I drive one soon. P.S. very exciting when the airbags go off I can tell you.

By: George

George — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 07:26:47 +0000

We recently bought a 2 and are very happy with it.
After shopping around, it seems that compact cars (at least those equipped with auto transmission) now fall into two classes: those under $20T and those over. Under $20T are the Hyundai Getz and Nissan Micra while the Jazz, Fiesta and Mazda 2 are over.
We recently rented a Micra to tour Tassie. It was not up to the task. Fortunately we were not in a hurry and did not mind holding up traffic so the lack of power relative to the 2 did not bother us. Having the head lights on top of the hood, as well as being ugly was distracting when driving at night especially on high beams. Verdict: this car does not belong outside the City.
The same is true of the Hyundi and its bottom punishing seats.
We might of purchased a fiesta but the model we wanted was not available. The Jazz did not come equipped with ESP and ABS which were bottom line requirements.
The Mazda gets ticks for handling, comfort and power. It has a “big car” feel and really grippy brakes. The seats are comfy for a compact especially the driver’s seat. It drives well on the freeways and I would not hesitate to take it on a long trip.
My only complaint is with the console lighting: it uses red lighting, presumably to prevent night blindness, and I find it difficult to read. this is especially true of the radio. As you can plug in your iPod this is not as much of an issue as would otherwise be the case. Given that the 2 is built for well lit urban environments designing console light to prevent light blindness is rather pointless: between the on-coming headlights and street lights the driver will be night blind anyway.
If you never intend to take the car out of the city by all means get a cheapie (but not a micra) otherwise it is worthwhile to spend the extra money for a better car.

By: mazdafan

mazdafan — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:46:58 +0000

Buy a Tiida over a Mazda?

The only reasons you would buy Tiida over a ‘2′ is if you were tranpsporting extremely tall people in the back on a regular basis, or are aged/have limited mobility and need a car with a taller roof line. Thats why Nissan dropped the price below the Corolla/Focus/Mazda3 otherwise there’d be not incentive to choose the Nissan

The Nissan Tiida looks awkward, lacks basic safety kit (the hatch STILL lacks a centre lap sash belt in 2009 whereas a Corollas sedan had one in 1996!!) not to mention a lack of ESP.

You get what you pay for, a Mazda sports better engineering and quality of materials than other entry level small cars such as the Barina or Kia Rio.

The 2 looks sporting, is a sharper handler (test drove one) not to mention other things not listed in the equipment guide, such as high tensile steel structure for strength and lighter weight (better economy).

By: safety gal

safety gal — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:13:29 +0000

I test drove the Mazda 2 (5 door ) today and didn’t like it at all…despite the hype. I think the doors look cheap and thin, like a toy car. Driving on a 80kph zone in the rain was scary. When you test the acceleration it jumps gears with a clunk. The brakes are over-responsive, and the rear visibility is poor for lane changes. It has lots of ZOOM-ZOOM as they advertise, but it’s like a racecar trapped in a hatchback body. It feels unsafe. Too much power with not enough protection. The doors would probably blow open in the wind, they are so light. I decided on a Honda Jazz VTi instead, feels more solidly built, fantastic vision with the big van-like front window, and much roomier inside (exactly the same price, 22k, for auto option + safety).

By: ASH8

ASH8 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:09:10 +0000

OMG, EVERY Car has a ‘few” blind spots, unless you drive a convertible…

Remember ALL you knockers out there, THIS Mazda 2 won ,
WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR 2008..

Judged by motoring journalists from ALL over the world.

NO other small cars comes close for driving dynamics and value.

By: New to Mazda

New to Mazda — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:26:20 +0000

I was just in at mazda today and test drove the 2 door Neo.
I got quoted $19990 on the road for the Maxx with fog lights. I couldn’t stretch for the safety pack though :(
I loved the feel of it, one downside for me though is that there are a couple of blind spots on it.

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:50:16 +0000

I just bought a Mazda 2 Maxx 5 door (manual) a couple of days ago, and I absolutely love it. The car is quite responsive, the steering very precise, and it looks great, both inside and outside. I mainly bought it for my daily commute to work, so petrol bills should be lower. My wife was sold on the 6disk stacker – she didn’t really care about what car it was anyway. Interior is great and quite functional, thought I’m still discovering things as I go – I’ve had too much fun driving it to look around. Even though the boot is small, it has plenty of space for our thursday night shopping run. Back seat is comfortable enough for passengers, but then again, I wasn’t after a people mover.

By: Adam (aka Mada)

Adam (aka Mada) — Mon, 26 May 2008 00:27:50 +0000

Duck…

I totally agree, the new corolla is even nicer to drive than the tiida.
It has no chance against the focus, astra, golf or Mazda 3.

By: Hugo

Hugo — Sun, 25 May 2008 01:23:05 +0000

Definitely worth the extra money, especially over the Swift. The Suzuki’s steering, pedal travel and interior switches are too light, too short and too fiddly respectively.

Besides which, if you look at the Mazda2 Genki and the Yaris YRS, they’re practically on par for price.

By: si1982

si1982 — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:08:21 +0000

I much prefer the Mitsubishi Colt with the CVT box…. feisty little engine, great fuel economy and tons of space…

The Jazz is quite nice too, just waiting for the updated second generation model to be launched in australia in a couple of months!

By: DG

DG — Sat, 24 May 2008 06:59:23 +0000

Actually I felt a little disappointed after driving this new Mazda 2 today. Small, underpowered and expensive, engine was not that responsive. The driving dynamic of this car might be good but for average users, there are other more important factors to be considered, such as comfort, price, warranty, maintenance, etc. Different people have different feeling when doing test drive. You really need to look beyond a car brand and all those perceptions associated with it when looking for a new car. Do test drive by yourself and get the feeling by yourself, and compare specifications carefully.