New Mazda 2 unveiled

Mazda has revealed the production version if its next-generation 2 ahead of its Paris motor show debut in October and next year’s international launch.

The Ford Fiesta rival is the fourth Mazda to fall under its SkyActiv technology banner and Kodo design language, after the CX-5, 6 and 3. The supermini segment is still Europe’s largest, and Mazda is pitching the new 2’s “performance, fuel economy, safety and driving fun” as a “winning combination”. Sources have previously said it would be lighter, more agile and more frugal than the current 2. Mazda has stated the new 2 will be the first car to get its new 1.5-litre turbodiesel SkyActiv engine. The 1.5-litre petrol SkyActiv engine used in the 3 will also feature in the 2 in various different power outputs, along with six-speed SkyActiv automatic and manual transmissions.

The new 2 uses a new chassis and body built to the firm’s SkyActiv technology principles of being lightweight and rigid. The new 2 is likely to be on the lightest superminis in the segment, with a kerb weight comfortably below 1000kg expected. Its underpinnings are understood to be a new SkyActiv structure that's smaller than that seen in the Mazda 3 and larger models. The downsized platform also features a lower-cost twist-beam rear axle, instead of the Mazda 3's multi-link rear.

Economies of scale for the new platform are achieved by the 2 being a global model, and one that will be twined with and built alongside a new Toyota supermini in markets such as North America. The design of the new 2 has clearly been influenced by the well-received Hazumi concept, which made its debut at the Geneva motor show in March. The look is evolved from that of the CX-5, 6 and 3, and also the Hazumi. Indeed, apart from new headlights, wheels, wing mirrors and door handles, the Hazumi was the new 2.

The exterior styling of the car is reputed to have been a collaborative effort, led by Japan with input from Germany and California. Mazda is yet to confirm the dimensions of the 2, but the Hazumi was 4070mm long, 1730mm wide and 1450mm high, making it longer, wider and lower than the current 3920mm-long, 1695mm-wide and 1475mm-tall 2. The firm claims the 2’s interior is “remarkably spacious”, the pictures revealing a long wheelbase which should maximise interior room. The interior design, much plusher than the current Fiesta-derived 2, is influenced by the 3. Higher quality materials are used, switchgear is pared back, and a simple central controller is used to operate a screen to manage most interior functions.

The new 2 will also use the firm’s new MZD Connect in-car connectivity system that links to a user’s smartphone. A suite of active safety technologies grouped under the 'i-Activesense' banner will be optional.