Mazda2 headed to North America

[djct_watt]

Anybody have any updates on this. . . I'm in Thailand and saw a semi-truck carrying a about 6 of these. . . probably to a dealer. But I can't seem to find any behind the wheel information or release dates for the local market here or in the USA.

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted by ROCKLAND TOYOTA

nice car BUT 2012 YARIS is gonna make a lot of people happy......

With more electrical steer numbness, terrible emergency handling, and mediocre looks?


Seriously, the Mazda 2, aka the Ford Fiesta as we will know it, was reviewed by a car journalist friend of mine. Keep in mind, he's personally driven my Yaris... And had few nice things to say about it. He told me "pound for pound", the Fiesta (which he has personally driven and reviewed) is his top pick above the pack of micro cars, unless Honda makes a super-redesign of the Fit again.

Considering his car the week prior was a BMW X5, that says alot.

[Mouse]

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...1-mazda-21.htm

This is what I've found so far.

[wooverstone8]

Originally Posted by Thirty-Nine

Love it or hate it, competition is good, and I'm glad to see more small cars hitting the market!

+1

[wooverstone8]

Originally Posted by Mouse

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...1-mazda-21.htm

This is what I've found so far.

I like the 2-door. The 4-door is nice too.

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by firemachine69

With more electrical steer numbness, terrible emergency handling, and mediocre looks?


Seriously, the Mazda 2, aka the Ford Fiesta as we will know it, was reviewed by a car journalist friend of mine. Keep in mind, he's personally driven my Yaris... And had few nice things to say about it. He told me "pound for pound", the Fiesta (which he has personally driven and reviewed) is his top pick above the pack of micro cars, unless Honda makes a super-redesign of the Fit again.

Considering his car the week prior was a BMW X5, that says alot.

that just means he's used to sportier cars... cars with more whistles... and more HP.

Question is... when people review the cars... do they review the car based on what it is designed for. Nobody in their right mind cares about the 0-60 on a yaris or similar car.... cause if you are driving it like you stole it... well then you probably won't keep it stock for very long... thus the review doesn't apply once you start changing out parts.

these cars are meant to be cheap & reliable... so the main considerations when reviewing should be the initial cost, the annual cost (to drive & maintain) and then after that get into the fun factor.


Nobody would review a sportscar mainly based on its mpg's and cost of ownership... so why review an eco-box on HP and fun? it's bass-ackwards!

[Wattz]

Despite the Yaris' great economy, I absolutely despise the way it handles. This is coming from the previous owner of a Ford Focus.

I also drive my wife's Honda Element a few times a week, and IT HAS BETTER HANDLING than the Yaris!

Really, any handling improvements that can be made to the Yaris are well worth it. Responsiveness, stability, and comfort are the choices available in handling. The trick is that you can only have two of the three in a vehicle. Toyota chose comfort over stability. I can imagine that most other manufacturers of micro cars are going to choose stability over comfort. You can count on it with Mazda, especially with a slogan like "Zoom zoom!"

Love my Yaris, but it is definitely lacking where a lot of other cars will pick up. Then again, Mazda isn't known for its outstanding fuel economy. :)

[Thirty-Nine]

FYI updates:

http://www.subcompactculture.com/200...zda2-info.html

[YarisSedan]

Ford and mazda share a lot of the same stuff now ever since they went to bed together. Whenever i order parts for mazda its funny when it come with a blue sticker that says ford oem on the box.

[wooverstone8]

Originally Posted by Thirty-Nine

FYI updates:

http://www.subcompactculture.com/200...zda2-info.html

Too bad Mazda is only bringing the 5-door hatch to the States. I wonder what Mazda will price the Mazda2?

[Thirty-Nine]

I'd love to see some market info on the three-door market. Yaris, Accent, and MINI are the only subcompact three doors for sale. Understandably, I understand more companies don't offer a three door here due to low take rates. However, if they're not offered more often, how can we buy them?

I'd bet Hyundai sells more three doors than it does four-door sedan Accents. Not sure about the Yaris.

[supmet]

Originally Posted by Wattz

Despite the Yaris' great economy, I absolutely despise the way it handles. This is coming from the previous owner of a Ford Focus.

I also drive my wife's Honda Element a few times a week, and IT HAS BETTER HANDLING than the Yaris!

Really, any handling improvements that can be made to the Yaris are well worth it. Responsiveness, stability, and comfort are the choices available in handling. The trick is that you can only have two of the three in a vehicle. Toyota chose comfort over stability. I can imagine that most other manufacturers of micro cars are going to choose stability over comfort. You can count on it with Mazda, especially with a slogan like "Zoom zoom!"

Love my Yaris, but it is definitely lacking where a lot of other cars will pick up. Then again, Mazda isn't known for its outstanding fuel economy. :)

Buy a sway bar and springs if you want better handling. I've driven an element, and I don't know how you define handling, but I would have a hard time saying it handles better in any way, other than being slightly smoother.

Originally Posted by YarisSedan

Ford and mazda share a lot of the same stuff now ever since they went to bed together. Whenever i order parts for mazda its funny when it come with a blue sticker that says ford oem on the box.

When I had my chevy prizm/corolla, it was usually about 30% of the price to buy corolla parts. My rear quarter glass was 127 at the chevy dealership without weather stripping, and 40 dollars at toyota with the stripping.

The mazda looks ok. I'll wait a few years to see if they randomly explode or anything. My brother has a 6 that isn't too horrible.

[jei]

i like this mazda2 a lot, but i think its really lame that we aren't getting the 3 door...smh

[jei]

.....if they brought the 3 door over, i'd definitely go mazda lol

[Mouse]

Thank you Mazda....Mazda knows how to do it right...In reality the Fiesta is the one that was derived from the Mazda2. The Mazda2 has been out since 2007.

Here are the concepts: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread...hreadid=357652

[thebarber]

tasty

[marcus]

what about mazdaspeed2

[aucorium]

hey guys

we have had this car in South Africa for a while already , awesome little car , same performance as the 1.3 yaris and the 1.5 vitz , as we have it in a 1300cc and 1500cc models for the mazda 2 , nice car , looks good , handles well.