The Mazda 2 is near a decade outdated however there’s no signal of a alternative, with the Japanese model as an alternative giving the sunshine automotive one other facelift.
It will go on sale in Australia in June 2023, with deliveries starting in July.
Pricing can be introduced nearer to launch, however Mazda says the local 2 range will proceed to comprise Pure, Pure SP, Evolve and GT variants. Currently, the GT is the one trim to nonetheless provide the selection of a sedan.
(*2*)Overseas fashions proven all through
The replace is generally beauty, with tweaks each in and out.
Most notable are the revised grilles. There’s a extra conventional honeycomb-patterned grille, plus a brand new, principally closed-off body-colour grille space. Both function a single colored accent on one aspect, an asymmetrical look first seen on the up to date CX-5 Touring Active.
There’s additionally an asymmetrically positioned color accent on the rear bumper, whereas hatchback and GT sedan fashions get a redesigned rear bumper. Mazda says the colorful accents “[enhance] the automotive’s youthful spirit”.
The GT will get a brand new aero-inspired multi-spoke alloy wheel design, in addition to twin exhaust shops. It’s unclear if different variants will get new wheel designs, of which there seem like a few others in Japan.
All bar the Pure additionally get a streamlined shark fin antenna, whereas Aero Grey and Airstream Blue metallic finishes be a part of the nine-strong color palette. The Pure SP good points a black movie cowl for the roof.
Inside, Pure and Pure SP fashions get new colored sprint trim items. These trim items are completed in both Pure White, Mirror Black or Mint relying on the outside end chosen.
The mid-range Evolve will get a black inside with purple highlights, together with on the seat stitching and air vent surrounds, whereas the GT builds on that with a purple and black sprint and partial leather-based upholstery.
Mazda says the tweaks to the Evolve and GT are supposed to take cues from the outdated Mazda 2 Genki.
No notice has been product of mechanical modifications. The Mazda 2 is at present provided in Australia completely with front-wheel drive and a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine with 82kW of energy and 144Nm of torque, and both six-speed guide or six-speed automated transmissions.
It’s unclear how for much longer the present Mazda 2 can be round for.
While it was first launched in 2014, it’s not the oldest member of the Mazda line-up. That can be the present Mazda 6, launched domestically in late 2012.
The Mazda 2 obtained a facelift for 2020, with the corporate trimming the line-up and including extra security gear and a commensurately larger base worth.
The present automotive has already been changed in Europe by a rebadged model of the Toyota Yaris. Amusingly, the inverse was performed in North America, with Toyota briefly providing a calmly restyled Mazda 2 there because the Scion iA and later Toyota Yaris iA.
Last 12 months, the Mazda 2 was the third best-selling mild automotive in Australia with 5146 gross sales. That put it narrowly forward of the Kia Rio (4576) and Suzuki Swift (4405), however behind the discontinued Suzuki Baleno (6124) and the indefatigable MG 3 (16,168).
