- The 2011 Mazda 2 debuts at the 2010 New York Auto Show
- The Mazda 2's 1.5-liter four-cylinder makes 100 hp and 98 lb-ft of torque.
- The Mazda 2 will go on sale in July, priced starting at $14,730 for the Sport model.
NEW YORK — The 2011 Mazda 2, poster child for stylish yet fuel-efficient cars that are increasingly in vogue, will debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show. Alongside it will be a slate of all-new SKY Concept powertrains from Mazda, set to be launched in the U.S. starting next year.
The all-new five-door subcompact Mazda 2 is powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 100 horsepower and 98 pound-feet of torque, mated to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy is 28/35 mpg with the manual transmission and 28/34 mpg with the automatic.
Mazda says the Mazda 2's design is intended to convey movement, with shortened body overhangs, a lowered beltline and a "sporty wedge shape" that rejects the boxy look currently popular in subcompacts. The interior has a center stack instrument panel with piano black trim. The Mazda 2 will come in five colors at launch — Spirited Green, Brilliant Black Clearcoat, Liquid Silver, True Red and Crystal White Pearl — with Aquatic Blue coming later.
The 2011 Mazda 2 is slated to go on sale in July. It will be priced starting at $14,730 for the Sport model and $16,185 for the uplevel Touring model. Prices include $750 destination. The automatic transmission adds $800 to the bottom line.
The SKY engine lineup will also debut at New York. Mazda says it's targeting a 30 percent improvement in fuel economy in its worldwide product lineup by 2015, which will be thanks in part to its new fuel-efficient SKY Concept powertrains. The first out will be the SKY-G gasoline direct-injection engine, slated to be the "core powertrain" in future Mazdas. It will be launched with Mazda's SKY-Drive six-speed automatic transmission in the U.S. in 2011, said Mazda Motor CEO Takashi Yamanouchi, and then rolled out in global markets. Fuel economy using the new powertrain is expected to be up 15 percent over current engines.
Next to come will be the SKY-D diesel engine in 2012, which will be fitted into Mazda's next-generation midsize diesel car and will allow up to 43 miles per gallon in highway driving.
Mazda notes that the SKY names are "concept names" and will change when the engines are introduced.
Inside Line says:. Spunky little car and new engines should make some noise in the market. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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carnut_dave says:
10:46 AM, 04/05/2010
Is it just me or does the front fascia make you sick too? I know all my Mazda-driving friends agree with me on this: Why in the world did they put the same stupid Smiley face that ruined the 2010 Mazda3 onto an otherwise good-looking small car? I would need to drive one to see how it feels and performs, but unless and until somebody makes a different front bumper and grill I will NEVER buy one.
Will there be a MazdaSpeed version? this might help a bit - but even that did not convince me to buy the 2010 3 when I was looking late last year. I'm holding onto my Protege5 for a little while longer in hopes that Mazda will see the error of it's ways. If they don't, I'll need to start looking for a 2009 3. I wonder if the Euro bumper from last year's 2 will fit this one?
I'm hoping that this is at least a Japanese styling exercise - sometimes the styles just don't translate well between the two cultures. Surely an American-based Mazda USA team would not come up with something so incredibly off-the-mark.
dagmar3 says:
11:50 AM, 03/31/2010
Over 20 years ago, the Miata made a debut with a 1.6L engine good for 116 hp.
Since Mazda has had supercomputers for the past two decades, why is this 1.5L engine so limp? the mazda2 is anything but "spunky". It's an Aveo-like slug.
guy1974 says:
10:19 AM, 03/31/2010
Not very good fuel economy. 35mpg highway is poor when compact cars (a size above the Mazda 2) will be getting 40 soon with the new Cruze and Focus. Never mind the Jetta TDi. Mazda need to improve on that.