There's a Speed Read section in our road tests that includes a one-sentence summary called the "Bottom Line." For the 2011 Mazda 2, that bottom line read, "An adequate commuter with legit room for four. And not much else."
Believe it or not, there are plenty of people on the road these days who are looking for just that. In their minds, the simplest way from A to B is a car and as long as that's the way it is, they'll drive one.
But that doesn't mean simple, no-frills commuter cars don't deserve the same attention and long-term testing we're known for. In fact, given the ratio of fun cars to commuter cars currently on the road, perhaps the subject is under-covered.
Knowing full well that the 2011 Mazda 2 Touring is fully average, we've added one to our long-term fleet. We've had exceptional (GT-R, Z06, R8) and we've had terrible (Smart Fortwo) and now it's time for a trip in the middle. Twelve months and 20,000 miles in Mazda's new small Honda Fit fighter, the 2011 Mazda 2 Touring.
What We Got
The 2011 Mazda 2 is available in two trim levels: Sport and Touring. The Sport designation means a 100-horsepower 1.5-liter 16-valve inline-4 with a five-speed manual transmission, 15-inch steel wheels with covers, 10.2-inch front discs with rear drums, intermittent windshield wipers, power side mirrors, A/C, power windows, power door locks, cloth-trimmed seats, 60/40 split-folding rear seats, four-speaker AM/FM/CD stereo with aux input, and dynamic stability control and traction control. All of this for $14,180.
The Mazda 2 Touring starts with the Sport and then adds halogen foglights, 15-inch alloy wheels with Yokohama Avid all-season tires, a rear spoiler, chrome exhaust tip, cloth-trimmed seats with red piping, cruise control, trip computer, leather steering wheel and wheel-mounted audio controls; it also replaces the four-speaker stereo with an eight-speaker job.
Of course, there's a price difference here, a reasonable $1,455 in this case. Cruise control alone on the barren, endless, bone-straight highways of California makes that $1,500 worth it. And speaking of the highway, the Mazda 2 is rated at 35 mpg highway when equipped with the manual transmission, which ours is. A four-speed automatic (the Ford Fiesta has a six-speed auto-clutch manual, but we'll get to that later) is available for $800, but brings the fuel economy down to 33 mpg highway.
When it comes to options, our Mazda 2 is relatively light. The Crystal White Pearl paint is $200 and, well, that's it. There's a dealer "installed" Bluetooth kit that clamps to the sunshade, but that Motorola unit isn't a factory option. This dealer option is a necessity for the 2011 Mazda 2, as Mazda didn't think to equip the 2 with either Bluetooth or a USB/iPod cable. Surely nobody looking into a city-slick compact is the type of person to own a Bluetooth phone/iPod. Right?
Regardless, with such scant options available, our 2011 Mazda 2 runs awfully close to its base price, totaling $16,330 including the $795 destination fee. We did not pay $16,330 for this car, however. Mazda provided it to us for the purpose of this long-term evaluation.
Why We Got It
The most obvious and difficult to answer question here is, "Why not get the 2011 Fiesta?" Well, the reasons for this are multiple, but the main ones stand that we already have a fleet full-o'-Fords and the only current Mazda we have, the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3, won't be around for much longer.
And with its 263-hp turbocharged four-cylinder, it's an enthusiast-only machine. But the Mazda 2 with its 100 hp, 15-inch wheels and all-season tires is an example of the kind of Mazda real people buy. And the kind of car Mazda is hoping will make lots of real people turn their attentions away from the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and the 2's cousin, the 2011 Ford Fiesta.
But why would they? The Mazda 2 isn't the fastest, cheapest, roomiest, most flexible, best optioned, best handling or most fuel-efficient. Is being a solid all-arounder in a highly competitive automotive industry going to cut it?
Life in the Average Lane
TV chef/awesome guy Alton Brown has a theory on unitaskers. The theory is to stay away from them. It's not that a garlic press is the worst thing in the world, but a flat chunk of granite can press garlic, too. And shell nuts. And keep papers from flying around. And kill rats.
That seems to be the theory behind the Mazda 2. It's not the class leader in any category, but the aggregate value should be high enough to justify its existence. Which is why we have one for the next 12 months. We plan to put 20,000 miles on our new five-speed 1.5-liter 2011 Mazda 2 Touring to see if the average really is good enough.
Current Odometer: 1,642
Best Fuel Economy: 36.6 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 29.6 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 33.5 mpg
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Follow the long-term road test blog for updates about our 2011 Mazda 2 Touring.
Add A Comment »
itm1221 says:
02:31 PM, 01/19/2011
@k55
Earth to Doorknob......I wasnt talking about anything to do with prices i was just saying.....not exactly apples to apples now is it Poindexster
k55 says:
12:30 PM, 01/01/2011
itm1221 says:
06:05 PM, 10/28/2010
"or better yet get the new volvo s60 that would be one sweet ride to modify."
Earth to Doorknob......A Volvo S 60 is approximately a 35k car.....not exactly apples to apples now is it Poindexster
arevee1 says:
08:50 AM, 01/01/2011
I've been driving a Mazda2 since early October and am very pleased with it. I have also owned a Yaris hatch and have driven a 2008 Fit and 2006 xB extensively. The driving experience of the Mazda is superior to these other cars. Yes, one could probably get a very nice Mazda3 for close to the price of the 2, but in time, the 2 will be discounted too. I went with the 2 over the 3 because it felt more 'light on its feet' and it gets much better gas milage, which is important to me.
Yes, a little more power would be nice, but it has more zip than the 100hp number would suggest and it's pretty easy to get gas milage over the EPA hwy rating. My tanks are running 37 - 38 mpg.
I live in a mid-sized city and have only seen one other 2 on the road since I purchased mine. If the car isn't popular, the re-sale value won't be very high - not a good thing.
I can't comment on Mazda versus Fiesta from a driving perspective since I didn't drive a Fiesta. I have heard not good things about Ford's new 6 speed DSG transmission. I don't think I'd like to be an early adopter of that one. I did look at Fiesta in the dealer lot and with the 'dealer added markup', the price was around 20K. I paid only 16,100 for my manual touring model with a few port installed options thrown in. Because it doesn't seem to be catching on, Mazda will probably be discounting them soon (if they aren't already). The 3 is a popular, well regarded car and 2010's were heavily incentivised when I was shopping for the 3 in September.
k55 says:
11:34 AM, 12/04/2010
a 2 door Mazdaspeed 2 sport version of this and I would be very interested . Not a fan of 4 door hatches though.
nissmazlover says:
10:55 AM, 11/12/2010
I'm glad to say that I FINALLY got to test drive the 2 this week. I am helping a friend of mine find a car, and the 2 was on her short list. We both test drove the car and I can confidently say that I fell in love with it! It's an AWESOME little car! I test drove a Fit and, to ME, the Fit feels like a tin can. The 2 actually feels very solid and substantial, yet light on its feet. The ride was particularly impressive. It drives and feels like a smaller version of my car: the 5.
We both were enamored with it. But, she does like the 3 more. So, when we got out of the 2 we passed by a black, Certified Used 2010 Mazda 3i Touring with the Moonroof/Bose package, tinted windows, and rear spoiler! She fell in love with that one even more - especially considering it was around the same price as the 2. So, she went for that one (at a haggled price of $15,5K).
Nevertheless, my point is that I don't understand why the car wouldn't catch on here. I would totally buy it as a second car for my wife and I. It's the best looking car in its segment, in my opinion, and it was great to drive and is a great value. It was named Car of the Year for a reason! I really do believe most people are hung up on brandnames and labels - it's obvious Toyota has been selling inferior products in DROVES for WAY too long (and, lately, you can add Honda to that list)! And, I believe, that is mostly the reason for Mazda's less successful - in terms of sales - cars.
autophile1969 says:
01:46 PM, 11/09/2010
I went to the local Mazda dealership to purchase a Mazda2 Touring. The dealership had to search the entire country to find a stick shift. While they were looking, I spotted a Mazda6 on the lot marked down to $17k. It was a stick shift. I test drove and decided to purchase the 6 instead of the 2 because it was such a good deal. I upgraded the tires and wheels and have a nice looking car at 0% interest. It is strange that Mazda sales suck because I have owned a 3 and a Protege5 and have loved them. I hope to feel the same way after owning the 6.
redrage says:
11:26 AM, 11/09/2010
Now, folks this car has been around for a couple of years and is obviously better loved in other parts of the globe since it was named the World Car of the Year (in 2008 or 2009?), among several other awards. I don't think it'll catch fire here though, because it is regarded as the "average" sibling of the over-achieving Fiesta.
igozoomzoom says:
08:34 AM, 11/09/2010
Mazda only sold 629 of these in October and just 1,725 since they were introduced! =(
I've read numerous reviews in the major car mags and sites (including Edmunds) and they've all been at least somewhat favorable. It's significantly cheaper than the Fiesta, much more pleasant to drive than you might expect from a car this size with only 100hp and it's an impressive value considering the equipment included on each trim level.
Along the same line, I can't fathom why the Mazda6 doesn't sell??? In October, they sold 2,477 Mazda6s while Honda sold 24,344 Accords and Toyota moved 25,034 Camrys in that same one month period!? That's a single Mazda6 sold for every 10 of Accords or Camrys....or combine them and it's one Mazda6 for every 20 Camcords! It defies logic...
Is it the lack of brand/model recognition (the single numeral name is hardly distinctive) and/or the lack of advertising?
aspade says:
06:44 PM, 10/28/2010
Fits right in with the recent fleet mix of wildly impractical or else boring crapboxes without nearly enough in between.
I can't fault Edmunds for taking a car for free (unless it's one you already had) but the notion of spending $16,000 of my own money on a wheezing miniature like this is a real knee slapper.
wrinklebump says:
06:14 PM, 10/28/2010
Fearless prediction: everyone will conclude they liked the Fit better