By Ian Strachan.
Mazda’s baby, the excellent Mazda2, is now available as a hybrid to reduce emissions and improve economy. It certainly seems to be a winning combination with a car which will give you an impressive 70.6 miles to the gallon in mixed driving, with CO2 emissions of just 92 g/km.
The Mazda2 Hybrid is one of those small cars that thinks it’s a lot bigger than it is. And it comes with all the goodies you would expect to find in a much bigger vehicle.
The Mazda2 Hybrid sits in the supermini sector, but a clever use of available space makes it feel larger. Big windows all round give the car an open, airy feel, belying its true size when you sit inside.
In the latest version the Mazda2 Hybrid gets smooth lines and a chunky, purposeful rear end. You get a high specification compared to many of its rivals, particularly in the Exclusive-Line version which I tested. It has bags of technology and is a very pleasant car to drive.
The Mazda’s good looks are helped by sporty automatic headlights and 16-inch alloy wheels. But it’s the interior where it really scores.
The cabin makes use of high quality trim materials and has simple, well-placed instruments and dials. Standard equipment on the Exclusive-Line includes radar cruise control with adjustable speed limiter, keyless entry remote central locking and push-button start, all-round electric windows, a good six-speaker DAB radio with Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth, satellite navigation via a nine-inch central touchscreen, front and rear parking sensors and reversing camera, steering wheel-mounted controls, climate control air conditioning and electric folding exterior mirrors. You also get lane control, road sign recognition, driver attention alert, blind-spot monitoring, rain-sensing wipers and automatic stop/start.
Head room and leg room is generous for a small car and with all that glass, visibility is superb.
Luggage room, at 286 litres, is excellent – among the most capacious in its class – and can be increased to 935 litres by folding the rear seats.
The 1.5 three-cylinder petrol engine with hybrid assistance is flexible and lively. Power from the 116 bhp unit is more than adequate – in fact it’s surprisingly brisk, with a 0-60 time of not much more than nine seconds. My test car had a smooth and stepless CVT automatic gearbox.
Price for the Mazda2 Hybrid 116ps Exclusive-Line is a competitive £25,390 on the road. My test car had a Formal Red paint finish at an extra £850.
