The ‘re-launch’ of Mazda into South Africa has come just at the right time for the brand. Since it decided to go it alone, new product has arrived thick and fast from Japan. Mazda3, Mazda5 andCX-3 were immediately available to help with the re-introduction and now, just a few months after those, we have the all-new Mazda2 on our doorstep. We were at the launch in Knysna to see how Japan’s current Car of the Year looks, feels and drives.

Two Engine Lineup

Petrol and diesel are available from launch, with the diesel being the top-spec model that gets kitted with all the stuff they can cram into a Mazda2. The petrol is a naturally aspirated 1.5-Litre four-cylinder unit featuring the now familiar SKYACTIV technology that in its most simple terms means it has quite a high compression ratio – 12:1. This is said to improve power delivery, torque and fuel efficiency. It’s rated at 82 kW and 145 Nm of torque and claims to consume 5.5L/100km in manual and 5.7L/100km in auto guise. There’s a choice of a six-speed auto or manual but unless you sit in a lot of traffic or really hate changing gears I would recommend the slick-shifting manual. The auto is capable, but just seems to diminish the power delivery slightly.

The diesel motor is a 1.5-Litre turbodiesel and turns out 77 kW and 250 Nm of torque. I drove it with the auto gearbox and felt it was better suited to the auto than the petrol is. Torque delivery is quite linear for a small diesel and it’s especially quiet at idle. From our story on petrol vs diesel however, we know that it will be cheaper to run the petrol over the long term than the diesel. Fuel economy for the diesel sits at 4.4L/100km.

Clean and Smooth Interior

The Mazda2 has an impressive interior. It looks like it has been designed to feel spacious and stylish. Even with the cloth seats in the lower spec models it still feels like a high quality product. The plastics feel quite soft and the look of the buttons and dials are all very modern. There’s a centre-dash mounted screen that works in similar fashion to Audi and BMW’s multimedia systems – with a rotary dial behind the gear lever. It can also be controlled by touching the screen and is an intuitive system that responds quickly.

Decent Spec

In a like-for-like comparison, the Mazda2 fairs up quite well against the competition, especially the VW Polo and the Ford Fiesta. Standard across the range is ABS, EBD with EBA, Air Conditioning, power windows, USB and an AUX port. The spec gets continuously better through the range and the top spec diesel comes with Sat Nav and half leather trim that actually looks and feels plush. For a full spec list check out our specs and pricing story.

Ride and Drive

After a short blast through the forest roads around Geroge and Knysna, the Mazda2 proved very capable for a small hatchback. The roads were wet and slimy but the Mazda2 showed good grip and stands upright well in the corners. The steering is initially a little light but once you dial in a bit more, it weights up nicely and provides good confidence for you to push on. Both engines perform well and the petrol engine seems quite happy to rev and gets a good move on when doing so. The diesel is a nice cruising engine that develops plenty of torque low down and never feels stressed.

Mazda2 Price in South Africa

The Mazda2 pricing starts from R188000 and tops out at R259900. The Renault Clio still seems to offer more spec for your buck but with Mazda’s new offering they could certainly mix it with the bunch of B-segment hatches and rake in some sales. It’s a good looking car with an extremely well turned out interior and two good engines, we wait anxiously for the first sales report at the end of March 2015.