2020 Mazda2 sedan unveiled

The 2020 Mazda2 sedan has been previewed in Mexico, giving us the best indication yet of what the refreshed booted city car will look like when it arrives in Australia early next year.

As with the refreshed Mazda2 hatchback, which was unveiled in Japan earlier this year and is due in showrooms in the coming months, the sedan adopts a new front end which incorporates a sleeker bumper, a three-dimensional grille and new headlight design.

Inside, the Mazda2 takes a much-needed step forward with the adoption of Apple Carplay and Android Auto, all projected via a new multimedia system.

If anything, the interior theme takes many elements of the larger Mazda3 small car, with more premium materials and a similar centre fascia-top screen arrangement.

The front seats have also been updated, while under the bonnet, the existing 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol remains in overseas form.

Radar-based adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality will be offered on up-spec models, as will adaptive LED headlights.

We’re expecting carryover power and torque figures of 81kW and 141Nm, likely to be offered with a choice of manual and automatic transmissions as before.

These updates are likely to correlate with increase on the Mazda2 sedan’s current recommended retail price of $15,570 (plus on-road costs).

Mazda recently launched its new-generation, low emission Mazda3 SKYACTIV-X engine tech, which is tipped to make its way into every model – including the Mazda2 – in due course.

The new SKYACTIV-X engines will be coming to Australia first in the Mazda3 in early 2020 and then in the CX-30 SUV in the second half of 2020.

It’s possible hybrid and even EV versions will be released in future as well; back in 2011 we tested an EV Mazda2, but it was a Japan-only model.