Facelifted 2023 Mazda2 lands in Australia

The updated 2023 Mazda2 arrives in Australian showrooms this week, bringing fresh looks to the ageing compact hatch and sedan as well as an expanded equipment list across the seven-variant range.

The 2023 glow-up marks the third of its kind for the decade-old bones of Mazda’s most affordable passenger car.

As carsales has reported, local pricing is a smidge higher than originally announced, with Mazda Australia citing rises in raw material and shipping costs, as well as currency fluctuations, which have also pushed up the Mazda CX-30 small SUV.

The range kicks off with the Mazda2 Pure priced from $22,410, the Pure SP from $25,210, the Evolve from $25,910 and the range-topping GT from $27,610 (all plus on-road costs). See our full price list below.

The petrol-only front-drive Mazda2 is available in hatch or sedan body style, the latter now being the only one of its kind available in Australia’s light-car segment. The no-cost sedan option is available in entry-level Pure or top-spec GT guise only.

Similarly, a six-speed manual gearbox is also still available but only on the entry-level Pure, with a six-speed automatic transmission adding a $2000 premium. The auto is fitted standard to all other models in the Mazda2 Pure range.

The Mazda2’s new front-end offers a choice of a semi-covered colour-match grille or a more traditional dark mesh-look finish. New front and rear bumpers, two new exterior paint colours (Aero Grey Metallic and Airstream Blue) and three interior accent colours – Pure White, Mirror Black and Mint – add further personalisation options to the new aesthetic.

The Mazda2 Pure has 15-inch wheels, while all other variants graduate to 16-inch rims, with the flagship GT sporting new aero-inspired machined silver and black alloys.

A new shark’s fin antenna is a feature on all grades above Pure, while the Pure SP differentiates with a new black carbon-fibre-style roof finish.

Updates inside the Mazda2 range include new seat design and trim, while the Pure and Pure SP gain auto on/off headlight function as well as two-speed rain-sensing wipers already standard on other variants.

The 7.0-inch infotainment screen can now be operated by touch when the car is in park, with the central rotary dial used for on-the-go tasks.

There are no performance changes to the carry-over 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (82kW/144Nm manual and 81kW/142Nm auto), however minor fuel savings have been achieved in the automatic version which now has a claimed 5.0L/100km combined average consumption.

That marks a 0.3L/100km improvement over the outgoing model as well as lower CO2 emissions of 117g/km (-6g).

There have been no changes to the safety suite in the 2023 Mazda2, which no longer carries an ANCAP safety rating.

All Mazda2 models built prior to January 2023 (from November 2014 to December 2022) carry a five-star ANCAP rating based on 2015 testing, but this testing criteria was much less stringent than the protocols now in place.

At the local launch in Melbourne, Mazda representatives confirmed there are no plans to crash test the 2023 Mazda2, which could be replaced by an all-new electric city hatchback by 2025.

Click here for our launch review of the 2023 Mazda2.

How much does the 2023 Mazda2 cost?
Pure hatch (m) – $22,410
Pure hatch/sedan (a) – $24,410
Pure SP hatch (a) – $25,210
Evolve hatch (a) – $25,910
GT hatch/sedan (a) – $27,610
* Prices exclude on-road costs

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