GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Bigger new Mazda2 previewed

Mazda has revealed full images and details of the concept car that previews its third-generation Mazda2 hatchback due on sale in Australia later this year.

An official teaser image and leaked sketch of the HAZUMI concept were seen last week ahead of its world debut at the Geneva motor show opening later today.

Mazda has not formally confirmed the HAZUMI show car is effectively a sneak-peek at the replacement for Australia’s top-selling light-car in 2011, 2012 and so far this year, describing it only as a B-segment concept.

However, motoring.com.au sources say the redesigned Mazda2 production car, which will be officially revealed before going on sale in Australia later this year, will be only slightly shorter and narrower in track than the pumped-out show car.

That means the MkIII Mazda2 five-door will be significantly larger than before. So far there is no sign of new three-door hatch or four-door sedan versions, previous generations of which were only briefly sold Down Under.

At 4070mm long, 1730mm wide and 1450mm high, the HAZUMI is a whole 157mm longer and 35mm wider – but 25mm lower – than the existing Mazda2.

As is the tradition with most show cars, the production version will likely be slightly shorter and taller overall, while the massive 18x8.0-inch alloy wheels with 215/45 tyres will be swapped for 15- and 16-inch items for the showroom model.

However, the 2015 Mazda2 should retain the HAZUMI’s 2585mm wheelbase, which is some 95mm longer than the current Mazda2’s (2490mm) and should translate to significant improvements in legroom and/or load space – even if the show car remains a four-seater.

The 2 concept also debuts Mazda’s new SKYACTIV-D 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, which is matched to a six-speed automatic transmission and claimed to fulfill stringent Euro 6 emissions requirements without after-treatment systems such as NOx trap catalysts or selective catalytic reduction.

No other technical details have been announced but Mazda says its new small-capacity clean diesel engine emits less than 90g/km of CO2 in the HAZUMI, which would make it about as efficient as Toyota’s Prius hybrid, and offers “ample torque and dynamic performance which is linear right up to the top of the revolution range”.

Mazda’s new 1.5-litre diesel engine features the same low-compression combustion technology as the 2.2-litre SKYACTIV-D engine in the latest Mazda6, from which it also borrows its ‘i-stop’ idle-stop and ‘i-ELOOP’ regenerative braking system.

However, given the latter is not employed by the new Mazda3 small car, Mazda’s innovative capacitor-based brake energy regeneration system is unlikely to feature in the smaller and cheaper new Mazda2, which is equally unlikely to be available with diesel power in Australia.

Currently priced from $15,790, Australia’s second-generation Mazda2 is powered only by a 1.5-litre petrol engine.

The next 2 is expected to combine Mazda’s new 1.5-litre petrol engine with the company’s latest SKYACTIV chassis and body technology, plus the latest MZD Connect infotainment and head-up display system from the new Mazda3 and a host of (likely optional) i-ACTIVSENSE advanced safety aids.

All this will be wrapped in a new five-door body featuring its KODO design theme, which debuted on the SHINARI concept and is now seen on the CX-5, Mazda6 and Mazda3.

Mazda says the HAZUMI name – a Japanese word meaning ‘to bound or spring up’ – was chosen not only to convey “an image of a small but vigorous animal bursting with energy and bounding into life”, but potential light-car buyers who are “young, dynamic, vibrant and ambitious”.

Chief designer Ryo Yanagisawa, who also designed Mazda’s BT-50 ute, said the HAZUMI is another example of the potential of KODO design and of how well it adapts to different vehicle sizes. 

“Whereas with longer models such as the SHINARI we use long and free lines of motion stretching from front to back to express KODO, with HAZUMI we’ve created a form which suggests explosive motion,” he said.

“It’s like an animal poised to pounce; every muscle is held tense as it gathers energy for the chase. Despite being small, the KODO gives the car a presence that can’t be ignored, and a shape that has driving pleasure written all over it.”

Key design features include Mazda’s now-signature aluminium trim strip, which underlines the grille and intersects the headlights. The latter are fitted with LED ‘guiding rings’, which “add depth and solidity to the headlamps, evoking the strong-willed eyes of an untamed animal”.

Both the headlights and grille are positioned as low as possible, “giving the front face a sharp look reminiscent of a cheetah on the prowl. Yet the car somehow manages to be cute at the same time, ensuring onlookers will soon feel a sense of affection.”

Mazda says speed is the interior theme, conveyed via an airplane wing-inspired instrument binnacle shape that extends to the door trims and centre console, which is suspended like a bridge to enhance the feeling of space and deliver more footwell space.

The HAZUMI’s interior is primarily trimmed in black leather but white leather covers the instrument panel and a crimson-colored material is used on the seats. 

The outgoing Mazda2’s widely acclaimed design was created by the Japanese brand’s now global design chief Ikuo Maeda. The five-door was first released in Australia in October 2007, before a three-door hatch body style was briefly made available and then a sedan version joined the range when sourcing switched from Japan to Thailand for the facelifted model from May 2010.

However, the 2 sedan, which accounted for less than 10 per cent of the Mazda2’s 1200-odd total monthly sales, was axed when Australian sourcing switched back to Japan after only a few months.

Expect the bigger, more efficient and more high-tech new Mazda2 five-door to go on sale in Australia by the end of this year.

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