Mazda2 EV 2011 Review - International

Not so much
>> Looks like a Mazda2?
>> Not confirmed for production yet
>> No word on price for production model

Mazda will build an electric-powered version of its Mazda2 light hatch in "triple figures" for the Japanese domestic market, with effect from next year. The EV doesn't look radically different from other Mazdas — in fact it looks no different from the petrol-engined Mazda2 — but it's a capable and competent first attempt by Mazda at building a production-ready passenger car that's equipped with batteries and electric motor-drive.

During a trip to Japan for the Tokyo Motor Show, motoring.com.au had a chance to drive the EV2 for two laps of a (3km) test track. And we came away impressed.

Having stepped out of the carsales i-MiEV just days ago, the contrast is stark. The Mazda launches with real verve and delivers acceleration that is — according to project manager Mitsuru Fujinaka — comparable to the petrol equivalent's straight line performance.

While the i-MiEV can be wound up to tear away from conventional cars at the traffic lights, the Mazda makes the Mitsubishi's performance seem anaemic, to say the least. In the Mazda, acceleration is genuinely effortless. Just sink the slipper and away she goes.

And that was in the 'B' (brake) mode much loved of the Japanese EV makers. According to the Mazda engineer accompanying us, the B mode not only delivers more regenerative braking — to recharge the batteries faster on the overrun — it also delivers less torque to the drive wheels and is aimed at use in snowy or slippery conditions. Even so, the EV2 felt really strong in its performance off the line and 'in gear'. 

Since the car is still very much in its development phase — and it's by no means certain it will reach export markets anyway — Mazda was naturally reticent about revealing the vital stats for the EV2, but here's what we can surmise. It's heavier than both the i-MiEV and the petrol Mazda2, but the weight is distributed better than either. Where the i-MiEV has its engine perched over the rear axle, and the batteries are also located in the rear, the EV2 has its engine under the bonnet, driving the front wheels, but the batteries are located ahead of the rear axle, where the fuel tank would be in the conventional car. So it promises to handle and steer quite well, even on its narrow tyres. That was certainly the general impression gained from a brief drive of the car around a test track at Mazda's Hiroshima facility.

Steering seemed responsive and the car handled well enough, with minimal body roll during cornering. Ride comfort was reasonably firm, but probably about on a par with what consumers will expect of a light segment car developed and sold by Mazda. While the tyres were noisy over the bitumen road surface, the rest of the car was understandably quiet — and stable too, in a blustery cross-wind at a road speed of up 120km/h.

On the short track the EV2 definitely had more go in it than 120km/h, but Mazda insisted that we take it no higher than that. Furthermore, they were determined not to discuss such environmentally incorrect issues as power, torque and top speed. However, Aussie journalists who drove the EV2 put their heads together and came up with an estimated unrestricted speed potential of up to 160km/h. It feels that quick.

Mazda claims the EV2 has a range of up to 200km, which is about 40km better than the best Mitsubishi claims for the i-MiEV.

We have been informed that the batteries are lithium-ion and the recharge time from a domestic power supply would be "seven to eight hours" — according to Fujinaka-san through an interpreter. That's a fairly long time for a recharge, based on 200-Volt power supply, so the battery capacity would seem to be significantly higher than the i-MiEV's.

Packaging was stereotypical Mazda2 and the boot was unencumbered with batteries or the other paraphernalia associated with hybrids or battery-electric vehicles. There was plenty of boot space and, as mentioned, the batteries were positioned out of harm's way under the floor, but not in a way that would restrict rear-seat accommodation.

Since the writer hasn't driven the Nissan LEAF (and Mazda claims it's not comparable with the EV2 for size and packaging anyway), it's hard to say whether one is better than the other, but we can make a direct comparison between the EV2 and the i-MiEV. What is clear from having driven both is that the i-MiEV now seems a bit like an electric vehicle from yesteryear — and buyers of the Mitsubishi will be cashed-up municipalities or government departments out to make a name for themselves as environmentally concerned. But the EV2? Now that's a car we could see being sought by private consumers...

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