Mazda2 goes large – on the outside

When the all-new Mazda2 launches in Australia on October 28 it will take up slightly more room in the car park because it's now longer and taller.

It will also champion "large car values", say top Japanese executives, by bringing large strides in terms of quality, luxury and technology.

But despite its larger dimensions, interior space has gone backwards.

There's now less boot space and less front and rear headroom, while front and rear legroom has been slightly reduced too.

The third-generation Mazda2 grows in length by 160mm, measuring 4060mm from bumper to bumper, and in height by 20mm to 1495mm tall.

However, there's less space to put the shopping in the boot, which now offers 220 litres — a contraction of 30 litres — making it significantly smaller the new Honda Jazz's (350 litres) and Ford Fiesta's (281 litres).

Mazda executives acknowledged that in terms of interior space it was a case of form before function. Although it sits on a 2570mm wheelbase (80mm longer than the last Mazda2), the new city-car's progressive, sporty design is partly to blame for the reduction in cabin space.

Front headroom is down by 20mm to 984mm, while rear headroom is down 15mm to 944mm.

The only dimension that's improved is front shoulder room — up by 11mm to 1351mm, despite overall width remaining unchanged at 1695mm — with the company pointing out that the focus was on the driver.

During a presentation and brief drive of the new Mazda2 in Japan this week, the car's program manager Ayumu Doi said the new Mazda2 has been designed from the ground up to offer big-car values but not necessarily more space.

"People associate a car's size with value — big cars [equal] more value, small cars less," he said. "We want to change this. We do it by packing the technologies of bigger cars into this smaller vehicle."

Available with 'iACTIVEsense' techno-wizardry like self-adjusting high-beam headlights, a lane departure warning system, blind spot monitoring and even automatic braking for when the car senses an imminent collision, Mazda is hoping to attract customers who may have been looking upmarket.

The Mazda2's redesigned interior features a premium look and feel, with improved quality materials from the dash plastics to the leather upholstery. There's also a degree of colour customisation with red, white and black leather seats available, and the new MZD Connect infotainment system allows downloadable apps to integrate with smartphones.

A new six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and a pair of more powerful, refined and efficient 1.5-litre direct-injection petrol engines are also offered, including an entry-level unit that outputs 79kW/139Nm and a more advanced and efficient 81kW/141Nm engine.

The Japanese company has also made the decision to retain rear drum brakes, which is at odds with the car's cutting-edge ethos. Mazda says the car is light enough to make do with rear drum brakes.

No weight figures have been announced, but the new 2 should weigh less than the current model's base kerb weight of 1010kg – despite a claimed 30 per cent increase in body rigidity.

Doi insists the sporty-looking Mazda2 will provide the same confidence and satisfaction of a larger car due to what he says are improved refinement levels and ride comfort.

He said changes to the driver's seating position means it is "less tiring to drive over long distance".

"You might forget you're driving a sub-compact car," he added.