DESIGN Novo Mazda 2 2015

(from Mazda Press Release) Having to improve on a good thing time and again is a challenge, to say the least, and it's something Mazda has had a lot of practice at. This came in handy when developing the all-new Mazda2. The objective was no less than to blow away people's expectations of subcompacts.
After all, this is the car that would contend for sales in the B segment, one of Europe's most competitive, while replacing an outgoing model that kicked off its lifecycle as 2008 World Car of the Year and was most recently named top of its class in the 2015 TÜV Report.
The all-new Mazda2 offers more of everything: It's longer with a bigger wheelbase, a more spacious interior, and an array of i-ACTIVSENSE active safety systems to go with the generous level of equipment for a supermini. This includes the Active Driving Display, the segment's first headup display, as well as the MZD Connect smartphone connectivity system.
And it does so without gaining weight, either, thanks to Mazda's relentless pursuit of unneeded grams. In doing so, the carmaker actually improved collision safety with a stiffer body and chassis. More is less in other ways, too, like with fuel economy and emissions or cabin noise.
But none of this comes at the expense of performance. In a segment dominated by downsized engines, Mazda's rightsized powertrains are a breath of fresh air - and perfectly suited to the carmaker's patented driver-and-car-as-one handling. Drivers will notice a confidence-inspiring degree of poise and usability: This car has truly grown up.
It's all packed into an extraordinarily attractive KODO - Soul of Motion exterior that shelters an innovatively ergonomic and pleasingly refined cabin destined to make occupants forget they're actually riding in a subcompact.
All the experience building the first three award-winning new generation Mazdas has gone into the fourth. Already named Japan Car of the Year 2014-15, the all-new Mazda2 demonstrates that practice makes perfect when it comes to outdoing oneself.
Mazda cut significant weight off the outgoing model relative to its predecessor - no small feat for a subcompact. This time around, they've managed something no less impressive. Namely, maintaining the weight on the all-new Mazda2 while upsizing the car - 14cm longer and taller than the outgoing model - and also adding a class-leading array of safety, connectivity and infotainment features and systems. And making the bodyshell 22 per cent stiffer despite being 7 per cent lighter.
Mazda did it by substituting lighter, stronger materials: High-strength steels of 440MPa or more now make up 65 per cent of the body, up from 53 per cent, with the proportion of ultra-high strength steels (780MPa and up) increased from 10 to 30 per cent. Mazda also modified the vehicle's structures, using 1,180MPa steel for the A-pillars, for example, so they could be slimmed down to cut a few more grams (and improve visibility). Using stiffer materials for body panels like the floor pan also enabled these to take on added structural functions, in turn allowing the removal of certain frame members.
Of course, the all-new Mazda2 also gets the full range of SKYACTIV Technology, including specially developed smaller and lighter powertrains. Even i-ELOOP, another new feature for the Mazda2, is 5kg lighter than the already unique brake energy regeneration system used so far on other Mazdas.
Exterior
The all-new Mazda2 is the fourth Mazda with a KODO - Soul of Motion design. Having already raised the bar for the award-winning designs of its other new-generation models, which share traits like a solid stance, muscular lines, a rear-leaning cabin and an overall look that says forward momentum, the convention-defying carmaker has inadvertently given momentum to people's rising expectations of what will come next from the house of Mazda.
Concentrating such vibrancy and emotion into Mazda's smallest model, to be offered as a five-door hatchback, did not make the task any simpler. But, always up to a challenge, Mazda's designers contemplated what the competition was doing. And then did something different. Instead of following the typical B-segment "one-motion" style, which moves the A-pillars forward to make the cabin look roomier and more practical, Mazda defied convention when re-engineering KODO for supermini dimensions. And although KODO's unique proportions might at first glance appear to come at the expense of practicality, they also managed to build in unparalleled real-world utility.
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