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5,200+ miles over 10 days in a Mazda2 (long read)

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#1 ·
Spent the better part of 10 days on the road in a Mazda2 traveling from Chicago to San Diego and back again. Thought I'd share my impressions on the car.

For the tl;dr crowd:

Surprisingly-good performance
Averaged 30.4 mpg
Typical Mazda interior

Unabridged riveting tale chap:

The Friday before last (May 4th), my buddy and I took some basic travel supplies + clothes and headed off on a roadtrip in a True Red Mazda2 Touring with ~6,200 miles on the odometer that looked like this:



Prior to the trip, I had been interested in a Mazda2 so having one for such a trip made for perfect coincidence. For those not familiar, here are the basic stats on the car:

100hp/98tq 1.5L 16V 4-cylinder
Auto
~2,350lb curb weight
0-60 in 9.2 seconds
Top speed of 109mph

The trip itinerary went like this: Chicago -> St Louis -> Oklahoma City -> Albuquerque -> San Diego -> Las Vegas -> Denver -> Chicago

First and most-noticeable was how well the car drove. It weighs as much as my '89 Integra did but feels much better planted to the road than that car ever felt. Steering response is sharp and brakes catch very quickly. Surprisingly little body roll/lean considering how cheap the car is. As far as power is concerned, the 100hp/98tq may be at least 54lb-ft short of sufficient for safe passing, but it felt like plenty in this car even with the additional ~500lbs with us in it. It didn't stand a chance in any aspect against the Z8 we ran across on Mulholland and the engine had a tough time climbing I-70 by Denver up to the ~11,600-foot elevation, but it never gave off that impression that we could have dead.

I was also quite impressed with the interior. Much like in my sister-in-law's Mazda3, the interior in this car is surprisingly cavernous and well-arranged. The dash and door cards, though, (much like they are in the Mazda3), are easy to mar/scratch. The trunk is roomy enough for two medium duffel bags and tools without a problem. There are several cup holders and change trays of various widths and depths in the center console. Map pockets in the front door cards flared in width toward the front of the car meaning you could stash items of wider width in there (such as a CD case). The rear doors, however, do not have pockets. Also, the part of the elbow rest on the front doors where you put your fingers in to pull the door closed was padded with soft material. This is great as I hate having something rattling in there as it does in most other cars. Lastly, the car does have a good seating position relative to window shape for cruising with your arm resting on the door.

Other things of note:
The Yokohama Avid S34F tires performed very well from the canyons of California to the snow/ice of Denver. Always good grip except for minor hydroplaning in New Mexico.
Very little highway noise.
There is no engine temp gauge, only one blue dummy light to let you know the engine has not warmed up to optimal temperature, and one red dummy light to let you know if the engine is too hot.
Wider-than-expected turning radius. I tried to turn around 180 degrees at a gas station around the pump island and could not do it in one smooth move.
Small 11.3 gallon gas tank made for stopping 2-3 times a day to get gas but at least it was cheap and quick to fill up.
Overall trip fuel consumption was at 30.4 mpg. Trip consisted of almost all highway driving, never more than 5-7mph over the limit.
No satellite radio. Not sure if it was just this car that didn't come with it or if the Mazda2 doesn't have it as an option at all.
No sunroof. Again, not sure if at all available from Mazda.
The cruise control would occasionally go into thermostat mode where it let the actual speed fall nearly 5mph under the set limit and then overcompensate by bringing the actual speed over the setting by 2-3mph. A few times, the cruise control would just randomly shut off or gun the engine to 5,000 rpm on level roads without much elevation change up or down.
The distance to empty display would sometimes add mileage to the range instead of subtracting as we're driving along. This might be because of the gasoline moving about in the gas tank.
The headrest makes for a vision obstruction if you look over your shoulder on the door side.
Placement of the shifter being in the dash makes it pretty easy to tap into neutral when bringing your hand up from the center console area.
The backs of the front seats do not have storage areas.
The seats were quite comfortable and did not wear us out sitting in them day after day for a week and a half. The side bolsters were quite supportive on both parts of the seat even if the did feel flimsy in hand.
The front passenger seat can slide forward of the B-pillar if you need to fit a large item into the back seat area.
It is possible to turn the trunk light on/off with a switch but the light doesn't illuminate the trunk area very well.
You do have a button to turn the DSC off, which was nice, but there is no indicator to inform you if wheel slip was detected.
Only one 12V port.
The glove box does open without crashing into your shins, which is more than I can say for most other cars I've been in.
There is no dummy pedal to rest your left foot on, but there is a flat vertical carpeted space where a dummy pedal would have gone.

All in all, I liked the car and I would consider owning one if I were in the market for a new small car. Only things I'd have to have that this car did not come with is a sunroof and manual trans.
 
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#3 ·
My sister has a 2010 Mazda 3 and I think the interior is terribly laid out. The back seats are extremely cramped and the dash is just a plain mess. The seats are too firm and the ride is somewhat harsh. That's pretty bad gas mileage... my '93 2.sl0w golf would get 34mpg highway with me flooring it out of every toll booth and off ramp.
 
#9 ·
I hate it when TCLers come to LA (especially all the way from Blackacre) and don't say hello. It makes me angry :mad:.
 
#11 ·
Damn!, totally spaced on that! I fear SuperHipsters and did not come bearing any flannel so would have been a lost cause. I'll be back in the fall or winter on a food truck feeding frenzy :thumbup:
 
#14 ·
No "SAT" button but there were 3 faux button covers on the panel to the left of the steering wheel where the "DSC" button was. IIRC, Car & Driver griped about the lack of satellite radio on the long term test car. Theirs was a 2011 so maybe that changed for 2012. :confused:
 
#38 ·
A few more notes from TCL's first ever Mazda2 owner (since September 2010):

The Yokohama Avid S34F tires performed very well from the canyons of California to the snow/ice of Denver. Always good grip except for minor hydroplaning in New Mexico.
The stock tires are overall very good (although noisy on coarse pavement), but don't expect them to last long -- mine will need replacement at around 30k miles. For a car as light as the Mazda2 (~2300 lbs.), that is rather disappointing, and other choices in the 185/55R-15 size are few and far between.

There is no engine temp gauge, only one blue dummy light to let you know the engine has not warmed up to optimal temperature, and one red dummy light to let you know if the engine is too hot.
Since virtually all modern cars have an "idiot gauge" that locks to exactly the center position across a wide range of operating temperatures (from barely warm to just below overheating), that is no big loss.

Wider-than-expected turning radius. I tried to turn around 180 degrees at a gas station around the pump island and could not do it in one smooth move.
It is no Mini or Smart car, but it can turn around on a city street in one shot, which is fine by me.

Small 11.3 gallon gas tank made for stopping 2-3 times a day to get gas but at least it was cheap and quick to fill up.
The digital fuel gauge reads a bit high -- even with the "E" blinking, you'll still have over 2 gallons left in the tank.

No satellite radio. Not sure if it was just this car that didn't come with it or if the Mazda2 doesn't have it as an option at all.
No sunroof. Again, not sure if at all available from Mazda.
There is no factory satellite radio option (nor Bluetooth or USB or iPod dock or anything fancy like that). No sunroof option -- one salesman told me the roof wouldn't have enough structural rigidity with a sunroof, so that's why they don't offer it.

You do have a button to turn the DSC off, which was nice, but there is no indicator to inform you if wheel slip was detected.
There is a wheel slip light in the gauge cluster -- I've seen it flash while driving in the snow.
 
#45 ·
I just drove my Yaris to Alabama and back (~1800 miles) and didn't have a tank that averaged less than 40 MPG. Mileage falls off rapidly over 70 MPH so I kept it around 60-75 most of the time. The best tank (42.6) was driving from Mississippi to mid-Texas on US 82 after I found some ethanol-free gas at a Citgo in Greenville, MS. It was great and very comfortable except for a lot of road noise on the "chip seal" roads Texas uses out in the boonies.


 
#47 · (Edited)
Nice write up and I agree for the most part, but 5000 miles - I dunno.

Its a blast to drive around town and I ended up going from LA to Palm Springs to visit a friend. The engine will hit its limits pretty quickly but it is smooth and quiet. Handling was good as expected from Mazda and it being a small car. Not MINI calibre but you could wreak havoc in the city if you wanted to and no one would know what happened.

Coming from Audi and VW's I was also pleasantly surprised by the interior. It felt airy, spacious and the instrument cluster and markings felt very functional and clean and I got the sense Mazda actually spent time on the interior of a smaller car. If this was badged as an A2 people would go nuts.

I remember saying yes Mazda2 before the rental agent barely finished telling me what was available. He handed me the keys to a red one and we both kinda chuckled looking at it. :D
 
#48 ·
honestly I find 30.4 mpg to be fairly terrible for a car that size. I drove across country twice in my 2001 jetta VR6, also loaded up with stuff, and averaged 28mpg for the trip, and was going around 80 for much of it.

Even loaded I would expect a newer car like that to average 35mpg on an all highway trip.
 
#49 ·
Wow- you must have an extra special VR6.
My brother's automatic VR6 Jetta drank premium gas at a surprising rate considering the small size of the car, but he also had a lead foot.

And the real benefit of small economy cars with small engines is combined low cost of ownership.
They are cheap to buy and drive (fuel, repairs, maintenance, insurance).
The combine fuel economy is where such cars really shine- getting 30 mpg in daily driving versus the occasional steady speed interstate trip where a larger heavier car with a larger engine can lug down the road at a low rpm. At a steady speed, extra weight is not really a big deal. And the total aerodynamics of larger longer vehicles is usually better than the stubby upright economy cars.
 
#51 ·
VWestlife said:
...and other choices in the 185/55R-15 size are few and far between.
Same problem with my SIL's Mazda3. 205/50-17 is an oddball size with only a few options.

jimbogxp said:
5000 miles in a Mazda 2.

Were you being punished or did you just lose a bet?
I prefer larger cars but it didn't feel like a punishment at all to drive this thing for ~5,200 miles. I wanted to get either a Mazda2/Fiesta or Scion iQ for the roadtrip because I wanted to see how either one would be for a daily and have learned my lesson that small cars are just not for me. Having spent the time with the Mazda2, I am very glad we didn't get the iQ after all because the space was rather limited for all of our stuff. That's not to say it didn't all fit, but I carry fairly large items on a regular basis so a compact like this isn't for me.

BRealistic said:
A Mazda 2 would be more fun tooling around touring spots and in urban or even rural areas.
Parking it was easy for sure, but I would gladly sacrifice ease of parking in exchange for more room and less engine hum when ascending hills.

BRealistic said:
But out on the interstate? I would rather have a /good/ larger car because it would be more comfortable and stable at high speed.
Seats were plenty comfortable and stability was good considering the size of the car. My mom's visibly-longer Corolla sways a whole lot more when cars (and especially semis) pass by.
 
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