Mazda2 Thread

I no longer own mine, but was pretty pumped to see it in last month's magazine! I'll definitely buy another one in the future - it is an awesome car.

^So awesome!!!

Bumping this... Does anyone still like these cars?

In reply to flatlander937 :

I do but they all have disappeared for sale locally. I can find more 3 door yaris' than Mazda2's

I see a few near me, but never any for sale.  Not really in the market to buy one, but they sure are fun and practical little cars.

I love them! I nearly bought one two years ago until I found out the accident history was sketchy. I still want one.

They are a hoot in the corners!

What kind of MPGs do you see? Can they crack 40mpgs on the highway?

In reply to CyberEric :

I sold Mazda2's new and I have n '08 Fit myself.. geared similarly..

These cars are geared short because they have absolutely no power..... which makes them a hoot around town.. but makes getting really good MPG difficult.

You could probly get 40mpg if you stayed at 60mph or less.. steady.. but in any real world driving.. going to be near impossible it seems.. without getting one of the newer Direct injected ones that are badged as Scions or Toyotas in the USA since 2016.

https://www.fuelly.com/car/mazda/2?engineconfig_id=37&bodytype_id=&submodel_id=

In reply to CyberEric :

I have gotten 36-37mpg when I was commuting 100mi/day and if I kept speeds 65mph and under. 

Tuned, on sticky/wide tires, and driving like an idiot all city driving now I'll get 30-32mpg regularly now.

What's more impressive is getting 12mpg on track. 

I've got 170k on mine now, and had a lot of fun on the new setup - 15x9/15x7.5 on 225/195 reverse staggered, 11k/10k Redshift Motorsports digressively valved coilovers, and a Mazdaspeed rear sway bar, no front bar. It's a lot of fun, but needs more spring rate front and rear, or maybe sway bar reattached up front with maybe softer springs, or that with much stiffer rear springs. 8k/12k or 12k/14k or so seem like potentially worth exploring.

To not derail this thread too much, my build is here:. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/project-tot-2011-mazda2-for-track-dayhpde/177202/page1/

I'm mainly curious if anybody else is still doing anything with these cars?

Hey! Over here! In the corner. That's me and my 2 trying to be fastest of the slow in Sports Car Club of Vermont events. I posted a pic of my car in your thread. Not much beyond stock on my car. Just fun mostly the way it is. Wish I could hit 60 in second gear before the limiter kicks in.

We just bought a black 2012 for my son, sadly Auto tragic though

I know the 16 and up 2 sedan was the rebadged Toyota/Scion offering but wasn't there a newer 2 hatch these last couple years offered as the Yaris before it got axed?

In reply to dxman92 :

I believe it happened for the very last year before it was cancelled.  But, automatic only for the hatch.

In reply to Nitroracer (Forum Supporter) :

This is correct.

FWIW if I wanted this chassis for TT only reasons, the Scion/Toyota sedan would probably be best for the slight power bump but more importantly better aero.

CyberEric said:

I love them! I nearly bought one two years ago until I found out the accident history was sketchy. I still want one.

They are a hoot in the corners!

What kind of MPGs do you see? Can they crack 40mpgs on the highway?

lol 40mpg

id get barely 30 going 80mph between chicago and detroit. couldnt make the trip on a tank of gas alone. 

with the roofrack 26 was feasible. cool car just kinda lame in some areas due to the nature of the beast. 

Posting to save the thread because these have been added to my radar again recently.

It's a very good small car, but it seems like they've disappeared, as they're not easy to find for sale. Did something happen to them to push many off the road early, or did they simply sell in low volumes?

It's also a shame that inexpensive, fun cars are going away in favor of more expensive crossovers. Short wheelbases are fun!

fidelity101 (Forum Supporter) said:

lol 40mpg

id get barely 30 going 80mph between chicago and detroit. couldnt make the trip on a tank of gas alone. 

with the roofrack 26 was feasible. cool car just kinda lame in some areas due to the nature of the beast. 

Love small cars and have all my life. My Daihatsu Charade (if anyone even know what it is) or my Subaru Justy - both remind me of this Mazda2. I miss my old Honda Wagovans (86 and 91- Similar to Honda Fit)

 However, that MPG is laughable. 

My 2011 Civic Si sedan (very fun and adequate power), gets me 34-35MPG with AC cranked doing 85-95MPH on the highway. (I have a thread here logging all the fuel stops on our recent 4,000 mile trip). 

In reply to Snrub :

They sold in very small numbers. You can find them in certain metros where small cars are in high demand. I see them fairly regularly in SF Bay Area Craigslist.

I wish that Toyota offered the hatch with the MT. At least you can get it in the sedan. I believe that rebadged 2 gets better MPGs. Maybe it has longer gears?

fidelity101 (Forum Supporter) said:

CyberEric said:

I love them! I nearly bought one two years ago until I found out the accident history was sketchy. I still want one.

They are a hoot in the corners!

What kind of MPGs do you see? Can they crack 40mpgs on the highway?

lol 40mpg

id get barely 30 going 80mph between chicago and detroit. couldnt make the trip on a tank of gas alone. 

with the roofrack 26 was feasible. cool car just kinda lame in some areas due to the nature of the beast. 

Was yours a manual? That's pretty typical for an auto 2, but way bad for a manual.

I get mid 30s when I don't hoon it too much. Manual trans.

They probably sold little because you could get the 1.6 in the same chassis, cheaper, with a Fiesta.  Which is also a car that seems to have disappeared.

I still think the 2 looks like it sits lower than a Fiesta.  The interior also somehow seems to be better quality, or maybe Fiesta owners are just more likely to trash them?

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

In my experience working at a massive used car dealer...yes to basically all of that 

The 2 is just a hair shorter. It passes the SCCA rollover requirements, the base Fiesta does not.

I keep going back and forth if I should prep the car for NASA TT6 or no... I'd need to buy some 8in wheels for 205 R7s to go on and cut a bunch of weight and look for any power I can find. On paper if I can find the power, it could be in the running I think. At least at more technical tracks.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

They probably sold little because you could get the 1.6 in the same chassis, cheaper, with a Fiesta.  Which is also a car that seems to have disappeared.

I still think the 2 looks like it sits lower than a Fiesta.  The interior also somehow seems to be better quality, or maybe Fiesta owners are just more likely to trash them?

I still see a good number of Fiestas, but perhaps I notice because I have a FiST. With the DCT transmission issues, I wouldn't be surprised if they disappeared from the roads sooner than you'd expect. That said Ford is still replacing transmissions (not because they're nice). eg. Elderly neighbor's 2017 Focus is on it's 3rd DCT transmission.

I think the 2's interior was nicer than the Fiesta's.

at this point for the same money I would get the 2nd gen fit, mostly because I can actually find those in manual around.

In reply to MrChaos :

Me too, except you sit up higher in the Fit, which is uncomfortable for this back. (Part of why I like the 2 is you sit in it like a car, not on it like a truck) And the A pillar windows would definitely need to be blacked out.  They reflect road lines up onto the windshield.  If you thought looking through a reflection of the dash was annoying, at least it doesn't have a flashing effect like lane stripes do!

A real shame since Fits are otherwise great little cars.