The ‘point-and-shoot’ subcompact

FEISTY Mazda2’s eyes. Photos by Tessa R. Salazar

Is the Mazda2 insecure about the present that’s fraught with seemingly equally zippy, fuel-efficient subcompact cars in the Philippine market?

Hmm, if this author couldn’t get enough of the get-in-and-go Mazda2 the first time around that she had to schedule another rendezvous with the 1.5-liter, 5-door AT version, then it’s a good guess that the proper response to that question would be “no.” The quick-response Mazda2 has a place in the hearts of Filipino subcompact fans.

We could liken the Mazda2 to a high-quality digital camera—no, not the clunky dSLRs that’ll tip one side of your shoulder off kilter in prolonged use—but to a point-and-shoot pocket-sized one. No fuss, no confusing technoclutter, but the images produced could still be as astounding as that of a professional digital camera.

THIS SPRINTER takes on the mountain passes of Zambales on one of the most fuel-efficient gasoline engines in the world.

On paper and behind the wheel, one would notice that the light curb weight (at just over 1,000 kg) combined with the powerful 1.5-liter engine would be a thrifty, zippy recipe in the fuel consumption and performance departments. The Mazda2 design doesn’t scream “expensive transmission technology inside.” Its main design revolves around the “one-gram” strategy (the extensive use of lightweight materials with stronger properties).

The weight advantage significantly impacts the driving experience—from fuel economy to the agility and nimbleness of Mazda2.

The author’s fuel efficiency test runs yielded a range of 7 km per liter (in heavy city traffic) to 20 km per liter (all-highway run on an average speed of 65-80 kph).

Inquirer Motoring asked Mazda2ners—now running 130 members on its Facebook group mostly focused on doing fun countryside drives, and an official subsector of Mazdatech Philippines—on what they think of the Mazda2’s relevance with the influx of other subcompact cars.

IT ZOOM-ZOOMS, AND IT’S CUTE. What’s not to like about the Mazda2? Owner Jonathan Choi once said: ‘Everyone I know turns into this giddy little kid when behind the wheel of their Mazda2, and no amount of votes or awards (or lack thereof) can change that.’

The Mazda2ners Club (co-founded by Carlo Constantino Carlos, and Noriel “Yeng” Mendoza), when asked by Inquirer Motoring, is still all praises for the subcompact that is the reason for the group’s existence. Despite the influx of other impressively designed subcompact cars, Mazda2 remains a great looker inside and out.

Mazda2 owner’s POV

Carlos, 31, a businessman who owns a 1.5-liter manual transmission variant he purchased on July 2010, said that it is still a competitive model.

“It is still a Japanese brand with better quality than those of Korean and Chinese manufacturers, thrifty as per our experiences, and very much fun to drive, which is a big selling point. Mazda Philippines heard our call on the rattling sound problem that the owners have encountered and have already begun replacing the rack and pinion to permanently fix the parts. All released units this year already have the new parts, so the Mazda2 is now a very good buy.”

Another member, Jason S. Arboleda, a 24-year-old medical student of the Philippine General Hospital, is a happy owner of 2010 Mazda2 sedan (4-door) 1.5-liter A/T. He has logged in 26,000 km on the car, mostly on trips from his house in Quezon City to Manila, with the occasional out-of-town drive.

“Fuel economy figures have been a consistent 9 to 10 km/liter in the city, 12 mixed city and highway, and the best I’ve gotten was 17 km/liter in the highway (other Mazda2ners have gotten as high as 20+),” he said.

Arboleda also shares maintenance costs of his car. “After 5 preventive maintenance services done, the usual 10,000 km or 6-month service interval usually sets us back around P4,000 to P5,000 per session, depending on the service options taken. The 2-year PMS is slated to be more expensive than the usual session due to the necessity of changing several fluids and components.”

He said that so far, the only problem he has had with the car would be an annoying sound the steering column makes when the car runs over potholes and uneven roads. He noted that this has been a common finding among the first Mazda2s in the country.

He said that Mazda has, since then: 1) reassured its customers that this was not compromising the car’s mechanical integrity in anyway; 2) fixed the affected cars on a case-to-case basis, and 3) ensured that the subsequent batches of Mazda 2s did not have the same problem.

Competition assessed

Arboleda, asked to scan Mazda2’s competition, names the fiercest ones: 1) the Mazda2’s platform mate, the Ford Fiesta, 2) the “now-ubiquitous” Hyundai Accent, 3) the “recently introduced” Kia Rio, and 4) the all-new Suzuki Swift.

An entry from Hyundai comes into the picture, as well. “The base-model Hyundai Elantra (1.6 liter M/T) is another compact having the same price with the top-of-the-line subcompacts.”

Arboleda analyzes that any one of these competitors would beat Mazda2 in one aspect or another, which would really mean that Mazda2 is not a class leader in every aspect. “But who cares,” he shrugs. “The one, singular aspect of the Mazda 2 that truly stands out is its driving dynamics—from the way it steers to the throttle response. This feel is hard to quantify (drive Mazda2 through kilometers of mountain roads, and one will see what us Mazda2 drivers mean), but for a carmaker that’s been touted as “Japan’s BMW,” Mazda2 truly lives up to the “zoom-zoom” moniker.”