Crossing the Blues

Friday, April 2, 2010

Mazda bringing Mazda2 to the states

Mazda2
Mazda2
At the 2010 New York Auto Show, Mazda announced pricing and more details on the upcoming all-new Mazda2 – and dubbed it “Zoom-Zoom Concentrated.” The 2011 Mazda2 plans to go on sale this July, starting at a reasonable $13,980 ($14,730 with destination charge) – putting it squarely up against the Nissan Versa, Chevy Aveo, and Toyota Yaris – along with the upcoming Ford Fiesta and Fiat 500. The Mazda2, as you may have guessed, is going to focus on being a fun to drive car and less on the “premium” segment (like the Fiesta) and the plastic econo-box image (like the Aveo, Yaris, and Versa.)

The 2011 Mazda2 has two trim levels available – Sport and Touring. The Sport trim gets some decent standard equipment, including ABS, traction and stability control, 15-inch steel wheels, A/C, power windows and locks, auxiliary jack, keyless entry, and tilt steering wheel. Sadly, cruise control is not standard. For $15,435, the Touring model gets you that cruise control along with upgraded seat cloth with red piping, 15-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, rear spoiler, chrome exhaust tip, leather-wrapped steering wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls, trip computer and a six-speaker stereo system.

Both trims get only one engine – a 1.5-liter, 100 horsepower, four-cylinder engine mated to a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic gearbox. Please people, pick the manual transmission.