We've been keeping an eye on the new Mazda2 for a while, and our UK readers can now start calculating just how badly they might want to drive one of these little cars. Mazda has announced that the common-rail turbo diesel-engined Mazda2s will start at £9,499 (on-the-road) for the lower-end version and £10,999 for the upper end (see details after the jump). The cost will nab you a supermini that gets 65.7mpg (Imperial, which is 54.7 U.S.) and emits just 114 grams of CO₂ per kilometer. Compliant with the Euro IV directives, the Mazda2 will cost the owner just £35 in annual road taxes. Deliveries start in March.


Related:

• Mazda2 sedan to debut at Guangzhou Motor Show
• Mazda demonstrates that small lightweight cars be safe too

[Source: Mazda]

While most cars and trucks have been getting progressively heavier over the last three decades, Mazda is making a concerted effort to turn that around. In designing the new Mazda2 they focused on weight as one of the ways to improve fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. They managed to reduce the weight by over 200lbs compared to the previous generation car.

They've used high-strength steels to optimize the design of the whole body to reduce the weight while improve the rigidity and crash resistance. They also made the exterior dimensions smaller and adjusted features on the new car. Some of the detailed design features included changing speaker magnets to neodymium and making the wiring harness shorter. There's more after the jump.

[Source: Mazda]

Featuring cars one step up from a minicar, the Japanese subcompact segment was once Mazda's turf. Recently, the company has lost ground to Toyota and Honda in that category, but hopes that today's introduction of the new Demio (known as the Mazda2 elsewhere), will be the spark that brings sales numbers back up. With a starting price of 1.125 million yen ($9,170), that's not unlikely.

The new Demio is about 220 pounds lighter than the previous version (this is comparing the Demio Casual with MZR 1.3L engine and 4-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission compared to the all-new Demio 13C-V) and gets 20 percent better fuel economy. The Demio 13C-V, using Mazda's MZR 1.3-liter Miller-cycle engine and CVT, has a fuel economy rating of 23.0 km/L. Other environmental aspects of the new Demio, courtesy of Mazda's press release, include:

• All model grades have exhaust emissions at least 75 percent lower than Japan's 2005 standards. In addition, all grades, except for the 5-speed manual transmission version of the Demio 15C and Demio SPORT, qualify for Japan's Green Tax exemptions.
• In order to reduce the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOC), which is a potential cause of Sick-house Syndrome, the Mazda Demio employs low-VOC emitting resins, paints, and adhesives in the cabin. It satisfies the indoor VOC concentration level guideline figures for 13 substances that were set by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The first generation Demio went on sale in August 1996. The most recent generation before today's introduction was released in 2002.

Related:

• New Mazda2 pricing announced
• Geneva Motor Show: 2008 Mazda2
• Mazda2 coming to America as Ford Fiesta in 2009
• First Mazda 2 rolling out of the assembly line in June
• Japanese-market Mazda2 gets new Miller cycle engine

[Source: Reuters, Mazda]

Prices and standard equipment for the New Mazda2 were announced today. At first, Mazda will be keeping the diesel versions for themselves - they'll be available a few months following the petrol versions' debut on Sept. 8.

The low-end gas drinkers will be £8,499 (OTR), and that money will get you 15-inch steel wheels, ABS brakes, a Thatcham Category 1 alarm and more. There are three trim levels - TS, TS2 and Sport - and the diesel versions will be similarly equipped. Full details in the press release after the jump.

Related:

• Geneva Motor Show: 2008 Mazda2
• Mazda2 coming to America as Ford Fiesta in 2009
• First Mazda 2 rolling out of the assembly line in June
• Japanese-market Mazda2 gets new Miller cycle engine

[Source: Mazda]

We already know a lot about the new Mazda2 (see links below) and its forthcoming Ford cousin, but Mazda released a new batch of pictures a the B-segment's full specs this week, so it only seems fair to pass them along. The press release is after the jump, and you can see the photo gallery by clicking any of the images of the car in this post.



Related:

• Geneva Motor Show: 2008 Mazda2
• Mazda2 coming to America as Ford Fiesta in 2009
• First Mazda 2 rolling out of the assembly line in June
• Japanese-market Mazda2 gets new Miller cycle engine

[Source: Mazda]

The all-new Mazda2 (see story on the car's debut here) will be made for the Chinese market at the Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co. plant in Nanjing, China, Ford announced today. The Nanjing-produced Mazda2 model has been "specifically developed ... to suit the tastes of the Chinese market," but what those developments are was not announced. The Nanjing plant will be able to make 160,000 units a year and "will feature cutting-edge eco-friendliness, efficiency, and an employee-friendly working environment," Ford says. When the Mazda2 was unveiled in Geneva last month it was announced it would have 1.3 and 1.5L engines ranging from 75hp to 103hp.

Ford also announced today that "an all-new Ford small car will be produced at Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Company Nanjing plant in 2008."



[Source: Ford]

We've covered news of the Mazda2 and Mazda's Hakaze concept car, both of which are set to be unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show. The third car that will get Mazda's open-the-curtain treatment is the new Mazda3

Here's all that Mazda is saying about the Mazda3 for now:

"The new 2.0-litre Mazda3 diesel model will be unveiled for the first time. Topping the best‑selling Mazda3 model range, the Mazda3 2.0 MZR-CD is fitted with a powerful and frugal engine that delivers 360 Nm of torque – one of the segment's highest outputs – and 143ps (105kW) of power."

I'm inclined to trust that word "frugal." The 2006 Mazda3 made Forbes' list of Top Ten least polluting vehicles last summer. Just a few more days until we can judge for ourselves.

[Source: Mazda]