Mazda is now taking orders for the new Toyota Yaris-based 2 Hybrid supermini, ahead of customer deliveries beginning in May.
It's available in a choice of three trims, like the Yaris - but with prices starting from £20,300 it is actually £520 cheaper than the car on which it is based. The pure-combustion Mazda 2 will continue to be sold for now, priced from £16,575.
The entry-level Pure car wears 15in steel wheels and contrasting black lower body cladding. Standard equipment includes rain-sensing windscreen wipers, LED rear lights, smartphone integration, a 7.0in touchscreen and radar cruise control.
Mid-rung Agile bumps the price up to £21,150, adding alloy wheels, a larger infotainment screen and a reversing camera, while the range-topping Select trim costs £23,610 and ticks every option box.
The 2 Hybrid the first production Mazda to arrive as part of a new electrified vehicle partnership between Toyota and Mazda. It will be built and supplied by Toyota but marketed exclusively as a Mazda model.
The first full hybrid to join Mazda's line-up, it will sit alongside mild-hybrid versions of the 2, 3, CX-30 and CX-5 and will eventually be joined by the brand's first plug-in hybrids, which are due from 2023.
The powertrain is carried over from the Yaris Hybrid, pairing a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine with a single electric motor for a total system output of 114bhp. It will get from 0-62mph in 9.7sec and reach a top speed of 109mph.
The new 2 Hybrid is capable of up to 74mpg on the WLTP combined cycle while emitting between 87g/km and 93g/km of CO2.
Like the Yaris, it starts automatically in EV mode and can be driven with the engine off for short distances at low speeds. It's also equipped with regenerative-braking technology.
While Mazda takes the Yaris as the base for the 2 Hybrid in Europe, Toyota has previously marketed the existing 2 as the Yaris in North America.
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I don't remember the hybrid engine being a turbo as claimed.
Also, this is hardly a new concept for Mazda. Fiesta rebadged 121 anyone? Also, in the American market, Toyota rebadged the Mazda2 there. Guess Mazda just wanted to thank them lol
I too can't see the point of this blatant badge engineering. Unless of course it's just a quick fix which enables Mazda to sell a few cars below the 95gm/km CO2 threshold and therefore esscape emissions fines? Otherwise, why not simply arrange a deal whereby Mazda sells a few Yarises alongside its own models. That would be more 'honest' and save a lot of unnecessary marketing and type approval costs.
On the other side, Rover always managed to sell a lot more Rover 200, 600 and 800 models than the equivalent Hondas. So clearly badge engineering can work.
Taken at face value and ignoring the badging controversy, this is way better looking than a Fiesta or Corsa, more economical, and competititve on pricing.
Whether it is badged as a Mazda or Toyota it deserves to do very well.