Last friday, I ,and other journalists, were invited for a quick test drive of a couple new Mazda 2, commonly known in Japan as the Mazda Demio! An excellent occasion to get my hands on the 1.5 litre and 1.3 litre versions of the upcoming best seller made by the Zoom Zoom brand.
First thing to check: the looks! On this particular point, the Demio sure has changed and now the design is totally new, different, more dynamic and corresponding to the new identity of the Mazda vehicles...a good example of this new and attractive philosophy is the agressive front bumper, something that more and more city cars tend to use to get more personality.
Once you step inside and despite the fact that we were presented "entry level" vehicles, the interior is well made and it's obvious that Mazda has been working to propose a space as wide and welcoming as possible and a nice design, like on the dashboard...of course there are various modifications depending on the "level" of your car to make it match your very likes. The standard package, aimed at the "low budgets" offers the "strict minimum" and from what I saw, I could only advise the potential buyers to save a bit more money and go for a higher "grade" so as to fully appreciate their car on a daily basis. Interesting detail, the car radio can feature an AUX in allowing you to plug your favourite digital audio player in!
On the road it all depends on what engine you have running under the bonnet...with the 1.5 litre for example, I had great pleasure as the car felt "light" and "smooth", providing good accelerations for a car in this category...the 1.3 litre, presented by Mazda as a super eco-friend and low gas consumption engine was another story...
That's it for my first impressions, if you didn't have enough and want more, all you have to do is be patient as I will test drive those cars (Mazda2 / Demio) in September of this year!
Posted on 31/07/07 By G-A.G
