Mazda will use next month’s Geneva Motor Show to officially debut its new compact car. The ‘Zoom-Zoom’ company is moving from strength to strength with the reinvention of its image that started with the introduction of the Mazda6 back in 2002 and continues with its latest addition, the second-generation Mazda2. Gone is the old boxy shape and in comes a stylish new hatch with much larger headlights and a smaller five-sided Mazda grille.
In a surprise move, the dimensions of the new car have actually shrunk compared with its predecessor. The new Mazda2 is 4cm shorter at 3.88m and sits 5.5cm lower with a height of 1.475m. Fortunately, the car has either increased in size or remained the same where it counts. The wheelbase is unchanged at 2.49m and width has increased 1.5cm to 1.695m, meaning more interior room all ‘round.
Inside, the car gets a large storage box between the front seats and fold-down seats in the back, which allow up to 469L of storage when down. Safety features include front and side airbags as standard, as well as ESP and ABS. Three new engines will initially be offered, a 1.3L unit with 75hp and two 1.5L engines delivering 84hp and 103hp respectively. A 1.4L turbodiesel unit is expected to join the range by the end of the year.
Stay tuned for more images and a complete press0 release when the car officially debuts in Geneva this March.
[Source: Motor Authority via Mazda]
Follow the jump for two more images and a preview press release.
PRESS RELEASE:
ALL-NEW MAZDA2 TO DEBUT AT THE 2007 GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW
Hiroshima, Japan, 13th February 2007. Mazda Motor Corporation will showcase the world premiere of the all-new Mazda2 (known as the Mazda Demio in Japan) at the 77th annual Geneva International Motor Show to be held from Tuesday, 6 March through Sunday, 18 March 2007. Officially titled the Salon International de l’Auto de Genève, the Geneva Motor show press days are March 6 and 7, and the public days are March 8-18. Mazda will hold its press conference on Tuesday, 6 March at 14:15 CET.
The all-new Mazda2 is more than just a model freshening of the current Mazda2. In 2002, the Mazda6 heralded the arrival of Mazda’s new generation of Zoom-Zoom vehicles, and now the Mazda2 becomes the first of these to evolve to the next level. As such, the new Mazda2 represents the progression of Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom brand promise.
