Looks like the Yaris might be in trouble if this car drives like a Mazda3.

This would probably sell well in the US. Does anyone know if this is this shared with a another Ford platform (ie Ka?) or is it exclusive to Mazda? It looks too small to be from the Focus platform. I don’t know much about Demio. Can you tell?

^^sorry, I can’t type

its a waste of money the mazda 3 whoops the hell out of it and probably will only cost $3-4k more.

You would be surprised what 3 to 4 grand more does to the monthly payment. These cars are geared towards people that don’t have much money for a new car or want a commuter type car and 50.00 a month can make a difference. Plus this car is already designed and developed for other markets so bringing it to ours will not be too expensive.

It’s got Cougar lines on the profile…and that is not a bad thing.

Overall, It looks like a Versa but it’s waaay more stylish and refined, at least on the outside. The Mazda name generally mean good performance. The only question is the interior. But really, this car seems like a winner!

——->I remember driving the first Demios on Gran Turismo 1&2 back in the day….I must say this one is 200% better!! depending on performance, i’ll probaly take this over the Honda Jazz, i meant Fit…..

Good looking car. The new Focus is DOA by comparison. It’ll sell to families that need a second or third vehicle as a cheap commuter car. Remember, a lot of affluent families pay CASH for those second/third cheap cars to park next to the SRX or X5, and $3k or $4k makes a lot of difference.

Groovy… Mazda has got really good style. And for those of us that live in congested cities, small cars just make more sense.

Looks nice!!

As a current Mazda 3 5-dr owner, I’ve been hoping Mazda would launch a smaller car to compete with the Yaris’s (Yarii?) Versa’s and Fit’s. A sub-compant that drives like a Mazda would be great!

Unfortunately, it has too many doors in my opinion. I would love to see Mazda have a small, sporty, 3 door hatch. I love my 5-dr but I would like something smaller, more nimble, and better on gas. The 3 is the smallest car Mazda offers. I’ve been eyeing up the Mini Cooper for a while now.

I drive a Mazda3 sedan myself, and I would definitely like to see this thing up close. If anything, it would improve the 3’s image since it won’t be the smallest in the bunch anymore. Not that the 3 needs any help in the first place being top of it’s class in quite a few respects already.

All the same, I’m curious to see if Mazda can apply it’s performance oriented DNA to a car of this size. If BMW can do it with Mini (and damn.. the Mini’s handling is *sweet*) then I think Mazda’s expertise in this field deserves a little faith and encouragement here. Looking forward to seeing the 2 in person, and I think the market for it in the USA is very real when you consider that people would want a car with athletic styling and the driving dynamics to back it up. This extra choice would be welcome in a market of Fits, Versas, and Yarii where utility and reliability already exist but is also plagued with quirky and juvenile styling. Personality and a little zoom-zoom are just what the doctor ordered. Mazda should compete in this arena - this is a model addition that makes sense.

The way, and the size that the world is going…

———>i like the way the wheels are pushed out to the corners, looks like good handling to me……..

it definately does more for me than the yaris/versa/fit, mazdas designers know how to make a good lookin car, dont really know much about mazda engineering though, other than if you want a mazda truck you should just go get the ford instead.

@Me: The platform is shared with next generation Fiesta in Europe.

I agree with everyone, I really like Mazdas.

Ugh, I love Mazda, but I HATE this thing. Sub-compacts with 5 doors crammed into them should stay in Europe where they jerk each other off marvelling over the political statement their tiny cars make.

people in Europe drive smaller cars not because they are politically correct wankers but because there are much higher taxes on cars and gas than in the US and less space.
How much do you want to bet that Europe gets yet another new Ford and the US just gets the Mazda version?

Looks very good. Depending on the amount of cargo space it can muster in the rear I might consider one.

This pic looks a helluva lot better than the Mazda 2 did in that news item a couple days ago witht he white crash pics. The pic above looks athletic and desirable - I like this a lot better than a Mini. Minis basically cry out “Look at meeee! I’m trying to be cool!” whereas the Mazda 2 looks realistic and way more self-assured. Hope they do the interior nicely.

Will there be a three door?

motorheader, thanks.

Look no further than the new Mazda Hakaze concept for a 3-door Mazda2, probably will be dubbed CX-2 or MX-2.

http://autodeadline.com/detail?source=&mid=WKA2007020860210&mime=JPG

Let me be the first to say it: MazdaSpeed2. Now, repeat after me: MazdaSpeed2, MazdaSpeed2, MazdaSpeed2…

MazdaSpeed2!! MazdaSpeed2!! MazdaSpeed2!!
.
This Mazda2 is like a poor man’s Audi 3. I like it.

I’ll take a VW Rabbit over this ugly mess

oh, yeah, i forgot about the Rabbit. Nice car, tho. I’d go with the Mazda cuz I can get a Ford employee discount. I wish somebody in my family works at the VW so i can get a sweet GTI at a discount!

Looks good on the outside. Looks really dang good on the outside.

I hope that the inside is just as good.

That, and they also make a MazdaSpeed2.

a Rabbit won’t be in the price range of this car, at least not if Mazda doesn’t want it competing with the Mazda3.

Mazda2 would be more VW Polo, wouldn’t it?

From the side profile, it really reminds me of the 07 Civic 5-door in UK. Nice cars.

Why is Mazda such a cool manufacturer? They instill such a nice sportiness into almost all of their vehicles, its so nice really. The one they still need to get rid of is the Tribute, but oh well. But really though, Mazda makes cars that are really my top picks in a variety of categories. Consider: my favorite small car is the Mazda 3, my favorite 5 passenger crossover is most definitely the Mazda CX-7, my top 7 passenger crossover is hands down the CX-9, and in the small roadster class, I’d take an MX-5 over a Solstice/Sky in a heartbeat. Mazda rules. Hopefully the next Mazda 6 is an improvement, the current one is still one of my favorite family sedans, but doesn’t quite beat out the Subaru Legacy for me, which is in my eyes the perfect family sedan.