The fourth generation of the Mazda 2 hatchback will reach the showrooms in Europe next spring. Co-designed with Toyota, the compact car is essentially a badge-engineered Yaris (watch the video and compare for yourself).
Differences will apparently boil down to individual design elements. Like the Yaris, the Mazda 2 will be available with the same hybrid system consuming 3.8 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers. A 1.5-liter naturally aspirated engine teams up with an electric motor rated at 116 PS (114 hp / 85 kW) and a CVT box. Going from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes 9.7 seconds and top speed lies at 175 km/h (108.7 mph).
Customers in Europe will be able to select between Hybrid Pure, Hybrid Agile and Hybrid Select trims available with 15- and 16-inch rims. No other details have been revealed yet, but everything looks the same as with the EU-spec Yaris. The old Mazda 2 will continue to be available alongside the new one.
This wouldn’t be the first time these two models were clones of one another, but it went the opposite way two years ago when the Toyota Yaris for the USA turned out to be a clone of the older Mazda 2. Aside from a different front end, it was essentially identical to it.