The all-new Toyota Yaris might be making headlines at the moment, but the Japanese giant won't be without new competitors for long, with fresh reports out of Japan suggesting a new hybrid Mazda2 will arrive next year to fight it out for the city-car crown.
The reports suggest an all-new Mazda2 will debut in September 2021, and will be packing a new 1.5-litre, three-cylinder SKYACTIV-X mild hybrid engine in the most expensive models. Combining a small-output engine with Mazda's compression-ignition technology and a 48-volt mild hybrid system should make for very low fuel-use figures.
Little is known about the new model for now, but Mazda in Australia has already confirmed life for the Mazda2 after 2021, suggesting its hand is waving in the air for the new model.
“Our assumption is that it will continue. We’ve re-positioned it, and it’s actually selling above our projection numbers," Mazda Australia marketing boss Alastair Doak has told CarsGuide.
“We adjusted early, added equipment, made price adjustments. There’s still decent demand. It’s easy to maintain a presence from a position of strength.”
Design-wise, we expect the Mazda2 to wear a smaller version of the Mazda3's stylish new suit, lending the city-car segment a genuinely premium air.
Mazda in Australia is yet to confirm the reports.
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Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold.
But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul.
And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard.
When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House.
But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others.
More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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