The 2011 Mazda 2 will likely arrive in America during the third or fourth quarter of 2010. In August 2009, Consumer Guide Automotive spotted this Mazda 2 in the Los Angeles area. See pictures of the 2010 Mazda 3.

Consumer Guide's Impressions of the 2011 Mazda 2

First it was no. Now it's go. The 2008 World Car of the Year is headed for America, promising high mpg and a "zoom-zoom" personality. But the Mazda 2 faces a tough fight in the subcompact-car arena, not least from corporate cousin Ford Fiesta.

What We Know About the 2011 Mazda 2

It's the subcompact car that rates 40 miles per gallon on the European combined driving cycle and is getting rave reviews. Indeed, it beat out the Mercedes-Benz C-Class to win 2008 World Car of the Year honors. Yet despite an admirable resume, the Mazda 2 wasn't slated for U.S. sale. Officials here said the car was too small and likely not profitable enough. But that was last year, before Americans were hit with record gas prices and started buying smaller, thriftier vehicles like nickel beer. Now those same officials have apparently decided they really do need to supplement their in-demand Mazda 3 compacts, so the 2 will come here after all as the "zoom-zoom" alternative to the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, and other increasingly popular fuel-sipping minis. Sources expect it in 2010 as a 2011 model.

Mazda is the Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Company, and the 2011 Mazda 2 will share a European-designed front-wheel-drive architecture with Ford's 2011 Fiesta subcompact. The original Mazda 2 was a Japanese design that appeared some years ago as a rather uninspired tall-body 4-door hatchback. The car coming Stateside is the much sleeker second-generation that launched in Japan, Europe, and other world markets during 2007 and added sporty 2-door versions in early '08. The new Fiesta is just rolling out in those same areas, but won't start U.S. sale until early 2010, probably several months before the Mazda. And where the Ford will also offer 4-door sedans, the 2 is strictly hatchbacks. In addition, the Mazda is sourced from Japan, while U.S.-market Fiestas will come from Ford's plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico.

The 2011 Mazda 2 also goes its own way in styling and powertrains. Where the similarly sized Fiesta gets a crisp "technical" look via Ford Europe's "kinetic design" language, the 2 is flowing and "organic," exemplifying the "flow" theme highlighted by recent Mazda concept models. Elements include a curved nose with a prominent five-sided Mazda grille, headlights pulled back into rounded fenders a la Mazda's RX-8 sports car, a rising window line, a prominent lower-body "swoosh," and a tail ending mere inches behind the rear wheels. The result, we think, is attractively purposeful. It should go down well with the "millennial" crowd.

Updated by Don Sikora II 10.30.2009

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