ON FRONT PAG E N O R T H E AST V I C TO R I A , A L P S A N D H I G H CO U N T RY
JANUARY 15 - 21, 2016
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NEW MAZDA2: It’s more practical if less of a looker.
New Mazda2 sedan to keep on performing
THE ALL NEW
ROAD TEST By PETER ANDERSON It rolls on fifteen-inch steel wheels, has a four speaker stereo with USB and Bluetooth, cloth interior, air conditioning, reversing sensors, cruise control, hill holder, power mirrors and windows, keyless start and remote central locking and a space saver spare. Options are limited to $200 Soul Red paint and what Mazda calls Smart City Brake Support for $400. Mazda2 sedan is, as the name suggests, a sedan version of the ‘2 hatch. Everything is pretty much the same from
the B-pillar forward, with a quite successful lengthening of the rear section to add 26 centimetres. The boot is 440L versus 250L for the fivedoor hatchback and a very useful shape. The boot opens high and wide, meaning easy access. The sheetmetal is a smidge dumpy, but when you’re working with these proportions, it’s never easy to get it bang on. It looks a bit bare from the back, too, the lights marooned in an expanse of flat metal. The rear seats, which have good head and shoulder room for under six-footers, also split fold to increase the load space. Leg room is a bit tight, however, if you’re approaching six feet tall.
A middle passenger won’t be particularly happy no matter how tall they are unless the outboard passengers are slight of build. While the interior is trimmed with tremendously hard plastics, they all look great and the only let-down is the very silly dashboard – one single circular dial is flanked by wing-like ancillary screens that are tiny and hard to read. The Mazda2 Neo has six airbags, ABS, traction and stability control, brake force distribution and pretensioned / load-limited seatbelts up front. Being a basic car, basic is what you get. There’s a single line LCD screen attached to the dash, with big easy to read figures.
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MAZDA’S new ‘2 landed this year to almost universal acclaim, something that generally happens only when a truly impressive new car comes along. In the hard-fought small car segment, it’s doubly hard. In an SUV-mad market it’s now mildly surprising when a small car gets a sedan variant and more surprising still when a carmaker goes through the aggro of getting it ready for sale in Australia. The Mazda2 sedan doesn’t have a lot of competition but when the small sedan segment is tiny to start with, the Japanese company will want the sedan to fire. The 2 Neo sedan kicks off at a very competitive $14,990 for the six-speed manual, which was our car for the week.
Paul Davenport 0408 057 837 Michael Henderson 0418 512 531 Kylie Stevenson 0428 215 677 Noel Gilbert 0438 597 200
‘One Mile Motors has been serving the community for over 60 years’
(03) 5721 5677 10 Templeton Street, Wangaratta www.onemilemotors.com.au LMCT1060