SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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The Mazda2 Hazumi 1.5-litre DE automatic has you and me smiling

Plenty of energy

Posted: 3 April 2015

 The cheat sheet
Price: R259 900
Engine: 1499 cc, four-cylinder turbodiesel
Power: 77 kW at 4000 rpm
Torque: 250 Nm between 1500 and 2500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.1 seconds
Top speed: 179 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 5.7 l/100 km
Tank: 44 litres
Luggage: 280 litres
Warranty: 3 years/unlimited km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years/unlimited km; at 15 000 km intervals

Although this fourth-generation Mazda2 might look rather like the third-series car we drove seven years ago, it isn’t. It’s a whole new package.

First, it was moved from the Ford DE platform used for Fiesta and rebuilt on a modified Mazda CX-5 frame. That gives it 80 mm more wheelbase, 75 mm greater length and track measurements 20 millimetres wider, although overall width remains as it was. Other changes mean the car now stands 20 mm taller, the boot is 30 litres bigger and the fuel tank grew slightly from 42.8 litres to 44. Ground clearance numbers aren’t available for the new car but its turning circle is 40 centimetres tighter than on the old one. That makes it easier to thread through traffic.

It also moved upscale, gaining a generous helping of Mazda3 features to make this range-topper an attractive proposition for customers obliged to buy down but not prepared to give up everything they need. Supporting this, it won Japan’s Car of the Year in 2014 as well as Gold in that country’s Good Design Awards and a German Gold Steering Wheel award for the same year.

Standard equipment includes six airbags, powered windows and folding mirrors, fog lamps in front, keyless entry and start, a trip computer, a six-speaker sound system with USB and auxiliary, Bluetooth connectivity including hands-free phoning and delivery of short text messages, internet radio integration (Sticher, Pandora  and Aha), ABS with EBD and EBA, steering wheel controls, automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers.

Other kit carried over from the Three includes the iPad-like touch screen, the buttons and rotary controller on the central console and walk-away central locking. Unfortunately, automatic locking while in motion was not; this is controlled by rolling the knob on the driver’s door. 

It is the only model in the range with a diesel engine, disc brakes at the back as well as the front, satellite navigation, climate control rather than ordinary air conditioning, half-leather upholstery and dynamic stability control. Some buyers will be disappointed that cruise control was left out, though.

Apart from Mazda’s SkyActiv styling and build engineering, this Hazumi model takes the 3’s six-speed automatic gearbox and a smaller variant of the company’s 2.2-litre diesel engine. Beside the difference in capacity, the 1.5 litre boasts an expanded homogenous lean burn range, reduced mechanical resistance and internal insulation measures to curb too-rapid cooling associated with its smaller size. (You need to retain a certain amount of heat to keep it efficient.) It’s paired with engine stop-start that can be switched on or off as desired.
 
On the road, the car performs willingly and has plenty of energy through the gears, revving to 5500 easily. Mazda figures show that the little diesel puts out the same torque, albeit at lower revs, as its 2.5-litre petrol motor. Although we found that (manually held) top gear roll-on from 120 km/h  was a little weak, it maintained cruising speeds comfortably up moderate hills. Speaking of override, that's achieved by flicking the shifter to the right and moving it in Mazda’s usual pattern of forward for lower gears and back for higher.

Although the gearbox promises much, we felt that it wasn’t quite as responsive in this application as it was with the 2.0-litre petrol engine in the Mazda3 we drove recently. A further disappointment was a regular dead spot in acceleration that felt like turbo lag. Too wide a lean-burn range, perhaps?

Although first reaction to the price might be that it looks a bit steep, reality is that that’s the kind of money one pays for little cars these days. And many do without diesel power, automatic transmission, the Two’s very decent fit and finish and its level of equipment. In other words, despite one or two reservations, the Mazda2 Hazumi 1.5 DE could be comfortably included on your test drive list.

Test car from Mazda SA press fleet



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

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