Green NCAP has rated the 2021 model year Skyactiv-G 1.51 powered Mazda2 with 3.5 stars for fuel efficiency and emissions. The outcome places the tested 75ps version of Mazda’s award-winning B-segment model in a very exclusive club of internal combustion-powered vehicles.
“Results like these validate our strategy at Mazda to continue improving internal combustion and in doing so mitigate today the real-world environmental impact of our cars,” says Heiko Strietzel, Powertrain Manager at Mazda Motor Europe. “It’s part of our multi-solution approach that includes different forms of power and, as always, painstaking efforts to reduce every possible gram of weight.”
Lightweight and responsive as well as efficient, Mazda’s attractive supermini is one of only three internal combustion vehicles without a full hybrid system to be awarded 3.5 stars. Only full battery-electric (BEV) and plug-in electric (PHEV) models have achieved higher Green NCAP ratings.
“Congratulations to Mazda on the impressive performance, especially in terms of fuel efficiency,” commented Green NCAP’s Aleksandar Damyanov. “Besides its good mileage, the organisation highlighted Mazda2’s low pollutant emissions”, noting that the supermini would have scored even better had it been equipped with a petrol particulate filter.
And the good news is that the Green NCAP test was carried out on the 2021 model year 75ps Skyactiv-G Mazda2, and the now launched and on sale 2022 Mazda2 is even more efficient. Across all models the 1.5-litre petrol engine has been refined to offer considerable efficiency improvements. The compression ratio has increased from 13.1 to 15.1 with the exhaust upgraded from a 4-1 to a 4-2-1 manifold. As a result CO2 emissions have dropped by 11 to 14g/km depending on output and transmission.
If you compare the 2021 model year 75ps car tested by Green NCAP to the 75ps 2022 Mazda2 SE-L, the new model’s higher compression ratio has helped it achieve a 12g/km reduction in CO2 emissions and a 5.6mpg improvement in fuel consumption, despite going without the Mazda M Hybrid system. Across all manual 90ps and 115ps models in the 2022 Mazda2 range the Mazda M Hybrid mild-hybrid system is standard and as an example the popular 90ps Sport manual has dropped from 120g/km to 107g/km, while across the range the corresponding improvements in economy further enhance the Mazda2’s excellent cost of ownership credentials.
The Mazda2’s average consumption during the Green NCAP tests was only marginally higher than the official WLTP combined-cycle figure.
An initiative from safety assessment organisation Euro NCAP, Green NCAP recognises carmakers whose models go beyond the minimum requirements in terms of efficiency and tailpipe emissions. It does so using a range of road and lab tests reflecting a variety of realistic driving situations including extreme temperatures (from -7°C to +35°C), altitudes up to 1,200m, short trips, heavy loads and motorway speeds. The star rating indicates the average results across three areas covering energy efficiency, pollution levels and greenhouse gas emissions.
On sale now, the 2022 Mazda2 is the latest update to Mazda’s popular supermini and sees the introduction of new trim levels. As before, the Mazda2 range is powered exclusively by the 1.5-litre Skyactiv-G petrol engine, and for the 2022 model year, the 115ps version has been reintroduced alongside the 75ps and 90ps outputs.
Starting with the £16,475 75ps SE-L, the seven-model 2022 Mazda2 range is topped with the new £20,845 115ps GT Sport Tech model. The 90ps engine is offered in SE-L and Sport trims, with Sport cars offered with manual and automatic transmission. The popular 90ps engine is also offered in GT Sport trim and the 2022 model year sees this trim also offered with a choice of transmission for the first time. The flagship 115ps GT Sport Tech is exclusively matched to the six-speed manual transmission, and with the exception of the entry-level 75ps SE-L, all manual versions of the 2022 Mazda2 feature Mazda’s M Hybrid mild-hybrid system and now wear the e-Skyactiv G badge.
As has always been the case with the Mazda2, the 2022 Mazda2 sees excellent standard specifications across the entire range. All models in the range feature navigation, cruise control, integrated Bluetooth and air conditioning, while the 2022 Mazda2 also sees the introduction of wireless Apple CarPlay from Sport trim onwards. From GT Sport trim onwards, the 2022 Mazda2 gets a colour head-up display, reversing camera, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. The new range-topping 115ps GT Sport Tech has a standard equipment tally that includes items not normally found as standard in this sector, including adaptive LED headlights, blind spot monitoring, rear smart city brake support and a 360 degree camera.
With a total of 12 colours to choose from across the range, the 2022 Mazda2 also sees the debut of Platinum Quartz Metallic, which complements the 2022 Mazda2’s unchanged Kodo design and sporty proportions. Already a supermini well-regarded for its handling, subtle updates from the 2020 Mazda2 update have been retained unchanged, these include the use of a urethane top mount in the rear dampers and revisions to the power steering to improve response and feel, plus Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control Plus (GVC Plus) – the evolved version of Mazda’s GVC system, which now uses the brakes to apply direct yaw movement control in addition to the previous system’s engine control.
Commenting on the arrival of the 2022 Mazda2, Jeremy Thomson, Managing Director Mazda UK said: “the Mazda2 may be the smallest car we produce, but it has at its heart the same values of style, driver involvement and quality that mark out all our vehicles. The Mazda2 is now more efficient than ever, while thanks to the generous equipment tally across all models, we have a distinctive and premium contender in what is still one of the most competitive segments in the UK car market.”
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