2020 Ford Fiesta vs Mazda 2

What's the difference?

Hot hatches are for a relatively small club of enthusiasts, and new small cars are gradually being eliminated from the greater Australian market.

Surely, it makes little to no business sense to bring an Australian audience a small, manual-only hot hatch all the way from Europe, to sell to a pitifully small audience of diehard enthusiasts.

But then, perhaps this is part of Ford’s enduring genius in Australia. You see, while long-time Australian arch-rival Holden stumbled over its ill-fated Commodore sequels and flip-flopped on its SUV catalog, chasing sales numbers in a post-local manufacturing world, Ford let the cars speak for themselves by offering Aussies brightly coloured pony cars and over-the-top pickup trucks which instantly etch themselves on your consciousness as they rumble past.

Because it’s not just sales numbers which make a brand in the long run. There’s an art to offering fun, aspirational models, too. Look at Suzuki’s Jimny 4x4 and Swift Sport as other examples.

So, here we are. Ford made the surprise announcement to bring in its Fiesta ST hot hatch a few years ago, and despite a few delays we can now get our hands on it.

The question remains – is it any good? And, what is it like to live with in an Australian capital city? We took one for a week-long urban test to find out.

The Mazda2 has been, to my thinking, the best light car in its class. That doesn't mean it's the cheapest - it isn't - but its mix of styling, engineering and safety mean you know where your money has gone. The plucky 2 continues to duke it out with the all-conquering Toyota Yaris, the VW Polo and all manner of Euro and Asian competition.

Things sure have changed in this segment in the last decade or so, with not one single model cracking 10,000 sales (although the Hyundai Accent came close).

Despite its higher cost against the Accent and various contenders, the Mazda2 still came third in its class in 2019, with just under 8200 sales. Just as the year was winding down, Mazda announced a customary, detail-focused rejig of the Mazda2 line-up.