2020 Mazda 3 vs Mazda 2

What's the difference?

The SkyActiv-X pushes the Mazda3 to new heights of refinement and reinforces the fact it’s still one of the best cars behind the wheel amongst its peers.

Mazda has made it subtle to a fault, so people will just have to believe you when you tell them this expensive little car pushes the bounds of how a non-turbo 2.0-litre engine can feel.

It’s great to see this new tech really does what it says it will do though, so we’re keen to see where Mazda can take it from here.

The Mazda2 sure ain't cheap to buy, but neither is its spec list stingy. While the GT is taking the Mick a little bit at $26,000, it does have a lot of stuff, yet none of it is really a must have. With an alright engine bolted into a really good chassis, the 2 is the kind of fun small cars haven't been for a while. 

The bottom line is, any Mazda2 is a good choice - the depth of engineering is part of the reason it costs so much, and the ownership proposition is good with a long warranty. It's also very well-built, feels substantial despite being light and is packed with safety gear. And you can still get the entry-level Pure in manual...

There’s nothing interesting about the SkyActiv X’s design at all. In fact, from the outside, the only way you’d be able to tell this car apart from a regular Astina is the SkyActiv X badge on the back. There are no funky eco-look wheels, coloured pinstripes, or sticker-work as some other brands choose to go with.

I hope you weren’t trying to impress your neighbors with your damn-fangled engine tech then, because they’ll be none the wiser. Then again, they probably wouldn’t be able to tell a Hybrid Corolla apart from a regular one, so maybe subtlety is key here.

Inside is the same deal. There are no badges, alternate trims, or coloured highlights to let you know you’re in something a bit different.

The most significant change on the inside is buried two menus deep in the multimedia system. It’s a new energy monitoring screen to add to the fuel monitoring suite which shows you how power is being used in the car, and importantly, whether or not the engine is using the special combustion technology. There are some conditions on it which we’ll explain later.

So, it’s not special to look at, but does it need to be? Most people would say no. We all know the Mazda3 is a great looking car (arguably one of the best in this segment) whether you choose the sedan or hatch, so at least you won’t have to make a drastic style choice either way.

The 2 has been a funky car from the very beginning, after its name change from being the Mazda 121. They've looked pretty much the same for well over a decade, but there's no shame in that. The 2 is also proof of just how elastic the Kodo design language is, starting here in the small-car size and stretching happily to the massive CX-9 I had last week.

For 2020, the 2 has a new grille with the "wing" running along under the tweaked headlights to widen its stance. The fog lights are now integrated with the headlights and various small changes are alleged by Mazda to make the car look a bit more premium. I'm an unabashed fan of Mazda styling, so I'm onboard with these changes. Apart from the new alloys, which look a bit old-personish.

The cabin is largely untouched, apart from some new materials, including the oddly executed mix of blue-grey leather and a synthetic suede. The back seats, in particular, look like you've sat on them straight out of the bath. They're not bad, just odd. The lovely Mazda steering wheel, wrapped in leather, takes centre stage and the minimalist design of its bigger siblings has long since filtered down to the 2, and works a treat. Most of the materials feel nice and help justify the price, too.

Again, no major changes to report here. The Mazda3 remains the same as before inside and out when it comes to dimensions. This means healthy space for front occupants, complete with lovely soft leather-clad trims on the doorcards and centre console for your elbows.

There are two smallish cupholders somewhat clumsily placed in front of the shift lever, a small binnacle in front of that, a large centre console box, and useful bins in the doors.

The pared back design makes for ergonomic button controls. Mazda’s dial-controlled media system takes a bit of getting used to, especially when using CarPlay or Android Auto, but some prefer it. Rear visibility is less compromised in the sedan as tested compared to the closed-in space which features on the hatch.

Back seat occupants get average legroom for the class, although they will benefit from the same relatively lavish soft leather-trimmed surfaces.

Boot space continues to be an issue for the hatchback with 295L, while opting for the sedan as tested here will well and truly solve the issue as it offers 444L.

Well, look, it's not massive, this thing. At barely more than four metres long, you can't really expect too much from the tiny 2. Boot space starts at 250 litres and Mazda doesn't supply a seats-down figure, but trust me, a trip to Ikea for a Billy bookshelf is not on the menu.

Front-seat passengers score two cupholders and a phone-friendly tray forward of the shifter. Behind the slightly awkwardly placed cupholders is a square tray with a removable divider. In the back it's, uh, tumbleweeds - no cupholders, bottle holders or even an armrest.

The space in the back is as tight, as you might expect. When I sit behind my driving position - all not-towering 180cm of me - my knees touch the seatback, but it is soft. My feet go under the front seat, though, so that's fine for short trips. Headroom is surprisingly good, but I pity anyone squeezed between two adults in the centre seat.

You can't buy a Mazda2 for less than 20 grand anymore - remember I said they're not the cheapest car in class. A manual G15 Pure is $20,990, with automatic adding $2000. The Evolve sits in the middle of the range as an auto-only with a $24,490 sticker and the GT, at $25,990 is also available in hatch or sedan. The Genki is gone, the Maxx shuffled off this mortal coil and the Neo has vanished.

The GT I had for the week features 16-inch alloys, a six-speaker stereo, climate control, front, side and reversing cameras, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, sat nav, auto LED headlights, head-up display, leather wheel and shifter, partial leather seats, power windows and mirrors, auto wipers and a space-saver spare.

The MZD Connect runs the older version of Mazda's own media and navigation software and, while feeling a bit creaky, it holds up well. Try saying that about a Toyota Yaris's system, which is nothing short of dire. MZD also has DAB+, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All of the features are controlled by touchscreen when the car is stopped and by a rotary dial on the console any time you like.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The SkyActiv-X X20 drivetrain is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder non-turbo petrol engine.

The trick? It blends the principles of spark plug ignition with that of diesel combustion ignition. Now to be clear, sparkless ignition would be the holy grail here, and that’s not quite what this engine does.

Mazda calls the tech spark-controlled compression ignition. It works by blending a lean mix of predominantly oxygen on the intake stroke in with a second injection of much richer fuel when the cylinder reaches close to its maximum compression. The spark plug then fires, and Mazda says this fuel mixture will then more fully combust thanks to the extra compression present.

According to Mazda at least, this means less wastage, more power, and cleaner emissions which are free of unburnt or partially burnt fuel.

Previous information had this engine feature a supercharger, and the brand's representatives confirm that some form of supercharging is present, however it is mainly "used as an air pump" for "ensuring an adequate supply of air is created" so that this new combustion cycle can take place.

Power has been boosted to 132kW/224Nm from the normal 2.0-litre’s 114kW/200Nm. Importantly, the peak torque figure arrives 1000rpm lower at just 2000rpm, getting close to the responsiveness of a turbo unit.

The SkyActiv-X is front-wheel drive only via an updated version of the brand’s six-speed torque converter automatic which is promised to be even more refined than its predecessor.

The new engine is also paired with a 24-volt mild-hybrid system which does not drive the wheels directly but assists the engine and auxiliary systems in the car.

The G15 in the name translates to Mazda's 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated SkyActiv four-cylinder. Slightly cheekily, Mazda says it has increased power to 82kW from 79kW, but that's because the old base Neo made do with the lower figure. Since 2017, the 2 has had 81kW and 139Nm and now it has (drumroll please) 82kW and 144Nm.

It's a front-wheel drive, obviously, with a six-speed automatic.

More torque is always welcome and, without giving any details, Mazda says the revisions have also reduced harmful emissions.

All this new technology claims to cut 1.1-litres per 100km from the combined cycle fuel figure of an equivalent 2.5-litre Mazda3, down to a total of 5.5L/100km for the automatic (as tested).

Real world figures tell an interesting story. While my recent test of the 2.5-litre car produced a blow-out of 8.4L/100km, three days of driving the SkyActiv-X around in mixed conditions had it produce a much lower figure of 6.4L/100km.

So not only was the new engine more responsive, it was much closer to its claimed number on fuel, too. Emissions (often the real reason for advances in engine tech these days… ) have also dropped markedly from 152g/km of CO2 to 135g/km.

Interestingly, the SkyActiv-X engine requires 95 RON mid-grade unleaded petrol in Australia, contrary to previous information which suggested not only would the technology run on base 91, but it would actually run better.

Mazda says the 95 requirement is due to the high sulfur content of our entry-level fuel (a comment frustratingly echoed by other manufacturers), and it’s more a durability issue than one of octane. The brand’s representatives assured us 95 RON does not significantly affect the combustion ignition process.

As with all Mazda3s the SkyActiv-X has a 51 litre fuel tank.

The official fuel figure of 5.3L/100km is good, but you're not going to get that around town. By the time my week was done, I had a 7.9L/100km indicated figure, which is a solid miss, but no surprise given you need to give it a bit of welly to get it going.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. How does a different injection method feel?

After three days behind the wheel I can confidently say most people won’t really be able to tell the difference, but that’s not to say there isn’t one.

Quite the opposite in fact. This new engine’s bump in power and more readily available peak torque are notable.

I spent most of my drive time with the energy monitor screen set, so I could try to understand how this new engine reacted to my inputs. The combustion ignition (SPCCI) mode is working most of the time. It doesn’t run at idle, and Mazda says it won’t run at ‘high loads’, but it seems to always be on past about 1200rpm in normal driving.

Once it reaches that point, the revs surge up quickly, almost like a turbocharged engine. It’s not quite as full-on with its surge of power, but it is very noticeable.

It gives this car a kind of comfortable pulling power kick which is at least on-par, but probably better, than the equivalent 2.5-litre engine (without being able to test them side-by-side), despite its higher power figures.

I wish I could tell you there was some big ‘wow factor’ moment here. Like it sounds really great once it’s on song, or it has a snapping-on feeling like Honda’s once-lauded VTEC. But it doesn’t. This engine has a unique tone, sure, but it’s quiet and subtle, and the delivery of power is quite linear.

In fact, the whole drive is notably smooth and refined. A cut above the rest of the Mazda3 range. The engine sounds distant, even when pushed, and the transmission has been smoothed out further between gears and re-calibrated to better deal with the new powerplant’s readily available bump in power.

As always, Mazda’s 'i-Stop' stop/start technology is one of the best on the market, to the point where you won’t even notice it’s there. The efficiency of this system has apparently been given a boost by the new 24V hybrid system, but again, there’s little tangible difference in terms of how it feels.

The energy monitor really made me wish this car was just a traditional hybrid. I don’t doubt whatever comes next will be. it would be a truly fantastic step forward to blend the benefits of this engine with a true hybrid drive for even lower consumption.

The drive experience imparts a sense the SkyActiv-X simply does what it claims to do. It’s a shame there’s nothing particularly exciting for driving enthusiasts (apart from how cool the tech is), but it really lives Mazda’s current ethos of constantly tweaking and improving what it has to work with, without any radical changes to what consumers expect behind the wheel.

There is just one annoying thing about the Mazda2 driving experience; the fact that it's a bit slow on the uptake. Well, not necessarily slow, but the transmission and throttle take their sweet time sorting themselves out, especially when you want to get out of a corner. Being a naturally aspirated engine, you have to rev the 2 to get some go, which explains the solid miss in the fuel-economy figures.

The last 2 I drove was manual, and it felt a lot more peppy and easier to get going quickly if I needed it to. 

Hitting the Sport switch improves the throttle response but the transmission just gets dumber, sadly. 

The rest of it, though, is mint. The inclusion of the clever G-Vectoring system on the smallest Mazda was something I liked in 2017, and still do. Along with a firm-but-compliant suspension setup, the 2 has lovely pointy steering. The way it responds to a turn of the wheel is enthusiastic, without being worrisome.

The G-Vectoring Plus system mimics a tiny lift of the throttle by reducing torque to the front wheels and shifting the weight forward to the front tyres. This makes the car quite chuckable, almost reaching the warm-hatch territory occupied by GT-Line branded Euros from Renault and Peugeot. The Plus bit means that the brake-based torque vectoring has been added to the 2 for better performance out of corners.

The ride is perhaps a little firmer than you might expect from a small hatch - even taking into account a short wheelbase and relatively high-profile tyres - but that does translate into the 2 being good to drive if you're not an enthusiast, and fun to drive if you are.

The 2 has long been a pioneer on the advanced safety front. In addition to six airbags, ABS and stability controls, you get forward AEB with pedestrian avoidance, cameras everywhere, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, reverse AEB and reverse cross traffic alert. I have been wracking my brains to work out another car this size with that kind of gear, and I think it's the rather more expensive Audi A1. 

There are also three top-tether anchors and two ISOFIX points.

The 2 scored five ANCAP safety stars in December 2015.

All Mazda3s, including this new variant, carry a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty promise competitive with competitor marques, including five years of roadside assist.

Service pricing was not available at the time of launch, although Mazda told us it shouldn’t stray far from the current 2.5-litre engine option which costs between $315 and $359 on alternating years for the life of the warranty.

Service intervals should also remain the same at 10,000km or 12 months whichever occurs first.

Mazda owners score a five year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, along with five years of roadside assist, which replaced the previous paid scheme in 2019.

The company does persist with the annoying 12 months/10,000km servicing regime. It's probably less annoying for an obvious city car, but it's worth knowing. Service prices are capped for the first five services and are either $300 (first and third) or $330, with extras listed on the website, such as brake fluid and a cabin filter.