The five-door subcompact hatch, the smallest (and lowest-priced) car that will be offered in Mazda's lineup, is set to hit dealer lots in August. It's the third-generation version, but the first to roll into North America. While the small car shares some underpinnings with the sporty Ford Fiesta, it doesn't boast the same horsepower or torque numbers: the Fiesta puts out 120 horses and 112 pound-feet of torque from its 1.6-liter four-cylinder, while the Mazda2 gets only 100 hp and 98 pound-feet of torque from its 1.5-liter. To make up for it, and in keeping with the badge's "zoom-zoom" mentality, the company has looked everywhere possible to cut weight. From Automotive News:
"For example, vehicle weight was reduced a combined 5.7 pounds through a redesign of the hood latch and hinges, door latches and regulator motors in the doors. A wider range of applications for ultrahigh-tensile-strength steel in the body shell cut vehicle weight 50 pounds. Some of the components in the suspension systems were replaced, resulting in a 28-pound weight savings."

Two models will be offered: Sport, and Touring. A manual transmission Sport will run $14,730 (including shipping) while the top-of-the-line Touring model, including four-speed automatic transmission -- but without the premium white pearl paint job -- will run $16,985, also including shipping. The company expects the overall subcompact segment to grow rapidly -- doubling in the next year, to one million sales per year -- and also believes that a full 25 percent of Mazda2 buyers will be purchasing their first new car.