Mazda 2 decision making help

deadlydave said:
Keicar, glad you found my post helpful. The rest of the posters are right, if the car doesn't feel intrinsically right to you during the test drive, you're probably going to get sick of it. I fell in love with the Lexus IS300 a few years ago--on paper--test drove it without driving any other cars, and bought it. I ended up selling it 15 months later. If you can't connect with the car, no matter how good it looks on paper, you will never love it.
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Thats what I'm worried abt.. and I know with all my weird criteria ,my options get limited even further..
This little light weight m2 looks very promising..
 
Max Archer said:
Keicar, if you test drive one again and didn't know it last time, there's a seat height adjustment lever in front of the tilt adjust, playing with that may help you find a better driving position. The height takes some getting used to if you're coming from a lower-slung car. I'd been driving my dad's S2000 for a week after I screwed up something on the 2, and after fixing the 2 and driving it yesterday it definitely took some time before I was used to the height again.

I find the 2 to be about as close to cars of an earlier era as you're going to drive off a lot these days. It may be covered in a modern veneer, but its fundamental characteristics are that of a hatchback from the early '90s. The electric steering is good enough that I couldn't even remember if it was electric or hydraulic when asked recently, and the DBW is unnoticeable compared to other DBW cars I've owned and driven.

What I would do for another test drive is find a dealer with some twisty roads nearby and ask to test it there. I never would've had bought a 2 if I'd only test driven one around the block. I ended up in mine because I was at a canyon road and a friend convinced me to give his a try; it was so brilliant on those roads that I ended up trading my Civic Si in on one the next week.

Oh, and I won't make any bones about it, the clutch sucks. Even after a year and a half I find it kinda awkward when leaving a light. Out on the open road or track I'm used to it and it's not an issue when the car's in motion, but it's an annoyance when starting from a stop. Word has it that there's some sort of mechanism in it that's supposed to make it easier for new drivers to avoid stalling it out, and that changing to an aftermarket clutch fixes it completely. It's not a deal breaker in any way to me, but it's not as good as it could be for sure.
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Yes ..that's what I was feeling .. going from low slung to on top...
yup ...clutch can be replaced with some harder aftermarket option and while at it ..maybe a nicer light weight flywheel..
 
If you don't think the Mazda 2 can have the "popping, gurgling" sound, take a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEVgOWx-gkE&feature=c4-overview&list=UUQCXZU5tCJU8qXXRXz1jcZg

That was my setup before it's last exhaust setup. The car sounded mean for a 1.5L.

Also, check out my sig to see how a Modded Mz2 can look. Honestly, now that my car is gone, I do miss it a lot. It was a very good drivers car.. handled awesome, looked awesome, sounded awesome. Could've been more powerful, but it shifted nice, could heel and toe easily, and with everything I did to it, it was a wicked DD.

Go take a ride with genericmoniker there.. worst that could happen is that you don't like it.
 
keicar said:
Ya .. not at all "friendly" like this place
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I do have a healthy respect for the place. As a subaru guy, it's tough to avoid Nasioc. Both the vortex and nasioc are...certainly something. But a lot of the bickering can be pretty entertaining.
 
CRG Racer24 said:
If you don't think the Mazda 2 can have the "popping, gurgling" sound, take a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEVgOWx-gkE&feature=c4-overview&list=UUQCXZU5tCJU8qXXRXz1jcZg

That was my setup before it's last exhaust setup. The car sounded mean for a 1.5L.

Also, check out my sig to see how a Modded Mz2 can look. Honestly, now that my car is gone, I do miss it a lot. It was a very good drivers car.. handled awesome, looked awesome, sounded awesome. Could've been more powerful, but it shifted nice, could heel and toe easily, and with everything I did to it, it was a wicked DD.

Go take a ride with genericmoniker there.. worst that could happen is that you don't like it.
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That sounds angry..
And that silver M2 really looks serious..
 
Having previously owned a '03 GTI anniversary edition and '04 R32, you would think I would pass the 2 off as novelty car. However I like this care so much more. The VW's were not reliable and right out of the box, I had problems with them that thankfully were covered by the warranty. Had that not been the case, it would have been some significant out-of-pocket expense. Both those cars had issues within 7 months. Another family member had their Passat in the shop every couple of months. I have since come to appreciate reliability, fuel economy, and fun for value of the Mazda 2. The only thing that I wish was that the car was two door instead of 4 but I can pacify myself by knowing that everyone else has the same amount of doors. The shifter is the absolute best of any car I have owned. It feels perfect in your hand. The car's body is absolute awesome and the exhaust kinda reminds me of the R32's. Doesn't have the power of the previous car's but I have come to terms of "high performance" in my fuel economy, the overall savings in maintenance, the weight of the car and initial cost. Get one!
 
The 2 is the closest modern-day, off the lot car that gave me the satisfying feel reminiscent of my '84 GTIs (minus the manual rack) and missing from many of today's cars. I test drove a 2 on an awesome backroad that I had never driven on and the car was saying to me "Is that all you got?" and it just gripped way beyond what you'd expect from those little tires. If my '03 Focus SVT had this steering feel, I would've owned that car much longer. Steering feel and chassis dynamics are very important to me, and the little Mazda2 delivers on both. Other than the Focus SVT, every other car I've ever owned has been a VW or an Audi, and none of them newer than '03 (everything else actually '88 or older).
Summary: Will you get smoked at the stoplight drags? Absolutely. But wait 'til you hit the twisties...
 
I took one for a month long rental..
driving it for long periods really opened up my eyes ..its too much fun to drive..
It just wants to make u go harder and faster on corners ..
 
keicar said:
I took one for a month long rental..
driving it for long periods really opened up my eyes ..its too much fun to drive..
It just wants to make u go harder and faster on corners ..
Click to expand...

What do you think, could you see yourself in one?

:) I've driven a lot of fun cars over the years. While My 2 isn't a powerhouse or razor-sharp, it's endlessly fun. I've owned a highly modified WRX-swapped Impreza for 4 years, and while fun, it doesn't have the accessible playfulness that the 2 has. The 2 feels a lot like my BMW 318is did, albeit FWD. This car, doesn't feel like it needs a lot of mods to stay fun/interesting.
 
deadlydave said:
What do you think, could you see yourself in one?

:) I've driven a lot of fun cars over the years. While My 2 isn't a powerhouse or razor-sharp, it's endlessly fun. I've owned a highly modified WRX-swapped Impreza for 4 years, and while fun, it doesn't have the accessible playfulness that the 2 has. The 2 feels a lot like my BMW 318is did, albeit FWD. This car, doesn't feel like it needs a lot of mods to stay fun/interesting.
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I like it ... I want to give BRZ one test drive before deciding.
I even tried out a rental Mustang GT for 2 days - the power is intoxicating, but handling wise felt numb.

Brz - I'll give it one shot
Mustang - the power is too much fun but handling is crap.
..otherwise manual mazda 2 + all the aftermarket parts I can get my hands on in Canada, no expense spared .. :)
 
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