STYLING | 8 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
The 2's face...reminds us of shoving orange wedges into our mouth during our elementary school lunchtime.
Autoblog
The styling similarities with the larger Mazda 3 are self-evident, although the 2 is the more interesting of the two.
Edmunds’ Inside Line
Has any car since the original Plymouth/Dodge Neon looked so plucky?
Car and Driver
entry-level Sport includes body-colored door handles
MSN Autos
he same over-expressive grille "grin" that generated controversy with the Mazda 3 and Mazda 6
Edmunds
The 2013 Mazda2 is simple, but it succeeds in looking zoomy while also smooth and sophisticated from the outside. The exterior look stands up well as contemporary and well-coordinated, with sculpted front and rear ends leading to lines that flow, sweeping upward, around a wide, sloping greenhouse. The Mazda2 includes the brand's 'grin' look in front, but not even that interrupts this neat, coherent design.
Part of the reason the Mazda2 looks stable, solid, and sporty is because it tends to look a bit lower and wider than it really is. The wedge shape produced by the upkicked beltline, combined with the more curvaceous tail stand as fresher looking and more pleasing in general than the closely sized Ford Fiesta, with that car's more abruptly truncated rear styling and bulging headlamps.
Visually, only a few differences separate the base Sport from the high-level Touring package. The most notable are the alloy wheels on the high-end model; the painted metal wheels with plastic wheel covers on the entry model harken back to an early day of econobox cheap.
Inside, the Mazda2 feels like an inexpensive small car, but one that's tastefully done, with some sporty detailing like red seat-upholstery piping and leather steering-wheel trim for the Touring model. Overall, the design is clearly inspired by some of Mazda's larger and sportier models, like the Mazda3 and Miata, and interior trims tend to be dark but not drab.
Conclusion
The Mazda2's smooth, wedge-like exterior gives it a look that's substantial yet very sporty.
