Is the Mazda 2 a bad long-term car?

"Frosted" (frostedbuns) 08/30/2014 at 20:02 • Filed to: None

0

5

Before I begin, I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm not saying it is a bad car, but just curious how it is after a few years of ownership.

I was on Rt.1 in NJ the other day when a green Mazda 2 merged onto the highway and started trying to race me. First of all, those things are not fast. At least the first couple years of their release in the US saw 0-60 times taking over 10 seconds. That's slower than my Cube. Secondly though, this thing was in pretty bad shape. The paint was totally faded and the headlights were opaque. It had 1 of the original 4 hubcaps and even that one looked like it was ready to fall off. It made me wonder if the damn thing was only putting out 75% of its original power. I know people can really neglect cars but it seemed odd that this kid, who probably bought that car when it was new and was trying to get a similarly performing car to race would really not care about the thing. Curious if those 2s turn bad after a couple of years of ownership or if this one just fell into the hands of someone who don't give a poop.

Have some Nissan Cubes and Mazda 2s:

Conan > Frosted 08/30/2014 at 20:05

0

My sister has loved her 3 for years. I don't know anybody with a 2 for comparison.

Desu-San-Desu > Frosted 08/30/2014 at 20:07

2

Any car can turn bad in a couple of years if neglected.

Of course, if you've owned your Mazda 2 for a couple years and haven't at least explored your options in the performance aftermarket, maybe you should've bought a different car, mystery person trying to race Nissan Cubes...

merkyg > Frosted 08/30/2014 at 20:12

0

Learned to drive in three different cars, one of these (08), ECU died, 2012 Fiesta as a stand-in, and then a Renault Clio. The Mazda was the only one I liked, hated the other two. It is a Ford underneath so I'd avoid as like you say, I'd expect it to fall to bits in a few years but it wasn't too bad to drive, inside was nice and reasonably fun. Slow as hell though yeah, I drove the diesel.

mcseanerson > Frosted 08/30/2014 at 21:34

0

Just checked cars.com and the cheapest stick shift(If you buy a tiny hatchback with a torque converter you have no soul) Mazda2 is a 2011 with 119k miles. It's over $8,000.

Vimto > Frosted 08/30/2014 at 23:54

1

My family has a Mazda2.

We've owned it since October 2012, its a 2011 model that was a rental for Hertz or Budget for the first 33,000 miles of its life. My Mom only drives a few thousand miles a year.

Nothing has broken, paint and headlights look great, still a zippy little car. It has always had some wheelshake on the highway, which is probably something to do with its rental history because my Mom put aftermarket wheels on it, and the problem was there before them and remains after.