Baby Mazda; Adding to appeal of little diesels in association with fish4cars.

Byline: by Mike Torpey

AZDA is making a fist of its assault on the supermini market with an ultra-economical diesel version of its new little hatchback.

The diesel engined Mazda2 will go on sale next month just weeks after the all new rival to the likes of the Ford Fiesta and Peugeot 207 hit the streets.

It is capable of averaging almost 66mpg but more importantly has CO2 emissions of just 114 g/km, making it exempt from the proposed new London congestion charge.

With other cities already considering similar charging proposals, that's going to add to the appeal of little diesels.

Private buyers will also enjoy pounds 35 a year road tax charges from the baby Mazda.

The Mazda2 uses the 1.4-litre engine developed jointly by Ford and Peugeot's parent company, PSA, which is already in the Fiesta and the 207.

Mazda is part of the Ford empire and the new supermini gives some strong hints about the next generation of little hatches from the Blue Oval.

Thanks to the lightweight construction and aerodynamic styling of the Mazda2, emissions are further reduced and economy increased.

The Mazda2 delivers gutsy performance with a top speed just in excess of l00mph and a 0-60mph acceleration time of around 15 seconds.

It sounds refined, too, and is likely to cost around pounds 500 more than the petrol engined versions which are priced from pounds 8,499 to pounds 11,799.

For a little engine in a little car there is plenty of pulling power and noise levels are remarkably low.

Even the basic TS model comes with advanced braking, remote central locking and an MP3 player port. Air con is not included until the mid-range TS2.

There's plenty of interior storage, including a magazine rack incorporated into the glovebox, while boot space ranges from 250 to 787 litres, which is about par for the course for modern superminis.

CAPTION(S):

EMISSIONS CHAMPION: The new diesel engined Mazda2 has emissions that would make it exempt from the proposed new London congestion charge