It may not be well known in Ireland, but the Mazda2 Hybrid has been selling in the market for about a year now, writes Brian Byrne. If you didn’t notice it, that’s because it is a rebadged Toyota Yaris Hybrid, produced for Mazda by their fellow Japanese brand.
A few tweaks to the design might make it stand out a little more for this year. Mostly at the front where there’s now a proper Mazda shaped grille, and a changed apron design. There have also been some small detail tickles at the rear. And there’s a new Mazda colour, a special shade of blue.
Other than that, the Mazda2 Hybrid is as was, the powertrain the familiar 1.5 3-cylinder petrol mated to an electric motor, offering 115hp in total output and a real frugal fuel consumption. I’ve recently driven a revised version of it away, and as our own family car is a Yaris, it all felt very familiar.
The car is sold alongside the brand’s own Mazda2, and essentially is there to help Mazda meet fleet emissions requirements in Europe while Mazda is introducing electrification across its ranges. Last year some 121 copies of the hybrid were sold in Ireland, slightly more than the standard Mazda2 petrol.
If there are purists out there concerned that it’s not a ‘real’ Mazda, they should look back at a long history of technical and models cooperation down the 100-plus years of the motor industry. A Mazda 121 of the 1990s, for instance, was a rebadged Ford Fiesta. And Ford has in the past sold rebadged Mazda 626s as their own Telstars. All through the American ‘muscle cars’ era, many from sibling brands bore no more differences than badges. Even today, within the Toyota family there are Lexuses that are essentially luxurised versions of the standard cars from the parent. Suzuki sells a Swace wagon that is a rebadged Toyota Corolla Touring. Depending on markets, Dacias can be sold as Renaults and vice versa. And Hyundais and Kias are essentially the same across their models offering, with visual bodywork differences and badging separating them from their shared platforms and motors. The VW Amarok equally is a Ford Ranger in slightly different dress.
As for powertrains, given the high investment and development costs, many competing brands have traditionally combined to share the burden at different times down the decades. In just a couple of very many examples, some Opel diesels were built by BMW, and diesel engines used in Fords and the former PSA Citroen-Peugeots were jointly developed, the same motors simply getting a different name for each. Electric drivetrains are also being shared today, notably between Volkswagen and Ford in the upcoming Explorer from the blue oval carmaker.
So the current Mazda-Toyota cooperation is nothing unusual. Nor is it anything to sneer at, as both makers have an equal reputation in quality stakes. My recent drive in the Mazda2 Hybrid simply confirmed that, whether you buy your oranges imported from Spain from Dunnes Stores or Supervalu, they are equally sweet under the skin.
