2012 Mazda MAZDA2

Can't beat the price of the car

By Hot (CA) on Sunday, May 19, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 5,059

Pros: "Size, fun to drive"

Cons: "Needs a bigger gas tank"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 9

"Love the size of the car. Work in San Francisco and love the way it fits into small parking spot. No problem so far. Only one neg. the automatic tran is a bit rough in stop and go traffic"

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It's what I expect from a Japanese car and Mazda!

By owl (CA) on Sunday, March 31, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 6,000

Pros: "Great for parking,fits toddler in rear comfortably"

Cons: "small fuel capacity not good for long trips"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"Notes about me: - I have owned Japanese-made, American-made, and German-made cars - I prefer to perform maintenance service on my cars, if I can - I like to modify and upgrade my car, if I can --- The Mazda2 is a good car, and it is what I expect from a Japanese-made car and from Mazda. We previously drove a Mini Cooper (2004 and 2012), but as a family with a new baby boy living in San Francisco, California, we wanted a small 4-door car that was still easy to park. While 12 inches longer than the Mini Cooper, the it is still fairly easy to fit smaller parking spaces in San Francisco. Yes, it doesn't have all the perks of a fancier car, but I don't expect that from a $15,000 car. We also considered the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris (4-door), the Ford Fiesta, and the Prius C. Here are some facts about our first year of ownership: - Purchased the Auto Transmission, Touring model new in May 2012 and put on about 5000 miles per year - Did our first oil change ourselves - the placements of the oil filter and drain plug make oil changes a cinch! - Installed the direct-fit Mazda2 Bluetooth hands-free kit ourselves, and it works like a charm - Installed heated seats, and it works great for the cold San Francisco mornings (low to mid 40s) - Purchased a second switch-blade remote off of Ebay and programmed it myself (very easily and cheaply) - I even was able to use the remote trunk release button on the Mazda2 - Rear seats fit our full-sized convertible baby/toddler seat, rear-facing without a problem and still gives me and my wife (5'7") a good amount of room in the front seats - Can fit our Quinny Zapp (tiny!) stroller and two full-sized carry-on suitcases in the trunk with the rear seats upright for passengers! Our MPG on the Auto Transmission is all over the place, but we expect that being in San Francisco "proper" with hills everywhere: * Pure CITY driving can be as low as 20-22mpg (SF city blocks may have stop signs on EVERY block or two, with some city blocks only being about 300ft in length - that's up to 16 stop signs per mile! Also, I try my best to make full, complete stops by the book.) * Mixed driving gives us around 24-27mpg * Pure FREEWAY driving gives us around 31-36mpg, depending on driving speed; It's closer to 31mpg when driving on the sometimes windy I-5 going around 75-85mph and closer to 36mpg when going around 55-65mph NOTE for all Mazda2 owners regarding FUEL CAPACITY: ==> For some reason, Mazda chose to display "0 miles remaining" (we call it "E blinky zero") with around 1.25 gallons remaining in the tank. We don't have a precise number, yet, because we don't want to run out of gas - but we were able to drive 35 miles AFTER the trip meter told us we were "out" of gas with "0 miles remaining" and still were not able to fill up the full 11.3-gallon capacity of the tank. ---- Overall and a year later, we still feel this was the best car for our needs (family with a baby/toddler living in San Francisco)."

9 people out of 9 found this review helpful

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