Been anywhere interesting?
As much as I'd like to be able to claim that the little Mazda2 has been accompanying me on adventures abroad, or ferrying me to interesting places at the weekends, it's not. The reality is that it has been doing ordinary stuff, which means the commute to the office, weekly shopping trips and the like. It's become a useful, enjoyable fixture in my life and now I've fully gotten used to it I'm sad to say that it's being returned to Mazda to be replaced by a Mazda6 2.0 D TS estate.
Anything stand out...?
This month, out of curiosity and ever escalating fuel costs, I've been driving the 2 a little bit more sedately, or at least not being so brutal with the accelerator. Leaving a few minutes earlier to get places, emptying the boot full of detritus (and hence unnecessary weight), and using the 2's neat handling to maintain momentum has seen a marked increase in the fuel economy. I briefly managed 37mpg, which although a good 10mpg off the official claimed figure is a decent improvement on the 31-32mpg I'd been seeing regularly. I'm still a huge fan of the aux-in socket: I was driving a
Porsche 911 Turbo for a few days and couldn't believe that there was no way to plug my iPod into it. It is £100,000 compared to the £11,799 of the 2...
Mazda's dealer service has proved its worth too this month, as I had to order a new aerial for the 2. I was the vandal though, as it came off after I foolishly took the 2 through an auto car wash without removing it. I realised too late, Roy Chapman of Berkhamsted quickly and inexpensively getting me a new one and calling me to let me know when it was available to be picked up. After dealing with some other manufacturers' dealerships the Mazda experience was a very pleasant one. Aerial fixed, I took it to a hand car wash for a final scrub before handing back the keys to Mazda, the 2 looking great freshly cleaned and glinting in the sun. The 6 is going to have to be good to appeal as much as the 2 has, the little supermini turning out to be a hugely entertaining companion over the 3,000 or so miles it did with me at the wheel.
...and for the wrong reasons?
The driver's seat has started squeaking a fair bit, which is rather annoying. It's only intermittent, and fiddling around with the seat back does solve it – if only for a day or two. When the boot is pressed into service it's a bit on the small side, and the floor covering feels very cheap indeed. The screen wash on the 2 ran out the other day (no fault of the 2's – indeed it'd never been topped up since I took custody of it), but could I find any garages with water? It was only on the fifth forecourt that I found a free water tap, others either not having any to offer, or charging for pre-mixed screen wash. Outrageous.
Where next?
Back to Mazda I'm afraid. My time with the 2 is finally up. It's been fun, the 2 providing big grins on my daily drive, and doing a fine job on the sort of long grinding trips that would show up some of its rivals as lacking. A few more miles would have been good between fill ups, but in fairness a good chunk of that is down to my enjoying the 2's tidy handling and my preference for super-chilled air-conditioned car interiors. Its replacement should be better in this respect, being a diesel, but with diesel fuel above £1.20 a litre at the moment I may be using my bike a bit more this summer…
