Image Gallery: Mazda2

The Mazda2 will fill company’s low-end niche for North America.  Aimed to take on the likes of the Honda Fit and the Nissan Versa, the 2 looks to make its mark the way the 3 did for compacts.  Not much is known about the engine lineup, though we’re hearing a base inline-four will start things off in the 1.4 L range.  The 2 has a good start: since its 2007 overseas launch, more than 370,000 units have been sold.  Mazda proudly boasts of the car earning the New York Auto Show’s “World Car of the Year” Award in ’08.  Marketing is seeking to focus on the 2′s sporty angle as a way of undercutting segment-champ Honda.  What we know from inside Mazda’s Irvine center is that they’re more concerned with stake-holder Ford’s Fiesta, which carries the similar design theme and spirited road manners.