Review: Zippy, affordable daily driver by Tom Roy

My take on interior features:

The Mazda 2 I have is the 'V' version - which is top specs in the region (known as 'Touring' in other geographies). The inside features are better than the standard 'Sports' version with a nice black interior complemented by black fabric seats with red piping. The inside is mostly hard plastic, but it does have a nice feel overall. I've read somewhere that the seats are the most comfortable in its class – and I have to agree. The dash is simple, everything sems to be in the right place, and the user interface is easy on the eye and orange glowing at night. The soud system is adequate once you fiddle with the settings on the four speaker system with CD and Auxiliary input via your iPod or USB port thrown in for good measure.

It's a good 4-seater, with the front seats being really comfortable, but you'd have to be on a diet to get five in the back.

My take on exterior features:

The exterior is "interesting" – typical Mazda attitude all over it. It looks smaller (much smaller than the Tiida for example) but overall, this version has all the features you'd want in a daily drive, or second runabout for the family. 

My take on driving performance:

Test drove other cars in the class (both used and new) and this car does zoom zoom. The 1.5 litre 4-cylinder is just right for in-Dubai street driving, and perhaps is a bit pushed on a highway like SZR or a trip to Abu Dhabi – but it doesn't lack in every day bite. Handling is really good, braking is easy and quick, and the overall drive feel is quite rewarding. It's a 100 horsepower sub compact, but I'm told it's the light weight that makes it zippy.

My take on how practical this car is:

It does give you great fill-up-to fill-up gas mileage, has fair boot space (fair, but not huge), is easy to park and pull out, and for a daily drive seems really practical.

My take on the price tag & value for money:

It is good value for money. I picked this up used with only 10k on the clock for a 2013, and so it was good value, considering the car was in showroom condition.

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