Mazda 2 performance options include both petrol and diesel choices.

Petrol engines

As with most superminis, the Mazda 2 Mk2 was most popular with petrol engines. Mazda offered two choices of 1.3-litre petrol in 75hp and 87hp guises. The more powerful 1.3 is the more rounded of the two, but if you want to make the most of the Mazda 2’s nippy handling, the 101hp 1.5-litre petrol is the better bet.

Economy for the 1.3s is identical at 56.5mpg, while carbon dioxide emissions are the same at 115g/km. For the 1.5 petrol, it emits 132g/km and gives 49.6mpg. A four-speed automatic gearbox is only offered with the 1.5 engine in TS2 trim, but this engine feels livelier and better suited to the standard five-speed manual transmission used in the Sport model.

The 1.5 Sport is quick off the mark, offering 0-62mph in 10.7 seconds, but don’t discount the smaller petrols. The 1.3s may only provide 0-62mph in 14.9- and 13.6 seconds respectively, but they rev freely and feel eager while also delivering enough low-rev oomph to be quiet on the motorway and flexible in town.

Diesel engines

In addition two a 1.4-litre turbodiesel also used by Citroen, Peugeot and Ford models, Mazda fitted the 2 with its own 1.6-litre turbodiesel. This delivers economy and emissions on a par with the class leaders in the supermini sector at the time.

It has 95hp on tap and a generous 212Nm of low- and mid-rev punch, which means you don’t need to trouble the five-speed manual gearbox as much as in some rivals to keep the engine in its power band. It helps that the diesel spreads its peak power broadly between 1,700 and 3,000rpm, which is exactly the rev band where most drivers will spend most of the time when driving.

All of this helps contribute towards 67.3mpg average economy and 110g/km CO2 emissions.