Mazda2 touches down in Middle East

Mazda has launched the 2011 Mazda2 hatchback and sedan range in the GCC.

The arrival of the car, which won the World Car of the Year award in 2008, is the first foray into the small car market for Mazda in the region. The 2 is already on sale in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and will be launched in Oman later this month.

Based on the same platform as the Ford Fiesta, the 2011 model is unchanged from the car first introduced in Europe in 2007. Since that introduction it has picked up more than 50 international awards.

The car is available in five-door hatchback form, aimed at young drivers, while the sedan version is touted as more of a family car and comes with a large 450-litre boot that Mazda claims the most roomy in its class. It also has a maximum five-star rating in the European Euro NCAP crash test programme.

Power comes from a 1.5-litre petrol engine that makes 101bhp, attached to a four-speed automatic gearbox.

The cost in the UAE is 47,000 to 49,000AED for the hatchback, which comes in S and V versions as does the sedan, which costs from 49,000 to 52,000 AED. Both are considerably cheaper than the less powerful but more upmarket Fiesta or the hugely popular Toyota Yaris