Mazda 2 SkyActiv-D to be first diesel Thai eco car; sedan body set for BKK world debut next month

mazda-2-sedan-theo-1

Here’s some news zooming in from the Land of Smiles, half of it relevant to Malaysia. Bangkok Post reports that the Mazda 2 Sedan will be making its world debut at the upcoming Thai Motor Expo. The 2014 edition of the annual year end show will open at the end of November. Thai sales start in January 2015.

This piece of info confirms what we’ve suspected after various sightings of test mules racking up miles in Thailand, and word that the Thai-assembled Mazda 2 Sedan will be priced at RM85,xxx in Malaysia. Revealing local tech sheet aside, we’ve also featured renderings of the booted Mazda 2 whipped up by Theophilus Chin, which you can view here.

mazda2-sedan-b-segment-sedan-dimension-comparison-table

Mazda 2 Sedan dimensions compared with other B-segment sedans – click to enlarge chart

The second part is big news for Thais, who will get their first diesel-powered eco car in the form of the Mazda 2 SkyActiv-D. The eco car standard is 23.3 km/l and 100 g/km of CO2 emissions, and the Mazda 2 diesel will meet it – the 105 hp 1.5 litre diesel engine, when paired to a six-speed automatic gearbox and auto stop-start, does 26.4 km/l in the Japanese cycle.

No prices were mentioned, but the English language daily mentions the Honda Jazz (non eco car B-segment rival) as a price benchmark for the diesel 2, and points us to the 600,000 to 750,000 baht (RM60,669 to RM75,837) range. Mazda has intentions to export the diesel 2 to Australia and Europe from Thailand. Malaysia? No chance with our Euro 2 diesel.

Check out our test drive report of the new Mazda 2 and our IIMS 2014 gallery for an idea of what to expect.

Mazda 2 Hatchback at the 2014 Indonesia International Motor Show

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • MugenRR on Oct 31, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    Here goes another small diesel car that wont come to Malaysia..sigh

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 38 Thumb down 0
    • kadajawi (Member) on Oct 31, 2014 at 10:27 pm

      No kidding. The government needs to fix the diesel quality NOW. Why does Thailand have proper diesel, Singapore has proper diesel, but Malaysia doesn’t? But no… there’ll be a study. And another study. And another.

      If necessary, import the good stuff from other countries. Like it is done in the Johor region now. Overseas it’s not too uncommon to see 2 different diesel grades… one for lorries, one for cars. The latter is more expensive of course, and sold at the same area as 95 and 97, which also makes diesel owners feel better and gives them shelter while filling up their car. And with the savings that a diesel brings with it it’s ok if the price of good quality diesel is a bit above that of petrol.

      This car, with a diesel engine, is pretty perfect. Great fuel consumption, good looks, practical enough.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 27 Thumb down 2
  • kesian malaysia. most imported cars here are assembled in thailand.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 0
  • seancorr (Member) on Oct 31, 2014 at 7:26 pm

    Every other manufacturer out there except Proton and Perodua has a diesel version of the car they are selling but cannot bring it in here due to crap diesel quality here.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 22 Thumb down 0
    • kadajawi (Member) on Nov 02, 2014 at 12:23 am

      Perodua can easily ask Toyota for diesel engines, though for cars that small diesel doesn’t make so much sense… maybe Myvi and Alza…

      Proton can probably get a diesel engine from some other company, like Renault. If Renault’s diesel engines are good enough for Mercedes (A, B, C class and Citan) then surely they’ll be good enough for Proton?

      The problem is that offering diesel engines does not make much sense in Malaysia at this point, thanks to the diesel that Malaysia is getting.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • Kancil Hybrid on Oct 31, 2014 at 8:05 pm

    Thailand market so vibrant. Malaysia? Lebih bagus berbanding negara lain, says Ahmat Mustlan(ciau).

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0
  • meanwhile in malaysia…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 0
  • Semi-Value (Member) on Nov 01, 2014 at 12:07 am

    mazda 2…2 for 2 airbags

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 2
  • kleng on Nov 01, 2014 at 2:06 am

    SAM LOO YOUR VIOS GOT DIESEL ENGINE OR NOT?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0
  • No hybrid? How come, as hybrids are so much ‘better’ than diesels? ;-)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 5
    • Obviously (Member) on Nov 01, 2014 at 11:16 pm

      Seems that you’re unfamiliar with Mazda’s game plan. As a small company (compared to the likes of Toyota, Honda and Nissan) thinking of their future direction, they thought that developing their own hybrid train straight off the bat was unfeasible for them at that time due to costing and stuff like that. It might not have been successful as well since they might not have been able to differentiate themselves from the established hybrid players like Toyota and Honda. So they had the brilliant idea to, instead, optimize the internal combustion engine — both petrol and diesel. Thus they hatched the SkyActiv technology package idea. Their current performance worldwide shows that they chose well. The upcoming SkyActiv 2 will be an expansion of the current optimization idea but they did say that they will eventually have their own hybrid system in the future in order to make their drivetrain more efficient on standing starts and for stop-and-go traffic. They didn’t really give a time frame for when we can expect to see this. Perhaps after the SkyActiv 2 system is launched, as part of SkyActiv 3. Perhaps. We won’t know till they announce more.

      And now for your statement. What do you mean by “hybrids are so much ‘better’ than diesels?” What sort of hybrids are you referring to? Petrol-electric hybrids like the Prius? An electric-petrol plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV? Or even diesel-electric hybrids like the Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTEC Hybrid?
      IMO, a diesel-electric hybrid is superior to a petrol-electric hybrid in efficiency but perhaps not in refinement. On long journeys, a good turbodiesel can be more efficient than a petrol-electric hybrid due to the internal combustion engines doing most of the work at highway speeds, with diesels generally being more efficient than their petrol counterparts at cruising speeds. In towns and cities, the petrol-electric hybrid would win since it doesn’t need to burn fuel to move at certain speeds, merely using electric power alone. A diesel-electric hybrid combines the best of both worlds.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
    • kadajawi (Member) on Nov 02, 2014 at 12:27 am

      Er. Different technology, different purpose. Hybrids are great for lots of start stop traffic, short distances travelled (especially the plug-in hybrid variant), city traffic. Diesels HATE short distances… it ruins them. They aren’t that good for start stop traffic (though they’ll still be better than petrol engines). Diesels are great for heavier vehicles, for highway journeys, long distance travels.

      Pick whatever suits YOUR needs. It’s like plasma vs LCD… plasma great for best picture quality in dim rooms, LCD great for bright rooms. You won’t be happy if you pick a LCD for a dark room or a plasma for a bright one.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
 

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