2015 Mazda2 Specs Revealed by Japanese Website

The Mazda2 is sold as the "Demio" in its domestic dealerships, but it's essentially the exact same car. A Japanese microsite launched today tells us a great deal about the new supermini, including the all-important engine details.

Two engines will be offered shortly, production having already started, a 1.3-liter and a 1.5-liter. Both are four-cylinder units and use a double overhead cam, 16-valve blocks, but that's where the similarities end. The 1.3-liter is gasoline powered, has a compression ratio of 12:1 and produces 92 PS (68 kW) at 6,000rpm. Torque sits at 121 Nm (89 lb-ft) , delivered once again at high revs: 4,000 rpm.

The 1.5-liter is a brand new Skyactiv-D, a diesel engine producing a respectable 105 PS (77 kW), coupled to 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque. The automaker has innovated in a number of fields to ensure the diesel is the cleanest on the market, by using a stepped piston, a new type of injector and better thermal management.

Now here comes the really interesting part: the Japanese model comes with all-wheel drive, which is really cool for such a small car. Not only that, but it seems Mazda is launching a 6-speed automatic gearbox that's standard on the 4WD Demio and optional on the FWD car. Outside of the MINI Cooper, Mazda is pretty much the only automaker we know of that offers a true automatic with six speed on a supermini. It even has selectable driving models and a head-up display.

Speaking of superminis, the new Demio is not what you'd call "mini". It measures 4,060mm in length, which is absolutely huge for this class. Just to give you give you an idea of what we're talking about, the 3-door MINI Cooper is 3,821mm long and a Ford Fiesta is 3,950mm long. The wheelbase is also huge at 2,570mm, which will make the handling feel like a grown-up car.

We think Mazda had good reason to make the 2 bigger. If the cars imported into Europe turn out to be a tad expensive, customers from the C-segment market could be tempted by the size of the Mazda2 and all its features. Despite increasing the length, engineers have also managed to make it lighter buy as much as 100 kilograms, depending on the model.

3 wheel designs, 10 body colors, 2 headlight types, lots of interior trim options (including carbon fiber) and varied powertrains – Japan can pretty much order anything on their "Demio". Question is: how much of that will be available for export?