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2022 Mazda Carol Kei Car Revealed With Suzuki Alto Underpinnings

Introduced in 1962, the JDM-only Carol was discontinued in 1970 in favor of the Chantez. Revived in 1989 in the guise of a rebadged Suzuki Alto, the Carol kei car has been redesigned for 2022 on the ninth-gen Alto.
2022 Mazda Carol kei car (JDM) 6 photos
Photo: Mazda
2022 Mazda Carol kei car (JDM)2022 Mazda Carol kei car (JDM)2022 Mazda Carol kei car (JDM)2022 Mazda Carol kei car (JDM)2022 Mazda Carol kei car (JDM)
Assembled by Suzuki at the Kosai plant in the Shizuoka prefecture, the urban dweller is best described as tiny. The specifications sheet for the brand-new Carol lists a length of 3,395 millimeters (133.6 inches) and a wheelbase of 2,460 millimeters (96.8 inches), which makes the kei car noticeably smaller than the 2022 Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback for the U.S. market.

At launch, Mazda offers two engine choices with displacements of 658 and 657 cubic centimeters. The R06A three-cylinder mill develops 46 ps (also 46 horsepower) at 6,500 rpm and 55 Nm (40.5 pound-feet) at 4,000 rpm.

Customers are further offered the R06D mild-hybrid powertrain with two more ponies and three more Newton meters of torque. Tipping the scales at 680 kilograms (1,499 pounds) for the lightest configuration and 750 kg (1,653 lb) for the heaviest, the Carol is also offered with all-wheel drive.

The exterior palette currently features merely six finishes while the interior combines mostly black plastic with colored trim pieces and upholstery. The most efficient Carol of them all is the front-driven mild hybrid that registers up to 27.7 kilometers per liter (65.2 miles to the gallon) as per the WLTC.

Scheduled to arrive in dealership forecourts next month, the Carol carries a starting price of 998,800 yen ($8,680 at current exchange rates) while the most expensive specification is 1,303,500 yen (approximately $11,330).

On the kei car leaderboard, the Honda N-Box was the best-selling model of them all in 2020. Suzuki ended last year in second place with the boxy Spacia that – as the name implies – features a little more room than the Carol.
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 Download: 2022 Mazda Carol specifications sheet (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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