Mazda Verisa Gets New Clothes for Japan

Unknown for most of the world's markets, the Mazda Verisa, a compact car destined for the Japanese market, got some fresh tweaks for the summer to come. Including both interior and exterior modifications, the restyled Verisa will have a starting price of 1,560,000 yen for the Verisa C ($15,900) and 1,650,000 yen for the Verisa L ($16,800).

For the exterior, Mazda has prepared only one type of change, and that refers to color. It now offers an additional three body colors: Lilac Silver Metallic, Metropolitan Grey Mica, and Sparkling Black Mica, expanding the available pallet to eight different colors.

For the interior, the modifications include leather-wrapped steering wheel as standard (for the Verisa C), matching color door trim, parts surrounding the meter panel, and glove box lid. As an extra, Lilac Grey fabric seats with orange stitching are available for the C version. Basically, the main difference between the C and the L version are only the leather seats, featured as standard on the L.

The Verisa makes use of a vehicle immobilizer, fitted as standard on both versions and the company's audio-less spec, which allows for a variety of audio systems to be fitted.

As for the car itself, it has proven to be not such a successful model. Since its introduction in 2004, the Verisa barely managed to sell around 20,000 units in the Japanese market. A second generation, expected sometimes this year, seems to have been cancelled, as Mazda opted for minor tweaks to be brought to the vehicle, rather than going for an entirely new model.