Since when is the Mazda2 popular in Israel? (I’m in the central district) I live here and as far as popularity for every Mazda2 I see 2-3 Seta Ibiza’s or Škoda Fabias.

Also consider the Yaris petrol (non hybrid) 3 cylinder. They’re about on the same level as the Mazda2. Engines are a tiny bit better; transmissions are much worse.

At the town i live in they are quite a common sight, along with the 3's and Octavias
Then again i live in Ashdod so the demographics of the population inevitably makes you see more Leons and Ibizas...
I have my experience with toyota's CVT transmission (i drive a 2017 corolla)
And while it's better than older CVTs, it's characteristics for a more spirited driver (such as myself) are pretty awful, and while its not too slow, the droning sound of the transmission is quite unpleasant, and i assume in the yaris it's not going to be better but even worse

A lot of Mazdas now use Aisin transmissions.

@sa180199
I live not far from Ashdod, here it’s jam packed with Hyundai i20 and Ioniqs along side Ibizas and focuses…
I think that the sound from your gearbox is form dirty oil… I remember having a leasing Auris and it was actually quite expect for the hybrid motor whining a bit
@billybob
That’s why it’s so important to see that the Mazda you’re considering doesn’t have those 🙂.
Modern AISIN are boring and sluggish and don’t last much over 230,000km in non optimal driving conditions, be it the Camry 6 speed or their new CVTs.

The only exception is the Aisin TG-80SC and TG-81SC practically used in all cars I’d even consider thinking about. although it’s somewhat shaky and uncomfortable when driving in town on smaller engines like the 1.2 PureTech.

Everyone knows that Aisin makes the best transmissions. Jatco transmissions are the ones to avoid.

Please drive a 2.0 Toyota Avensis with the Aisin K111 CVT, and then to drive a 2.0 Mitsubishi Outlander with the Jatco JF009E.

Both are equality unreliable but the jatco one has plenty of parts and drives well.

Also, @billybob , the person asking about the Mazda in the first place said “characteristics for a more spirited driver (such as myself) are pretty awful” and that is absolutely true.

Anyway, that’s unrelated cause the one I’m talking about here has a Mazda SkyDrive Automatic and those are the better quality then the U760 Aisin 6 speed.

I worked on transmissions, I know that people are scared of JATCOs and some like the JF015E are terrible Especially when paired a big engine (anything over 1.8/2.0 is too much for a CVT). And people trust toyota and Aisin way too much… I have seen the new ones have failing solenoids and corroding value bodies

I can't, they don't have the Avensis over here.

If they would’ve had more CVT Toyota’s in the US, people would see how crappy Aisin can be and how bad most of their products are.

mazdas 6 speed is an AISIN?

No the Mazda 2 uses a home grown design - this is an excellent gearbox.

Some Mazda models (check when you’re buying) come with an TG-80SC Aisin 6 speed (the same one as in the Peugeot 208 and Alpha Romeo 159) - not the best gearbox.

https://youtu.be/_nJ6AwE2FV0

Here he talks about the same things I’ve seen on the Aisin 6 speed. Cheaply built; lasts 200,000km.

the English subtitles are great although he speaks Russian.

With unskilled Israeli mechanics, and strict Israeli MOT tests, expect to get like 15 years or 230,000km out of it…
If you don’t get hit by a bad driver before that.

Thank you!
super helpful comment and it really help me understand more about the car!
being GDI i assume sludge buildup/oil consumption i nearly inevitable, but as you say it is within normal amounts, anyway as this car gets older i believe shortening the oil changes will help increase its life span, thanks!

@dan Amazing answer! Love to hear first hand experiences.

@dan With all due respect - this engine is very reliable. Just don’t expect to get much more then 250,000km (150,000 miles) out of it - that is what I call, an oxymoron.

@inthrustwetrust
Yeah he said "expect to get like 15 years or 230,000km out of it…"

@Kerem @inThrustWeTrust
Me and the person who asked it both live in the same country so I know how long cars live here.

Chevy Cruze don’t even last 80,000 miles here before blowing motors. And Corollas typically breakdown completely before 160,000 miles.

Start-stop traffic, hard accelerations from stop lights only until the next stop light, rigorous yearly inspections failing cars for every tiny flaw like a leaking seal, and cars depreciating beyond belief (-making any serious repair uneconomical) and mechanics are often clueless fools without any education.

Just an example of how cars cost a fortune and depreciate rapidly here, Here’s other cars I bought and what they costed in my country new:
- I paid exactly $6,000 for my 70,000 mile 2010 Volvo that had a sticker price of $50,000.
- I paid $6,250 for my 60,000 mile 2014 Ford Focus (it was about $35,000 new)
- And I paid $3,500 for a manual motorized 2010 Toyota Corolla. No clue what It costed new but I’m scared to know because I’d feel really bad for the previous owner…

You forgot to menion cars in here will cost double then the US...
A new toyota corolla starts at about 135K NIS, which translates to about 41.5K USD, before road tax of course...

Why do they cost twice as much?

@sa180199 yes 😪 and and we don’t get the same luxuries US cars get. The Hyundai Accent in the US, the base model had a 1.6L and 6 speed (here for 3 times the price it’s a 1.4L with a 4 speed and not even basic things like automatic climate)
@Kaizen
Here we have insane taxes on new cars (130% on gas and diesel, 50% on hybrid and 25% on electric). Our country is the number 1 / 2 in the world when it comes to military spending per citizen and that’s not going into politics, that’s just fact -

Not to forget that gas is 5-6 dollars a gallon so I spend like well over $200 a month on fuel for my fuel hungry Volvo commuting to uni.

@Kaizen
Tax lol, gas is super expensive as well due (also tax)
5.6 NIS for a liter of gasoline (3.78 liters=1 gallon)
quick math makes it 6.5$ per gallon

But at least taxes on Tesla aren’t too big. 170,000 nis sounds like a steal.
Although I’m sure quality is going to suck, with how hot it’s outside I doubt the batteries will be any good for anything over 150,000km but it’s way cheaper then other 170,000 cars - that’s less then version of the RAV4

The Honda Jazz is roughly on the same level as the 2021 Euro Yaris. And both have the issue - ultra weak trannies.
Mazda2 has the best transmission I saw ever put in a super mini car.
Also the Mazda2 handles like a goKart while the Jazz is a box with 4 wheels.
So I doubt this conclusion…

My friend drives an automatic Jazz, i can't argue it's a practical car... enough room in the back and these magic seats are... well, magical
but its a car more suitable for a family that doesn't seek any fun from an automobile.
This car literally, cannot be droven under 3,000 RPM between cities, it reminded me the dreadful Mitsubishi Attrage, or mirage as it is more known of

Yeah Mazda would be better to drive by far but I said for reliability, in the US the Honda FIt is very reliable.

@Kerem the US version of the fit is very reliable.
Here on new ones they either have a really bad hybrid system or a badly designed CVT.
As far as reliability goes, it’s much worse then it’s completion including even the Citroën C3 Picasso HDi (a french boxy economy car).

And yes, The Jazz is miserable on the highway. They somehow managed to engineer out all of the fun from a class of car that people buy to have fun.
Fiestas, DS 3, Opel Corsa, Ibiza FR, Mini Cooper, Ford Puma - are all a blast to drive and put a smile on your face…

while the Honda Jazz is an unpractical boring kinda-reliable car bought mainly by old folks in the UK.

The us version called the fit - between 07-14 was reasonable, not the case with the newer ones.

2015 was the first year for the model so it makes sense it would have more problems, but yes im regarding this new gen, just not the first year, i dont know what engine variants you have in your country for the jazz...
here we only have the honda 1.3 slowpoke cvt trash

Where I am, the Jazz has the 1.5L with the option of a CVT or MT. If you’re after performance, yeah get the Mazda 2.

again i wanted to know about its reliability, how decent/bad is it
will it fall apart like a golf??
can its drivetrain easily pass 200K km without dying first?

I’d buy a Mazda 2 before I’d buy a Golf.

Newer Mazdas are better and what is that 120k miles thats nothing for one of them you should be fine.

@InThrustWeTrust I wouldn’t recommend a Jazz over the Mazda2. With how well built Mazda’s are… the Honda Fit seems like the worst in its class… the new Euro Yaris runs circles around the Jazz.

@dan If you mean interior build, fit & finish, then sure, Mazda wins hands down! If you mean drivetrain, I’ve seen 20 yr old Jazz hatches running on the roads as peoples’ daily drivers. Another mate of mine drove the first gen Jazz AT, switched to a brand new 2012 Mazda 2, then sold it after 3yrs because it started needing part replacements and he’s now back to Honda with a HR-V for the last 6 yrs. I’d wait a few years before I start calling the new Yaris, reliable.

@InThrustWeTrust
Old JAZZ isn’t the Jazz we have around here. In the car fleet market they don’t last 120,000 mile.
Absolute jokes. I’ve had an old one, back in 2010 and that was well built with a 5 speed automatic and a 1.5L engine.

On the topic of the Yaris, a friend on mine works at the Toyota dealer and he already has examples with 250,000km.
The Euro Yaris’s engine is good, the transmission is not. Also hybrid systems seem to wear out before they should.

If I had to choose between a Honda CVT and an AISIN CVT, I’d go with Aisin.
(Both the Dynamic force 1.5 and the Honda L series 1.5 are great)

And both the Honda CVT and the Toyota CVT are less reliable then the Mazda automatic (again, when you put in an automatic meant for a heavy suv in a small car you get great reliability - that’s what they do in sports cars)

A TC is more reliable than CVT, all else being equal.

israel, it it reliable?
the drive train is by mazda even though the cars share the construction

I don’t have any personal experience with them. As far as I can tell, they are reliable little cars. I much prefer Honda and Toyota because I have personal experience with them. But Mazda is next up in my list of makes to consider. I’ll take a Mazda over almost other make. I do like their Skysctiv technology.

My preference is for the Toyota Yaris made by Toyota. And I think folks need to know what they are getting. So but the Mazda created Yaris isn’t half bad.