We had one of the last Mazda 2 Capella's which we bought new in August 2007 (registered in Sept so 57 plate)., and kept it until April 2012 - when we bought a new i20 which was roomier, better equipped, and had a more practical shaped boot opening (ie less intrusion by the rear lights) than the replacement 2 (2007-2015).

The European version was built by Ford at the Fiesta/Fusion plant in Valencia Spain, and mechanically is the same as it's Ford sisters - engines, running gear, etc.

The only two things we had go wrong were, at 10 months old, the coil pack and HT lead had to be replaced under warranty, and at four years old the front passenger door window had to be reseated on the winding mechanism.

Otherwise, it was totally reliable.

In our view it was almost as practical as the Honda Jazz

Plus points -

Quite roomy, good size boot with low sill providing very easy loading into the boot, folding rear seats provide a virtually flat floot (better than the Ford sisters), good visibility, quite nippy, air con.

Minus points -

The Capella came with 16 inch wheels and 45 profile tyres, which adversely affected the ride quality compared to the 1.2S or the 1.4 Antares.

Stay with the manual version, rather than the automated manual gearbox (called the ASM), as these can be expensive to repair.

Have a look at the Honest John review - www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mazda/2-2003/

Edited by Auristocrat on 25/01/2015 at 17:45