Few companies have such consistency in their products as Mazda. Motorsports and driving pleasure inform all of their cars and crossovers, even down to the humblest, the Mazda 2. It’s enjoyable enough to give you hope that in our government-enforced frugal car future there’ll still be some fun to be had behind the wheel.

Outside the 2 shows up with a sprightly, wheels-to-the-corners verve. But unlike its platform-mate Ford Fiesta, there’s no chrome or dramatic sheet metal. This may be a missed opportunity on Mazda’s part; you see at least ten Fiestas on the road for every 2 (though this may well be down to Ford’s advertising muscle). This theme continues inside: the Mazda is a bit dull in comparison to the flamboyant Ford. The flipside is that every single part and panel in the 2 is made from incredibly high quality material—higher than the Fiesta—screwed together with the upmost precision. This is quite startling in light of Mazda’s obsession with saving weight, and the result is a small yet roomy car that weighs in an astonish two hundred pounds less than the same-size Ford. This pays off in performance, economy, and driving élan.

Sixty comes up in the mid-eight second range when you stir you own gears using the slick 5-speed manual transmission, quicker than almost anything else in its class, and despite a 1.5-liter engine that only produces 100 ponies and 98 lb-ft of torque. The 4-speed auto is best avoided, though—it adds two seconds to sixty and feels dim-witted next to competitors.

Which is a shame, as the rest of the package is so frisky. The handling is much more involving than almost anything else this size, while the ride show breeding in that it is firm but never harsh. Like most cars this small, noise can be a problem over porous pavement, but otherwise there’s little to complain about on the refinement front. There’s plenty of cargo room accessible through the hatch, back seat room is more than adequate, the driving position is spot-on, and all the controls have a precise linearity of action and matched weighting of effort that bespeaks a focus on the driver.

The Mazda 2 is frugal—both in fuel usage and money out of pocket—with EPA ratings of 28 city and 35 highway (34 for the auto) and prices in the mid-teens. That’s noteworthy in that a Fiesta can easily crack the twenty-thou barrier, though it does offers more ‘big-car’ options. For those who put driving first, there’s no contest though: the littlest of Mazdas shares all of the DNA that makes the 3, 6, and CX-9 the best driving vehicles in their respective classes, and the Miata the best selling car in history.

Price as range: $15,165-17,490

EPA: 29/35 manual; 28/34 auto

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