The Mazda Vision X-Compact Is A Reborn 2 That Wants To Talk To You

Early this year, the Mazda 2 went off sale in the UK, and we were surprisingly sad about it. The little supermini packaged that usual Mazda chassis niceness and good looks into an affordable, reliable package, and it felt like one of the last old-school superminis standing.

The good news is that Mazda obviously still has its eye on the segment, because this concept, the Vision X-Compact, has some serious 2 vibes about it. The potentially bad news is that this car wants to be your friend.

That’s because the X-Compact is “designed to deepen the bond between people and cars through the fusion of a human sensory digital model and empathetic Al.” This, says Mazda, allows it to act as a companion, part of its “vision for the future of smart mobility, where vehicles and people form an emotional connection, much like a heartfelt relationship.”

Nope, nope, and a thousand times nope.

Okay, let’s put aside the slightly dystopian aspect of this car for now and look at it simply as a car. It’s cute! Although we probably shouldn’t humanise it too much – that might give it ideas. 

We’re seeing lots of the recently departed 2 in the front end, although there’s nothing where the grille used to be, suggesting this concept is electric. There’s lots of retro European influence to the rear and the side profile, meanwhile – it looks like it could be a credible rival to the new Renault 5-based Nissan Micra. It’s got a nicely minimalist vibe inside too, with a single Fiat 500-style instrument pod augmented by a phone mounting point to handle your audio and navigation. 

Overall, it looks like a very appealing little package, and one we’d welcome if Mazda decided to put it into production. Call us old-fashioned, though, but we could do without it trying to befriend us.