If the thought of driving a tiny, jelly bean-shaped, 100-horsepower car leaves you feeling cold, you need to warm up to the 2012 Mazda2. This subcompact starts at under $15K, but there’s no shame here in being so frugal: There’s room for four passengers, a decent amount of cargo space with the rear seats folded down and a well turned-out interior. While the 4-cylinder engine in the Mazda2 is not powerful, it is powerfully economical — and the 5-speed manual makes it feel like you’re going faster than the speedo suggests. In the world of subcompacts, the 2 is the one.

2012 Mazda2 GX: Specifications

Price as tested                       $16,185
Vehicle type                Front-wheel-drive subcompact
Engine                         1.5-litre 4-cylinder
Power/torque              100 hp / 98 lb-ft
Transmission             5-speed manual
Fuel consumption       6.8 city / 5.6 highway (L/100 km)
0-100 km/h                  10.1 sec (est.)

>> Related: 2012 Mazda2 CTCC B-Spec Racer

+ The Zero2OneHundred Review is a snapshot of the latest, greatest and not-so-greatest vehicles powering down our fair highways and byways. The vehicles will be varied, but all the reviews will share a common denominator—a word count that starts at 0 and finishes at 100.