How's Mazda2 with Rust?

I recall some people on here own/owned Mazda2s. I'm thinking of buying one for my mother in law and I live in a heavier snow/salt area. I know certain Mazdas in the early and mid-2000s had rust issues. How is the 2011-2014 Mazda2 for rust? There aren't many for sale locally to look at, I'd probably end up driving a couple of hours to buy one. I was under the impression Mazda improved their brand-wide rust issues by around 2010. I looked at a 2011 yesterday which had some rust on the rocker panels and pinch welds. I've searched a bunch online and I can't find much of an answer. My mother in law currently has a 20 year old car and I'd like her next one to last a similar amount of time. I'm a big believer in oil spray, but we can't prevent rust which had already begun.

Thanks for your input.

Fiestas are a twin.   Different engine.

Just widens your search.   I ha one for five years, no rust.

 Don't know if Mazda and Ford have the same rust resistance.

It's funny you mention that, I actually bought a FiST for myself a week ago. :) Did a fly and drive for a cream puff.

My understanding is the platform is the same, but they only share a few parts, were built in different locations, etc. The problem with the Fiesta is my mother in law needs an automatic. With all of the DCT issues, there's no way in heck I'd get her one of those. (did you see the recent news about Ford engineers writing emails indicating the transmission didn't work well enough for production 6 months prior to sale?) A couple people I've met with Focus/Fiesta autos have had few/no issues, another I know has barely had a viable vehicle over the course of years. One big problem is she's a bit difficult and she likes the Mazda2.

I'm also looking at Yaris, Fit, Versa, Accent, Rio. I can find local options, but they aren't great bang for the buck. Again, the purchase will likely mean traveling a couple of hours. Small cars are like sports cars, they're going extinct.

They seem to be holding up quite solidly here in Canada.

I have 127000 miles on my 2013 2 Sport. Body is in awesome shape. I added larger than normal rally style front mud flaps to protect the rockers and arches. The k frame is starting to show a bunch of surface rust from rock damage as is the oil pan. Nothing horrible. Funny the worst spot is the front left seat mount on my driver's seat. Needs to come off and be dipped in evaporust or something similar. Kicking in salted snow and sluch every winter is getting the best of it there.

BTW, I live in Vermont on a dirt/gravel covered road that you take a dirt road to get to. About a mile. I spend a lot of time driving dirt roads as less than 1 mile of the roads in my town are paved.

Best investment was the mudflaps.

vwcorvette - Thanks that's really helpful!

g_body_man - I'm in Ontario. Have you seen the under side of any of them?

In reply to Snrub :

Yup, they don't rust any more than your average 4-9-year-old car.

G_Body_Man said:

In reply to Snrub :

Yup, they don't rust any more than your average 4-9-year-old car.

I would agree with this assessment.

The 2 is microscopic small and cluastrophobic inside. 

get a Honda Fit. Better in pretty much every way for a normal person. 

spacecadet said:

The 2 is microscopic small and cluastrophobic inside. 

get a Honda Fit. Better in pretty much every way for a normal person. 

While the Fit feels bigger because of its upright construction, in reality they are the same size within an inch in every dimension except height. Great if you are tall or you like wearing tall hats. The Fit does have a very clever interior that allows you to bring large objects if that's important to you. 

The Mazda is nicer to drive and doesn't command the Honda tax. Also the first gen Fit's had a lot of quality issues, so are best avoided. 

The answer the OP's question, the rustproofing is much better than older Mazda's but the paint still isn't very durable so you might get a car that rusts from the top down instead of the bottom up. They are holding up very well here in Canada.

Now might be the time to get a CPO Versa as the next generation will hit showrooms by the end of the month or September sometime at the latest ( not there as of Wed.)  I have an SV '18 off-rental with about 21k on it.  Surprisingly capable car.  Stable on the highway with enough poke not to be run over.  Just don't take the off-ramp too fast.  Braking is acceptable.  Easily maneuvered in town.  Parking is fine too ( sedan ).  Pretty certain I saw some CPOd Nissan dealer examples under $8k.  Accelerating can be thrashy from low speeds but hey it's a 1.6 with 122 horses.

Has decent room inside.  My '11/'12 hb has way more storage space bin wise however.  And with a gel seat it still has great headroom.  Both of them. 

Thanks for all the feedback, it's a big help. After looking at additional options, it looks like a `12-14 Mazda2 might be the top choice follow by the '12-14 Versa/Versa Note. These are what she's comfortable with (which is difficult to decern) and they have strong bang for the buck. I've been able to examine enough Versas locally to be comfortable with their rust accumulation. I believe the Versa and the Fit are close competitors in terms of size. The amount of room in them is shocking. IMO a good way to describe them is extra small minivans than anything else. The back seat leg room in the Versa is absolutely fine for me and I'm 6'5". The Mazda2 has a shorter length, but that's a strength for her, not a weakness.

We also looked at a Nissan Micra (not sold south of the boarder). Most small cars are ~67" wide, this is about 5" narrower. You could literally forget how to 3 point turn in this car, you'd almost never need to. I actually think it's a great little car and even I have lots of headroom in the front. In the back I have lots of leg room if the seat is moved up to my mother in law's preferred position. The 2015  I had a good look at seemed to have particularly thin/brittle paint. What's with thin paint now a days?

I'd love to see a Micra down here even though I don't believe ever driven one.  Only Sunny/Sentra/Versas. 

vwcorvette said:

I have 127000 miles on my 2013 2 Sport. Body is in awesome shape. I added larger than normal rally style front mud flaps to protect the rockers and arches. The k frame is starting to show a bunch of surface rust from rock damage as is the oil pan. Nothing horrible. Funny the worst spot is the front left seat mount on my driver's seat. Needs to come off and be dipped in evaporust or something similar. Kicking in salted snow and sluch every winter is getting the best of it there.

BTW, I live in Vermont on a dirt/gravel covered road that you take a dirt road to get to. About a mile. I spend a lot of time driving dirt roads as less than 1 mile of the roads in my town are paved.

Best investment was the mudflaps.

Beware of the front subframe bolts. They are a terrible design on the Fiesta/2 and can break the nuts off in the body.