Please, Mazda: make this cute red supermini the next Mazda 2

Small, fun cars are under attack. Tricky to package batteries inside, tight on profit margins, not as shareholder-pleasing as crossover SUVs. The Ford Fiesta is dead, and Volkswagen has made noises about not directly replacing the Polo. Scary times.

Enter Japan to save the day? Quite possibly. Mazda has revealed it’s working on a new entry-level car. They call it the Mazda Vision X-Compact. Save your money on badging, guys – just call it the new Mazda 2.

There’s a danger Mazda has been away with the AI fairies on this one. It says the car is “designed to deepen the bond between people and cars through the fusion of a human sensory digital model and empathetic AI". What, like a Tamagotchi?

“Acting like a close companion, it is capable of engaging in natural conversation and suggesting destinations, helping expand the driver’s world,” says Mazda. The company even says it’s not a car, but “a friend". Riiiight.

What we see is a well-proportioned, handsome supermini that’s less than four metres in length. The stance? Spot on. Add some door handles, mirrors and numberplates and we’re away.

Inside there’s some of the pleasing stripped-back utilitarian vibe you might remember from small car heroes like the original Ford Ka, or the Volkswagen Up. Lashings of cheery exposed bodywork on the doors.

A built-in phone holder saves cash on pricey infotainment, like a Dacia Sandero. The single-gauge driver display echoes the Fiat 500. It’s like a modern greatest-hits compilation of clever small car features, which make cost-saving feel vibrant rather than mean.

We must sadly stress this is purely a concept car for now and Mazda hasn’t green-lit the Vision X-Compact for production, or even speculated if it would be electric, hybrid or pure combustion. Looks to us like it has a rev-counter and a gear lever, so surely an engine is on the cards – or perhaps some augmented engine fakery like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N?

Get it made, Mazda. This little champ and an MX-5 would make a terrific right-sized two-car garage.