Mazda unveils a facelifted minicar

PARIS — Mazda had nothing to say at its news conference. The first 12 of the 15 minutes were used by the Mazda Flying Show, a trick bicycle rider who bounced his two-wheeler up and down and around tables and stairs, before pulling off the cover of the facelifted Mazda 2 minicar. A recording of “Happy Birthday” followed, while hostesses held up placards that repeated the message on a giant television screen, that Mazda is 90 years old.

In North America, sales began a few weeks ago of this same restyled version of the small car, which had been previously shown at the Los Angeles auto show, and again in Toronto. Thus, the presentation here gave Europeans their first close-up look at the new look of a car they are familiar with.

Mazda also showed the revised Mazda 5 here for the first time, with a new 1.6-liter diesel engine. But neither the engine nor the restyling was enough to justify a full press conference, said Martin Benders, vice president for sales and operations of Mazda Motors Europe.

“We didn’t have a lot to say, but we were celebrating our 90th anniversary,” Mr. Benders said, so the company used its time in the spotlight for entertainment.

The American version of the Mazda 2 differs slightly from the car in Europe, with the rear bumper designed for North American crash standards. The front end has the same smiling face, a polarizing element of the design. But, Mr. Benders said, the smile “is not as obvious as on the Mazda 3.

In the United States, only a 4-door hatchback with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine is available. In Europe there are three- and five-door versions and two additional engines: a 1.3-liter gasoline motor and the 1.6-liter diesel.