How about ride and handling? The B200 is very agile, which should be expected considering it's a fairly lightweight five-door hatchback.
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| The B200 is very agile, which should be expected considering it's a fairly lightweight five-door hatchback. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Most in this category are also quite "tossable" in the curves, and in this respect the B200 doesn't disappoint. At extremely high speed it gets a little twitchy, but then this isn't an SL is it? Whether or not the B200 is any more stable or agile than our comparison subject model, the Mazda5, is difficult to say being that I haven't got one on hand to compare side-by-side, all I can remember is that the little Mazda was surprisingly fun to drive at high speeds, quite capable in the corners, and a joy to row through the gears. On that last note, I feel safe committing to a fairly clear memory confirming the Mazda5's manual transmission felt a lot more precise when moving through its gate. The B200's
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| The B200's shifter is a bit cheap feeling, more like manuals that were around when I was a kid; mechanical feeling without the fluid movement of modern-day gearboxes. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
manual works well, but doesn't feel particularly inspiring during shifts. It's a bit cheap feeling, hard to describe really. It's more like manuals that were around when I was a kid; mechanical feeling without the fluid movement of modern-day gearboxes.
One thing I have to admit to, mind you, is that the B200 feels pretty snappy for only having 134-horsepower under the hood. I enjoyed zipping around town in it, and especially appreciated its highway pace when late for that ferry ride which would get me across the straight to see my daughter's karate class perform. Despite sitting up quite high compared to similarly sized hatchbacks, it handled fairly well, if not particularly inspired, and its ride quality, while a little on the rough side, was no worse than the Mazda5's. Really, it's a nice little compact car that I would recommend if not for the ridiculous price.
