A question that vexes me when autumn slides into winter is when is it the right time to turn to the luxury of heated front seats?

Like switching on the central heating at home, there is a time of year that’s right for the butt-cheek warmers, but with it having been so mild, the point for rear-end warmth was pushed back.

Certainly in early November we were a long way from needing even one bar of comfort let alone three (see picture). That, of course, changed by mid-November, when I started to wonder if three bars would be enough come January if temperatures continued to plummet at the same rate.

The heated front seats are, of course, just part of the list of standard equipment on the SE-L Nav spec Mazda CX-3 that are offered in addition to the SE model. I’ve already written about the lane-departure warning system, and on top of that and the heated seats there is also, rear parking sensors, rear privacy glass, rain-sensing wipers, satellite navigation, and Smart City Brake Support, a system designed to prevent or reduce damage when it detects a collision with a vehicle ahead is unavoidable. It does so by automatically applying the brakes, and, thankfully, is the only piece of equipment I’ve yet had any need to
call upon.