If you must endure a wet, dark and congested midweek M25 with interminable road works, as I have had to due to collecting my daughter’s uni halls’ clobber, then the Mazda 3 cabin is a good place to be.

An undistinguished daytime interior comes over all soothing and tranquil at night with muted blue and orange instrumentation, while the sound system controls pulse blue when adjusting the excellent Bose stereo (I use the steering wheel-mounted controls). The supportive ‘Sport’ spec seats did not inflict any pain in the back, either, and activating cruise control to abide by the 50mph limit brings the indicated consumption down by several mpg.

Mazda 3 2.2d 150PS Sport 5-door manual
Mileage 5601
Claimed combined
consumption
52.3mpg
Our average consumption 45.6mpg
P11D price £18,260
Model price range £13,500 -£21,500
CO2 (tax) 144g/km/19%
BIK 20/40% per month £58/£116
Service interval 12,500mls
Insurance group 10E
Warranty 3yrs/60,000mls
Boot space (min/max) 300/1360 litres
Engine size/power 2184cc/150PS
Top speed/0-62mph 127mph/9.2secs
Why we’re running it Can it step up to its
class mark like the 6?
Positive Dependability and long
range fuel economy
Negative Lack of cabin class