If you’re after a normal car - in other words, not a hybrid, SUV or EV - then do yourself a favour and take a look at the Mazda 3.
It really is a lovely thing. Getting behind the wheel is like taking a long, warm bath; it just feels right. Much of this is because Mazda, more than most, sweats the details.
From the pedal weights and driving position to the size of the steering wheel and the way it flows along the road, this is a car that has been obsessed over by people who care deeply about making you feel good.
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We’ve driven umpteen versions of the Mazda 3 over the years, but it just keeps getting better. They’ve not touched the styling - this is still one of the best looking cars on the road - or the interior. Instead, for 2025 they’ve plumbed in a new engine.
In a move typical of Mazda’s independent - idiosyncratic, even - thinking, they’ve swerved turbocharging or a hybrid’s electric motor and battery in favour of a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol unit, with some mild hybrid assistance.
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This is an almost improbably large capacity of engine for a family hatchback but it’s firmly in Mazda’s tradition of ‘right sizing’; it’s not especially powerful - 138bhp, with torque of 176lb ft - but it is eerily smooth and remarkably economical, with fuel consumption in the high 40mpgs its natural territory. It’s not a fast car (0-62mph in 9.5 seconds), but it is hugely rewarding to drive. The six-speed manual gearbox is a wonderful device.
Sadly, cars like the Mazda 3 are a dying breed. SUVs and crossovers have been eating them alive for several years - Mazda sell some excellent ones of their own - and the shift to EVs means the traditional five-door hatchback is on borrowed time.
Spend time with the Mazda 3 and you have to wonder if we’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere. It’s all the car most of us will ever need; affordable to run, beautifully built, sensibly priced, fabulous to drive and great to look at. Prices start at £24,010.
