Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £11,950 to £19,900
Taut, responsive handling, lively engines, nicely built out of well-fitting components, improved refinement from summer 2006.
Slightly overworked styling, not as roomy as it looks, still doesn't look that inspiring or sporty.
More fun to drive than you'd expect, but not quite an object of desire.
Fuel economy is competitive and has been improved in the revised models from summer 2006, thanks to the more aerodynamic body styling, new wheels and tyres, and minor changes to the 2.0 and 1.4 petrol engines.
The 2.0 now returns 35.8 mpg, the 1.6 40.9mpg and 1.4 42.2 mpg (in five-door form with manual gearbox), and the diesels 60.1mpg (90bhp) and 58.9mpg (109bhp). The 1.6 with auto gearbox gives 36.2mpg. These are good results all round, given the performance-optimised gearing and lively driving feel; carbon dioxide emissions are correspondingly acceptable, giving manageable company car tax ratings and tax bandings. Just 29.1 mpg and a whopping 231g/km from the MPS, though this goes with hot-hatch territory.
Insurance groupings are relatively low for the mainstream models, and residual values tend to be strong for Mazdas - stronger than for the Ford Focus, for example. The relatively low numbers sold new, and Mazda's good reputation for reliability, leads to strong demand on the second-hand market, keeping values high. The annual servicing should be affordable, too.
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wrote on 16 12 2006