Mazda has given its pleasant compact family car, in both hatchback and fastback form, a mildly re-worked ‘face’, new tech, a few other minor changes and a couple of new colours and wheel designs.

 
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In the new model, Mazda has built upon their SKYactiv methodology of building lighter cars, with larger engines, but reducing emissions and increasing mpg. Powertrains available are the 1.5 diesel engine with 105PS and 2.2 diesel with150PS, alongside two petrol engines developing 120PS and 165PS. The diesels have been refined to reduce that diesel clatter on start-up and at low speed. This certainly makes the car feel smoother and quieter than before and, from the refinement point-of-view, better than one or two of the offering from the premium car manufacturers. Most of this has been achieved by building in more noise suppression and vibration damping.

Good news, 42% of cars now sold in this segment have emissions under 100g/CO2

The interior has had rather more work done and Mazda says it is now of a higher quality in terms of materials, and better switchgear; for example, the old traditional handbrake has been replaced by an electric switch.

Prices start at £17,595 with the top Nav Sport model at £24,195.

I tried two versions on some glorious driving roads out of Aberdeen into the Cairngorms. Both the 1.5 lower-power diesel and the lower-powered petrol cars were a real pleasure to drive up and down the hills and along mainly traffic-free twisty country roads.

The test routes, totalling about 250 miles, we’re all endowed with good surfaces, so the suspensions were not pushed too hard; however, the ride was always very comfortable and the cars handled high-speed dips and climbs with aplomb. Work has been done on both the front and rear suspension systems.