Should you buy one?

Taken in isolation, there’s a lot to recommend about the Mazda 3 Saloon. It’s good to drive, we like the way it looks and it has a desirable and equipment-packed interior. But in reality, it’s no more useful than the hatchback it’s based on – and as it’s more expensive while offering reduced choice, we can’t really see why you’d bother spending the extra.

The Saloon’s boot is its bugbear – larger but less flexible than its sibling. The single engine choice is limiting, too, but at least you’re likely to get good fuel economy out of it. The lovely manual gearbox and enjoyable handling make this Mazda fun when you need to get a move on, but that’s no different to the hatchback, either.

So unless you really want a small saloon car – in which case, the 3 certainly makes a good case for itself, even versus the supposedly more premium Audi A3 Saloon – we’d suggest going for the hatchback. And if you’re looking at hatchbacks there’s an enormous number of rivals to choose from, including the 2023 Parkers Car of the Year, the excellent Honda Civic.

What we like

Sharp interior and driving experience. Clever engine technology delivers impressive real-world fuel economy. Lots of standard equipment.

What we don’t like

Engine needs to be worked hard to feel lively. Less practical than a hatchback. Very limited choice of models.