Mazda 3 e-Skyactiv-X GT Sport 2021 UK first drive

This is the handsome family hatchback that is the Mazda 3, updated for 2021. But for the addition of a standard-fit sunroof on higher trim-level versions, that update is concerned mainly with what’s under the bonnet.

The Mazda offers a choice of two petrol engines, both with a pretty simple 24V, belt-driven, mild-hybrid assistance system. The cheaper, lower-level conventional 2.0-litre e-Skyactiv-G unit now features cylinder shutdown, while the upper-level e-Skyactiv-X unit has had even wider technical revisions, with both modification programmes aimed chiefly at boosting fuel efficiency.

Running Mazda’s innovative switchable Spark-Controlled Compression Ignition system (SPCCI), the more powerful 2.0-litre option was only introduced with the current 3 hatchback in 2019. New pistons and a new intake camshaft, along with recalibrated combustion control and hybrid system control software, have reduced the engine’s compression ratio slightly, but improved both power and torque output, as well as reducing lab-test CO2 by between 5g/km and 11g/km depending on model.

The 3’s model hierarchy remains made up of five derivative tiers, starting with SE-L and ending up with GT Sport Tech. A six-speed automatic gearbox can be had as an alternative to the standard-fit six-speed manual on all but entry-level versions. Also, if you want a four-door saloon body (with a shinier radiator grille) instead of an upper-level e-Skyactiv-X hatchback, you can have one here - and for no extra cost.

For reasons best known to Mazda and uncommunicated to the rest of us, the range-topping all-wheel-drive version of the car that appeared as part of the 2019 offering has now been removed from the showroom range. We tested an upper-middle-trim, higher-output petrol hatchback.

Still great looking; still very pleasant and surprisingly classy to travel in; and still neat, crisp and generally impressive to drive. This has been one of Autocar’s preferred family hatchbacks for a couple of model generations now primarily because it combines appealing styling with a drive that’s very much intended for those who’re interested in what goes on behind the wheel. It’s an ordinary family hatchback at heart, true, and it’s not the cheapest of its kind; but it remains a car you can really enjoy operating on the road, and without accepting compromises in other areas.

The revised SPCCI engine doesn’t change any of that. Just as we discovered in the Mazda CX-30 crossover with the same revised powertrain, it’s a generally well-mannered four-cylinder - and here it’s now well capable of beating a real-world 50mpg on a longer run. It still doesn’t have the ‘who-needs-a-downshift?’ in-gear torque of a turbocharged motor when you’re overtaking on the motorway; but nor would you always really want it to, because some finely polished control weights, and the engine’s improved smoothness and linearity of response through the mid-range, make the car a pleasure to engage with. The slick, light, precise shift quality of the car’s six-speed manual gearbox is a particular highlight.