Our fleet: Mazda CX-3 1.5D SE-L Nav - July 2016

The CX-3 has a solid, well-built feel and offers a degree of comfort when sitting up front, but that’s not the case in the back. Rear legroom is just 888mm, which is pretty similar to the Mazda 2 and nowhere near key crossover rivals.

Headroom is also slightly compromised in the rear, thanks to Mazda’s design team restricting vehicle height to ensure it has a sportier look than the CX-5.

The lack of space for rear seat passengers is also compounded by a 350-litre boot, even if it is about average for the sector. However, it’s much smaller than some compact hatchbacks on the market, such as the new Vauxhall Astra which offers a 370-litre boot and the Volkswagen Golf with 380 litres.

The CX-3 boot however, does have an adjustable floor that allows for some additional storage under a moveable board, which also provides a flat load floor when the seats are folded down, giving you a maximum luggage capacity of 1,260 litres.

But select the Sport Nav model with Bose stereo and that boot space is compromised further because of the bass speaker. It falls from 350 litres to just 297 litres ,or 1,197 litres when the seats are down.

Clearly, you wouldn’t expect the CX-3 to measure up to the CX-5, but it is worth noting that its larger sibling offers 503 litres with the seats in place. It is therefore worth considering the larger CX-5, rather than the CX-3, if you’ve got a growing family.

However, I still find the interior of the CX-3 a step up from that seen in the CX-5 when it was on our long-term fleet.

The car is also very well specified as it comes with touchscreen, DAB, sat-nav, keyless start, rear parking sensors, heated front seats and city brake as standard. Not bad when it has a P11D price of £20,940 and falls within a BIK tax of 21% thanks to emissions of 105g/km.