If keeping your Mazda 3’s running costs low are high on your list of priorities you have a choice of two models really – the 2.2-litre diesel and the 1.5-litre petrol.

Of course the former is significantly more to purchase than the basic petrol, and you’ll have to consider whether you do enough mileage throughout the year for the fuel and tax savings to really pay off. If you do then the manual version’s 107g/km (the auto adds a further 20g/km) means tax is almost completely financially pain-free while the 68.9mpg combined economy should keep you away from the pumps for around 770-miles between fills.

If you save your money and buy the significantly cheaper 1.5-litre petrol model instead then you’ll have to do an awful lot of miles for it’s 119g/km CO2 emissions (up just one more road tax band) or 55.4mpg combined economy to leave you out of pocket.

The range of Mazda 3 emissions isn’t actually all that broad – it starts at 104g/km and rises to 135g/km for the 2.0-litre 163bhp hatchback. That means all are relatively cheap to tax, and suitable for company car users too.

Pick of the bunch is actually the 148bhp 2.2-litre diesel with manual gearbox and the fastback (saloon) styling – though if you prefer the looks of the hatchback then the 3g/km penalty (107g/km) is a small price to pay for an extra injection of style.

The engines are used throughout the rest of the range so we’d expect Mazda 3 reliability to be impressive – just as it is with the rest of the firm’s cars. There’s little to worry about with the hardiness of the interior either, as the robust materials should be able to hold up to whatever the rigours of family life has to throw at it.