JULES:

ONE CAR — TWO CRITICS

In the fiercely competitive small SUV world, Mazda’s CX-3 has been a sales champion despite an obvious flaw: it’s tiny. Well-priced, nicely finished and fun to drive it may be, but the boot’s a shoe box and rear seats aren’t much use to adults. The new and slightly larger CX-30 is Mazda’s answer. Its baby brother CX-3 is based on the Mazda2, but this one’s underpinned by the excellent Mazda3. Space, finally, for the family? Our testers sample a G20 Evolve front-wheeldrive version. sure that’ll age well.

I’m a fan. A plain black cabin looks too austere.

I’ll praise the 8.8-inch widescreen infotainment screen. No touchscreen, but a centre console dial makes using the Apple Carplay/android Auto easy enough. Built-in sat nav, rear camera and digital dashboard show where your money’s going.

There’s no spark or fun for around town, unlike small turbocharged engines.

Mazda’s 2.5-litre turbo from the CX-5 would transform the CX-30 into something special. It handles and steers superbly – not far off the Mazda3 – but our 114kw engine can’t make best use of these talents.

At least there are paddle shifters to take control. But who buys a CX-30 for twisty roads anyway? It’s such a good looker my Sundays would be spent parking in fancy suburbs showing off its curves.