AT A GLANCE

The X20’s engine brings reasonable lowspeed response, but it’s not on a par with a decent turbo-petrol or turbo-diesel.

It’s not earth-shatteringly efficient either. The official figure is 5.5L/100km – a fair chunk better than the 6.5L/100km claim of the 2.5-litre Mazda3 – but it needs pricier premium fuel. Our week-long test saw the X20 return a not-great 6.7L/100km.

A tiny supercharger helps smooth the engine’s little torque gaps during acceleration, helping with silky power delivery, while impressive noise suppression gives this Mazda3 cabin a serenity more in line with executive sedans than small family cars.

IT’S LOADED WITH FEATURES

This isn’t your nanna’s old Mazda3. White leather seats add an air of business class, though they’re not ideal if you have messy kids. Black leather’s also on offer at the same price.

There’s an 8.8-inch touchscreen, wired Apple Carplay/android Auto, Bose audio, satnav, a digital radio, digital instruments for the driver, colour head-up display, heated seats and steering wheel, radar cruise control and a sunroof.

Much to spoil you, but despite the X20’s

MAZDA3 X20 ASTINA PRICE About $46,000 drive-away

SAFETY Seven airbags, auto emergency braking, colour head-up display, radar cruise, 360-degree monitor, blind-spot and lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic-sign recognition

ENGINE 2.0-litre four-cylinder, 132kw/224nm THIRST 5.5L/100km

SPARE Space saver

price, there’s power only for the driver’s seat and no wireless phone charging.

MAZDA’S GONE BIG ON SAFETY

Entry-level Mazda3s have generous safety tech, but these high-spec grades get the works.

It makes the car very hard to crash, and even if you manage to, it has the third highest ANCAP adult occupant protection score of any car.

Highlights include auto braking if you’re about to drive or reverse into a vehicle, pedestrian or bicycle; rear and front crosstraffic alert, traffic-sign recognition, radar cruise control, a blind-spot monitor, lane-keep assist and a 360-degree camera.

The constant nannying beeps do grate after a while, though.

THE DESIGN IS SMOOTH AND CLEAN

Pretty as a sedan but gorgeous as a hatchback, the Mazda3 stands as a pillar of style purity while many rivals get ever pointier and edgier. Rear visibility and space are compromised, but you accept this when the shape has you looking back for an extra admiring glance.

Does Mazda deserve to be seen as semipremium? This cabin suggests so.

The driving position and controls layout are first class, plastics are overwhelmingly soft to touch and the leather feels expensive.

Best of all, most of this goodness comes in $30,000 drive-away Mazda3s if the X20’s tag is a stretch too far.