Mazda 3 Skyactiv‑x AWD

Colder conditions have brought a warmer reception for our Mazda hatchback

I’VE WARMED TO CERTAIN ASPECTS of the Mazda since the chilly weather arrived. It has heated seats, which I think are a highly desirable option with leather trim because it tends to be cold in the winter. There are three settings and by the time you’ve gone five miles you’re dialling it back because it’s toasting your buns.

The real luxury, though, is that the Mazda also has a heated steering wheel. The element is only around the quarter-to-three bit of the rim but that’s where your hands mostly sit, so it’s very welcome and saves wearing gloves. The pinnacle of luxury would be a heated gearlever, but I can’t recall ever seeing one or hearing of a car maker who has offered a hot stick.

As I write we’ve had plenty of days when the windows have needed de-icing, and I wasn’t expecting the slim and plain-looking Bridgestone Turanzas to impress on slick, wet roads at around freezing point, and the same goes for the car despite it being all-wheel drive, but the combination cuts through impressively.

Pressing on, it doesn’t feel especially keyed-in to the surface – no change there – and I fully expected it to push into understeer chucking it into tighter corners. Instead the Mazda turns as keenly as ever, and you can get on the power hard and early to pull through without troubling the traction control. As we’ve said before, there’s not much power or torque to bother the grip, but this is a welcome display of poise in an otherwise barren dynamic landscape.

Date acquired March 2020 Total Mileage 6447 Mileage this month 413 Costs this month 0 Mpg this month 41.0