Road Test: Mazda 2 1.5 Tamura Nav 5dr Auto

Time for the Mazda2’s midlife update. On goes the new family face – that mouthy bumper with swept-back edges – and in go some new engines and suspension changes.

The interior has been smartened up with softer materials and a new instrument cluster, ringed by pseudo-silver and topped by a piano-black moulding. It feels more expensive and less stark than before.

Those new engines include a 1.3-litre petrol with 74 or 83bhp, a 1.5-litre petrol with 101bhp and a 1.6-litre diesel that’s also found in the Peugeot RCZ and Mini D. We tried the 1.5-litre, which is nippy but sounds thrashy. That isn’t helped by the optional four-speed auto ’box, which is also new, but feels like something from the mid-Nineties, with long gearing and no manual override.

Revised suspension makes up for the old-school engine/’box pairing. It’s noticeably more refined than before, with softer bushes to reduce roughness over nasty surfaces, and 13kg has been removed from the rear trailing arm and front lower arms, reducing unsprung weight.

It feels better for it, though it’s still no Fiesta – despite sharing the same platform.