Pleasingly agreeable, and a notable improvement over its predecessor in many respects. The Avensis Touring Sports is far smarter and interesting to look at, for starters, although some may find its catfish-aping front end errs too close to plain odd, as opposed to classy and distinctive.
Inside, upgrades such as the all-new dashboard, redesigned seats and slickly presented driver's display prove successful in uplifting the cabin. It's far more modern-looking, and very comfortable, although a little more range to the steering column adjustment wouldn't go amiss.
Some seemingly obvious details let it down, though, like harsh and grease-attracting plastics being used for the door grab handles. There's also quite a lot of bluster from the windscreen pillars at speed, which takes the edge off the otherwise impressive high-speed refinement.
The Avensis Touring Sports is still as practical as ever, with seating for five, lots of head and leg room and a vast boot, which offers up almost as much storage space as the Ford Mondeo. A space-saver spare is standard throughout the range, which is further indicative of this car's potential real-world usefulness.
Crucially, it’s also significantly better to drive than it was previously. It retains the MacPherson front struts and double-wishbone rear suspension of the pre-facelift Avensis, as well as the electric power steering system. Every element has been fettled, however, and the shell stiffened, to improve its road manners.
These efforts haven’t been in vain; it feels far more poised and composed, with a keen front end and plenty of grip, although it still falls short of the dynamism and engagement of the Ford Mondeo - although that will hardly be a huge concern, if any at all, for many a buyer. Turn in is precise, with the steering weighting up in a linear and satisfying fashion, and body movements are well controlled.
On the smooth roads of our Swiss test route the Toyota rode in a more relaxed fashion than the Ford, although there was some nervousness on more broken surfaces. The braking response was a little vague, too, requiring a fair amount of pedal effort and lacking bite, but there was adequate stopping power on hand.
The new powertrain initially appears competitive. The 110bhp common-rail 16-valve diesel is smooth and quiet, even when revved hard or loaded up in higher gears. A six-speed manual gearbox does a dutiful job of transferring the power to the front wheels and there’s no shortage of traction.
The engine is unlikely to trouble the front wheels, however, because despite a variable geometry turbocharger it produces its peak torque of 199lb ft between just 1750 and 2250rpm. That’s a 500rpm window, and pulling power falls away rapidly either side of this. As a result, making progress in the Avensis requires frequent gear changes, particularly if you’re ascending hills or on a twisting road - and that's with just two adults onboard.
Its rivals are far better in this respect. The Skoda Octavia’s 1.6-litre diesel, which emits a VED-exempt 99g/km of CO2, produces its 184lb ft across a wider 1500rpm range, helping it sprint from 0-62mph in a quicker 10.8sec and delivering more eager in-gear acceleration. Then you've the bigger 2.2-litre diesel in the Mazda 6, which is equally economical and produces an additional 38bhp and 81lb ft, all across a broader spread. No contest here, then.
During our five-hour test route, which took in a mixture of motorway and cross-country driving, the Toyota returned an indicated 46mpg. That places it on a par with the real-world consumption of its more powerful rivals, making it difficult to recommend. Either way, the 13-gallon fuel tank means a range in excess of 600 miles, which is plenty for those long family trips.
Kit levels are good, though, with this £25k example coming as standard with cruise control, dual-zone climate, a media and navigation system with an 8.0in touchscreen, DAB digital radio, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, part leather seat trim and electric, heated folding mirrors. It also packs an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and automatic lights and wipers, cutting the driver's workload, and myriad safety systems including traffic sign recognition.
We've already had the chance to try both the diesel and petrol versions of the CX-3 abroad. Now comes the time to try petrol power at home in the UK. We're covering the entry-level 118bhp version of Mazda's 2.0 Skyactiv-G unit for you here.
Okay, so the clean, frugal diesel has running costs on its side, but this lower-powered two-wheel-drive-only petrol model is the cheapest way into a CX-3 and is the predicted best seller. So in a class whose order is determined largely by cost, there's still plenty to get excited about.
The list of rivals is long, including everything from Citroën's C4 Cactus to Nissan's Juke, via the Renault Captur and Suzuki's new Vitara. Honda also has its HR-V on the way, which will be of interest.
What's it like?:
Mazda's decision to keep capacity high and go in search of cleanliness and frugality elsewhere has paid dividends again. Its Skyactiv engine suits the CX-3 extremely well; an entry-level option this petrol engine may be, but it certainly doesn't feel it.
You'll find yourself changing down a gear on particularly steep hills or when executing a countryside overtake, but most of the time the 2.0-litre unit is willing to pull from low revs. It has to be coaxed if you want a real turn of speed, but that's no hardship considering it remains so smooth. It's not particularly noisy near the redline, either.
The gearshifts is typically sweet for a Mazda, so when you do need to work the manual gearbox, there's no issue. It has a lovely throw and the precision with which it finds each gear is something rivals such as the Captur and Cactus could learn from.
With less weight over its front wheels than the diesel, this petrol feels slightly more agile at the front axle. You'll want to exploit that, too; the steering is a little vague off centre but weights up nicely by a quarter turn, and once settled the body stays upright and there's a good amount of grip to explore.
More of a problem is the ride. Our Sport Nav test car wore 18in alloy wheels, which picked up on sharp-edged imperfections too readily, and our experience of 16in wheels on the same route tells us they're the more comfortable option. Vertical body movements over harsh bumps and undulations is noticeable no matter which CX-3 you buy.
With its 18in alloy wheels, our car also kicked up quite a bit of tyre roar, particularly over the coarser roads of our route. The engine settles down at a cruise, though, and there's very little wind noise to report.
Inside there's a decent amount of room, and steering wheel and seat adjustment for the driver is generous, although tall rear passengers will find the top and side of their head resting on the ceiling and their knees against the front seatbacks.
The boot is a useful 350 litres in size (reduced to 287 for Sport Nav models thanks to a Bose subwoofer) and all cars come with an adjustable boot floor. With the rear seats split 60/40 and folded, you get a flat load bay front to back. However, the relatively small opening means access to the boot isn't class-leading.
Cabin quality isn't game-changing, but the classy trim inserts, soft, dense plastics and leather details certainly help the CX-3 surpass much of the current small SUV competition. Its standard 7.0in touchscreen system, which can also be operated using rotary dial and shortcut buttons between the front seats, is also one of the best on the market.
Standard equipment on SE includes 16in alloy wheels, air-con, electric front and rear windows electric mirrors, cruise control, Bluetooth, two USB ports and DAB radio. SE-L adds rear privacy glass, rear parking sensors and automatic headlights and wipers. Both these trims can have sat-nav added as an option to become SE Nav and SE-L Nav.
Range-topping Sport Nav gets navigation as standard as well as further luxuries such as larger 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and a reversing camera.
