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The Zoom Zoom people call it "a sports car like no other". They aren't kidding. No other sports car has a rotary engine. And no other sports car has four doors.

Performance is up there with the best. Handling is in the top rank. Comfort, ride quality, safety and equipment are all there too. Stacks of room for four people and their luggage. Eye popping, neck wrenching looks.

And all for, they must be kidding, twenty grand? No wonder that by June 2003 they already had 1,000 advance orders for delivery in September/October.

The first, most obvious difference about the car is that amazing four door bodyshell, a bit like something MG came up with in the early 1930s. It works a treat. The back seats are not only easy to get in and out of, they're also very comfortable for someone 5' 9" to sit behind someone 5' 9". You could do 1,000 miles there, no trouble.

Flying solo, there's another advantage. It's extremely easy to pop open a back door to chuck a briefcase in the rear footwell or lay your jacket on a rear seat. Not a gimmick. Not for show. A real advantage.

To combat the lack of B pillar Mazda has hugely strengthened the car's structure. And actually when you shut the rear door it brings a B pillar with it, supported on a triangulated pin and clamp system so it's as rigid as if it had been welded in place.