2.0 TDCi (163ps) Titanium X Sport 5dr Hatchback

Perfect mile muncher

I drive 20k miles of motorway commute each year and needed to replace my unreliable Mazda 6 with a comfortable mile muncher

I tested the 1.6TDCi tit x and it was competent but the 163ps has more grunt over a wider rev range, it really comes to life in the 2500-3500rpm band, it’s not progressive power delivery but I’ve come from a NA Petrol! If I could afford to I would have had the 2.2 diesel or 2.0 ecoboost Petrol as this car really deserves more power.

For the job of motorway cruising it’s fantastic! It’s geared to about 2k rpm at 80mph and that’s where you appreciate the torque.

It’s motorway manners are truly great. It feels really planted and the wide, long wheel base, sport suspension and heft make it so easy to drive.

On B roads it really is quite competent, the steering is sharp and engaging, but you can still feel it’s a big car. The chassis is b***** brilliant. The only let down is the slightly long throw gear box that’s a bit sloppy, but I’ve had much much worse!

In terms of equipment it’s got far too much tbh, the heated seats are a bit pointless and I would much prefer some dials telling me useful stuff like engine temperature rather than having to search through many layers of menus.

As for the central display it’s a real missed opportunity as it gives no more functionality over the standard instrument cluster (my wife has a galaxy) and there are far far too many menu layers. The Phone functions are ok. Why not have mini instrument layouts displaying engine temp, fuel economy, miles to empty etc?? They’re all on separate menus!

Build quality and materials are top notch and the seats are very comfortable, although I’m still finding my perfect set up. I’m really pleased that only the height and tilt are electric, everything else is sensible manual adjust.

I chose the sport model as I prefer the pre face lift aesthetic which the sport model retains, plus the subtle body kit, honeycomb grill and 19 inch alloys make it clear it’s not a run of the mill model.

Overall a great car and one I will enjoy racking up 100-200k on. Further reliability reports to follow

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