test drives

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Truly silent. That’s the claim from Honda with its HR-V self-charging hybrid. Apparently mild hybrids are noisy when in electric vehicle (EV) mode. But this full hybrid is quiet as a mouse. And I can vouch this is true.

These days I am most interested in economy and note that this SUV will travel over 400 miles on its 40 litre fuel tank and is capable of returning up to 70 odd mpg. The only way to test this is to take it on a long journey and so a trip to North Devon, with its good variety of roads, seems ideal. It’s more than 150 miles from our Hampshire home and takes the best part of three hours to travel to Ilfracombe. While the bulk of the journey is on unadventurous main roads, the sat nav soon introduces us to the narrowest country lanes known to man where caution is certainly required. We discover parts of Devon we never knew existed. I often hanker after a manual gearbox but find that the automatic with paddle shifts in this HR-V is a blessing over the course of this journey, not least because of worryingly steep inclines. On a couple of occasions I am left very surprised that the front wheels have not actually left the road altogether. How people live on such steep hills I will never know. But the Honda takes it all in its stride. I even manage to parallel park on a hill at Combe Martin.

“I love it when you drive on the wrong side of the road,” says my son Henry (9) as there are no oncoming cars and I straddle the centre line on driving round a slight bend – a safe manoeuvre, allowing me to see further ahead. The Honda, with its 1.5-litre petrol engine is a swift vehicle reaching 60mph from standstill in under 11 seconds and a top speed exceeding 100mph. When pushed, that engine sounds like a motorbike under pressure and we all like it.

Homeward bound we have over 170 miles range so I am confident that I won’t need to refuel. However, steep hills soon put pay to this idea making the fuel range unreliable when there is a declining amount of fuel in the tank. And once the range hits 25 miles this reading suddenly disappears from the dashboard altogether to be replaced by a fuel refill sign – very unhelpful and unnecessarily stressful for the poor driver. The only way to keep a check on the remaining miles is to faff about finding the trip computer which then does provide the correct reading. Adding £5 of fuel to the tank does not seem to alter the remaining range and in fact adding another £5 makes little difference either. The remaining miles we have left to travel exceed the range but through slow driving I am able to claw back four miles as we reach home. It seems that here is a car that is happiest when it is above half full – the driver certainly is! Anyway we make it home with a few miles range remaining, no doubt helped by crafty use of the speed limiter at 56mph.

“It’s how it’s made,” says the collection driver. “In my experience there seems to be about 20 miles extra in the tank when it says there's low range.”

EV mode can be used at speeds of up to 60mph, I discover.

My three children complain a bit about the size of the seats in the rear with Harriett (14) and Heidi (12) taking it in turns to sit in the middle. “Henry shouldn’t have taken his car seat, which he doesn’t need now anyway,” says Heidi. Apart from that though, the interior has some neat features including the touch sensitive roof lights, similar to those LED lights you find in houses these days. The black cloth seats are of a good quality – and heated in the front - and I like the feel of the heated leather steering wheel. The power folding wing mirrors are a great help when you find yourself down a narrow country lane having to tuck in to let a tractor get by….

The boot is big enough for a couple of suitcases and a week’s supply of food but it would be helpful if the flimsy rear parcel shelf could be easily removed when travelling with such cumbersome luggage.

Finished in seabed blue pearl it is eye-catching and the plush alloy wheels enhance its side profile featuring hidden rear door handles.

Facts at a glance

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By Tim Saunders

Driving from Hampshire to Cornwall really puts a car through its paces. I do this with the Mazda3 e-Skyactiv saloon.

Externally it is a smart looking saloon, noticeably lower to the ground than many, which does give it a sporty edge. This of course means that you are nearer the road, which somehow makes it feel faster. It’s a welcome return to driving a Mazda for me, reminding me a little of the Xedos 6 I once had the privilege of owning.

I am taken aback by the size of the boot, it easily swallows two suitcases, a week’s worth of food and my son’s scooter. This would be a struggle in an SUV.

Previously I have tested the Nissan Qashqai Design e-power and was astounded by its efficiency, covering well over 500 miles on a single tank, which allows me to drive to Cornwall and back as well as do a little pottering around and still have 55 miles left to play with. Sadly the same cannot be said of the Mazda3, which I had expected as I have always found Mazdas to like their juice. This model is a 2-litre petrol hybrid whereas the Nissan Qashqai was a 1.5 litre. That 500cc difference does seem to make a difference in terms of fuel economy but then it does have a slightly bigger fuel tank too at 55 litres. The Qashqai had a neat little EV switch that you could press to ensure that it was actually on ev mode. You’re never quite sure what the Mazda is up to. This model is a six speed manual, the Nissan was an automatic. I love my manuals and the Mazda is a joy to drive despite its electric handbrake but it is not as fast as I was expecting, although its performance is quite reasonable with a sub nine second 0 to 60 time. It is necessary to fill the 51 litre tank up to return home to Hampshire and there remains a 50 mile range when we arrive.

The driving experience is good. The driver’s seat is comfortable and all controls are close to hand. I do find though that my preferred position of driving with my arms outstretched is just not possible. If I want to drive like that I can’t reach the pedals! So I end up adjusting the steering wheel so that it’s lower and suffering slightly bent arms. Often my right elbow rests on the door’s armrest, which isn’t all that comfortable.

Caroline falls asleep over the long journey, which shows that her seat must be comfortable and my three not so little occupants in the rear (Harriett 14, Heidi 12 and Henry 9) seem reasonably content.

The black cloth seating is hardwearing and I must say I prefer this to the usual leather that you find these days. There’s also an electric tilt/slide sunroof, which I like.

The sat nav is annoying because it can be slow to give commands and is even wrong on one occasion when it fails to acknowledge a new road layout in Cornwall. Henry reckons it’s old technology but that’s probably unfair. Unlike many it is operated by a dial which is slower to set up than normal but if there is time it’s quite enjoyable to use. Speed limits are often wrong, for instance I am advised that I can drive at 80mph in 10mph, 20mph and 30mph zones on three or four separate occasions. While I freely admit that I am grateful to the sat nav for getting us to Cornwall with minimal fuss, it goes to show that you cannot fully trust technology and that it is imperative to read road signs and use your common sense or suffer the consequences. Even the cruise control cannot be relied upon to rigidly stick to 50mph on the M27; it fluctuates between 50mph and 54mph, which is no good when there are speed cameras, so I have to brake. I find the head up display which projects the speed on to the windscreen helpful.

The roads in Cornwall can be extremely challenging; very narrow and steep on occasions. The auto hold is certainly helpful for hill starts of which there are many. I am left open mouthed at a moronic AO van driver who is barely able to stop as we meet down a narrow country lane but fortunately my sensible speed allows me to stop quickly. Many heart in the mouth moments occur but the Mazda handles them with relative ease.  

Facts at a glance