Long-term report: Does our Mazda 3 Skyactiv-X prove to be pleasantly efficient?
Ryan Hirons heads up to Hull with VX69 HKH to put our Mazda 3 through its paces
When Mazda announced its Skyactiv-X technology a couple of years back, it came with a big promise — diesel efficiency and low-end performance on cleaner petrol fuel. It was a tantalising thought, but surely not something that would translate into the real world as well as marketing, right?
With the arrival of our long-term Mazda 3, that was something I was keen to try out myself. What better time to test out efficiency than Christmas, right?
My trip home to Hull from our Gosport office is approximately 270 miles and, though far from exciting, often proves a strong test of a car’s long-distance efficiency, compromising almost entirely of motorway driving.
For our 3, Mazda claims it’s possible to hit 48mpg on the WLTP Combined cycle. Driving up North, I managed to achieve a pretty decent 49mpg over the course of the trip with a fully loaded boot — a plus point for the tech immediately.
