Ian Botham, or Stuart Metcalfe? You will know one of them but the two are forever linked by a cricketing bond – they were both brilliant all-rounders.

The only reason you haven’t hear of Metcalfe is that he once played for my team at Sale Boys’ Grammar School in Manchester. And although he probably works in IT now, Metcalfe once took all ten wickets in a match and scored 50 runs.

The Mazda is a great all-rounder too. It’s not especially brilliant at anything but it does everything you ask of it very well. It looks good, drives well and is very comfortable.

The trouble with all-rounders is that it’s hard to offer up a unique selling point. The VW Golf is the best all-rounder I can think off – the Botham of the hatchback world. The Mazda3 is better than a Metcalfe, probably more likely to be found surfing the edge of international cricket than playing in the first team…

The more I drive the Mazda3 the more I like it. It’s a ‘sleeper hit’ – a car that looks ordinary but slowly grows on you, with every bend it encourages you to enjoy it more.

As well as undercutting most rivals on price, the 3 is one of the best to drive. It sits well on the road and encourages the driver to press on. It’s comfortable, roomy and eager to please.

And I’m enjoying the styling more too. I may have been a little harsh with the ‘clown’s shoe’ remark – it looks purposeful whichever way you look at it.

The 3 is also packed with equipment. Yes, our test car is top spec but the list of kit includes ‘bendy’ headlights that self dip, heated leather seats, a stonking stereo and keyless ignition. Not sure I like all the beeping when you walk away from the car but hey-ho…

I can only imagine the carnage at St Andrews this morning following last night’s Scottish Car of the Year Awards (ahem, that’s SCOTY for short). The illustrious gentlemen of the press who live north of the border are famous in motoring circles for not leaving so much as a drop in their glasses.

At least they could rub the sleep out of their eyes knowing they had done a good job by picking the Mazda3 as the car of the year in the Family Car category. It beat the Citroen Cactus (reviewed elsewhere on Car Couture) and the Peugeot 308.

A good choice and a brave one, considering what’s on offer from Ford and Vauxhall. Personally, I’d have called it a tie with the Cactus – a car that dares to be different.

The Mazda’s brilliant Skyactiv engines were highly commended but I would disagree with judges who said the 3’s interior was ‘Mazda’s best yet’. For me, the plain dashboard does nothing to excite the senses and is the one weak point of the car….

Here’s a fact – the Mazda3 costs considerably less than a VW Golf. It’s arguable much prettier, holds its value well and keeping it on the road won’t cost a packet either.

This week’s test car is a top spec Sport Nav model costing in excess of £21,000 but opt for one of the cheaper versions and the 3 starts to look like a very good deal indeed.

I also happen to like the styling of the ‘big-mouth’ Mazda’s front-end. Unlike the ‘sad-faced’ MINI it’s a car that seems to welcome you to the driveway every morning. Sweet.

True, inside the 3 is less than dazzling, with a plain uncluttered dashboard that does little to set the pulses racing. However, on Day One of Mazda ownership, I’m more enthused than I thought I might have been…