After winning last year's Hatchback category for our COTY selection, the Mazda 3 Hatchback is back as this year's winner. Yes. It is that impressive if you ask us.

Despite it being more than a year since the launch of the car, its newer rivals, the Seat Leon and Opel Astra is no match for the Mazda 3 Hatchback.

This is because the car is genuinely hard to fault. By now, followers of our website should know that from its sleek exterior styling and premium cabin touches to its handling and driving refinement, the new Mazda hatch impresses on all fronts.

Stand out features include its new 8.8-inch infotainment system that is so much better than its rivals in terms of graphic design and user-friendliness.

Also present in the Mazda and not in most of its other competitors is its full suite of safety features including a 360-degree reverse camera, lane departure warning system, front cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring system, and cruising and traffic assist. We must say that as more and more cars start to have such driver assists, it also becomes apparent that not Mazda's system is one of the more robust ones.

Being a mild hybrid, the 3 Hatchback is also special in terms of powertrain. Despite having only 118bhp and 153Nm of torque, the car feels adequately brisk when navigating through traffic with the gearbox willing to kickdown as when needed.

With the hybrid system, we must point out that its engine start/stop is much smoother and less intrusive than others, bringing refinement levels up. Having thicker panels and glass windows also help keep NVH levels low.

There's really little to dislike about the Mazda3 Hatchback that we tested. It's smooth, quiet, refined and jam-packed with lots of features. How can we give the win to another car?