2010 Mazda 3 Sport - Anyone have one?

[scz4]

Evening all,

Went looking for a new Mazda 3 for the misus today. Nice car and ticks all the boxes for her, loads of gadgets. We can't decide on which engine is best.

So 1.6 petrol is only 103bhp or so, felt pokey enough round town, no slower than the car she has now. Says it does 44mpg.
2.0 petrol has much more power and 6 speed. Says it does 41mpg.
2.2 TD (same engine in my mondeo) with 150bhp and 51mpg.

So, 2.0 petrol would be great, but I suspect the difference of 3mpg is due to the 6 speed which only makes a difference on the motorway and boosts the average fuel consumption figure up. So I suspect in daily use, commuting, in and out of town etc it's most likely to be 8mpg worse or so. Anyone know?

2.2 diesel is probably the quickest and best for fuel consumption, but more expensive to buy. On the plus side savings in fuel on longer journeys and it will be worth more in 36 months time.

I favour the diesel, she prefers the petrol. So I guess my question is, is the real life mpg between the 1.6 and 2.0 really only 3mpg, it's only about £1200 more.

G