It has just finished raining in Nairobi, the kind of short, sharp downpour that leaves the paving glistening and the air smelling of wet earth. You walk out of the office, phone in one hand, umbrella you did not need in the other, and there it is, parked under the eaves with raindrops still beading on the bonnet.

The Mazda 2 does not look like a small car. The paint is a deep midnight blue, dark enough to look black until the light finds it, and then it glows like ink with a hint of sapphire. A sweeping chrome wing flows out of the honeycomb grille and into the headlights, each one wearing a glowing ring that gives the car a calm, watchful stare. A thin chrome line runs along the lower lip like a signature, the alloys are cut in an elegant, turbine style pattern, and parking sensors sit discreetly in the bumper. At the back, round tail lights and a neat chrome trim finish a design that looks like it came out of a car costing twice as much. Even soaking wet, it looks expensive.

You slide in and the world quiets down. The cabin is simple, uncluttered and beautifully judged, the way Mazda does it. Round, metal ringed air vents sit either side of a slim chrome line stretching across the dashboard, with delicate stitching running through the soft padded trim. A floating display rises above the dash, and a rotary controller sits by the gear selector so you can scroll through navigation and music without lifting your eyes from the road. The steering wheel is thick, grippy and carries every control in easy reach. The seats are supportive, trimmed in a fine textured black fabric with light grey stitching, and the driving position feels low, centred and just right. Mazda calls this philosophy “Jinba Ittai,” horse and rider as one. Sit here for five minutes and you will understand what they mean.

Press the start button and the 1.5 litre SkyActiv-G engine hums to life. SkyActiv is Mazda’s own engineering approach, built around a high compression petrol engine that squeezes more energy out of every drop of fuel. The result is a car that is lively when you ask for it and gentle on the pump when you do not. The automatic gearbox shifts so smoothly you will stop noticing it, the steering is sharp and communicative, and the chassis feels planted through every corner. Roundabouts on Waiyaki Way, climbs up to Limuru, a Sunday cruise to Naivasha: the Mazda 2 turns ordinary roads into something worth driving for its own sake.

And here is the number that makes buyers lean in. This car has covered only 47,000 kms. For a 2020 model, that is a gentle life, and everything you can see in the photos backs it up. The seats are crisp, the dashboard is clean, and the controls still feel like new.

This is the car for the young professional who wants something with taste, the first time buyer who refuses to settle for dull, and the driver who simply enjoys driving. It is compact enough for city life, economical enough for the daily grind, and refined enough that nobody will guess how reasonable it is to run.

The rain has stopped. The sun is coming back. And somewhere on the paving, a little blue hatchback is waiting for its next driver. Book a viewing, sit behind that wheel, and see if it feels the way it looks. Fair warning, the test drive is usually where the decision gets made.