Singapore – Midweek duties could always be a lot worse for us at TopGear Singapore. After all, this assignment would involves a 100km food trail around Singapore, with shots of caffeine in-between to alleviate the food-induced coma.

However, there's a more serious side to our food run, since the journey is intended to simulate the sort of traffic experienced by a commuter on any given day.

That's right, peak hour traffic, circling for parking, highway runs and city driving were all covered in the course of the half-day affair.

On paper, the new Mazda3 looks like it could have its work cut out, since it carries 100kg more than its predecessor (1339kg vs 1229kg), and this is even before the seven of us split up into the two cars.

This 'excess' weight is little surprise, since the new Mazda3 is packaged with a bunch of niceties in 'Deluxe', like the sunroof and electric driver seat.

Thankfully, the latest model has a number of technological advantages over its second-gen predecessor to make it easy on the gas. For starters, it has a few more forward gears (6spd automatic compared to the earlier car's 4spd auto), an 'i-stop' start-stop function to save fuel on idle, as well as an 'i-Eloop' regenerative braking system that uses capacitors as an electrical storage device to further improve fuel economy.

Mandai Road Shell Station: Mileage Zeroed

We made our way from the Eurokars HQ in Sungei Kadut to the Mandai Road Shell station to top-up the two cars, as well as to zero the trip computers. It's interesting to note that the new Mazda3 has a slightly smaller fuel tank than its predecessor (51l vs 55l).

The new variant's paper claims do boast a superior fuel economy over its predecessor, but that's still pretty confident engineering for a family sedan that is designed for daily-drive use.

Changi Village Hawker Centre
New Mazda3: 32.4km. 5.5l/100km
Old Mazda3: 32.7km. 6.9l/100km
With full tanks and empty tummies, we wasted no time in clocking mileage as we headed to the Far East for some local delights.

Highway consumption went down to a diesel-like 5.4l/100km during our 20-minute highway cruise via the  SLE and TPE, only to be held up by a lane closure 500 metres away from the carpark. It's certainly looking promising for the new kid on the block.

132 Fishball Noodles at 59 Marine Crescent
New: 52.2km, 5.7l/100km
Old: 53.0km, 7.3l/100km
We make a quick transition from Changi Village to Marine Parade, as we prepped our bellies for Teochew fishball noodles.

There was clear traffic from the Changi Coastal Road to the ECP, with nothing drastic for both cars to tackle in terms of traffic conditions. The only hiccup was the ridiculous 45-minute waiting time for the noodles' at 11am.

The Coffee Daily at Brighton Crescent
New: 63.7km, 6.3l/100km
Old: 64.8km, 8.5l/100km
It was a true test of efficiency as far as our coffee interlude was concerned, with more than 50 per cent of the journey spent driving through jam-packed junctions, a situation that was exacerbated by the sporadic road works.

With our bellies filled with  local food, we took a breather with this liquid diet, but it took a turn for the 'worst' when dessert cravings got the better of us...

Bak Kut Teh at Sin Ming
New: 71.4km, 6.7l/100km
Old: 72.8km, 9.2l/100km
More congestion this time round due to more road works and lunch hour traffic, which took us a good half an hour to cover just 10km. We noticed from the on-board trip computer that the old Mazda3's fuel consumption deteriorates at idle, but the new model has a nifty start-stop function to deal with peak-hour um, start-stop traffic.

Luminox HQ pitstop at Genting Lane
New: 79.2km, 7l/100km
Old: 80.7km, 9.7l/100km
We dropped off a review watch at the Luminox HQ, a stone's throw away from Sin Ming, but traffic was still not in our favour. Both cars are now sweltering in the afternoon heat in 2pm traffic. With 80 per cent of the trip covered, it's apparent that the new Mazda3 is maintaining a decently frugal rate of petrol consumption, even under the harsh conditions of heat and humidity.

'Four Seasons Ching Teng' at Toa Payoh Lorong 8
New: 83.8km, 7.3l/100km
Old: 85.4km, 10l/100km
Our quest for a cool respite from the heat see us take a short 4km drive to Toa Payoh for some cold Ching Teng. I hop into the older model and discover that the gearing is noticeably shorter compared to the new Mazda3. We make our way back to our Shell station starting point to tally-up the figures'

Last top-up at Mandai Road
New: 7.27l ($16.43), 7.13l/100km
(based on travelled distance of 102.0km)
Old: 10.19l ($23.03), 9.71l/100km
(based on travelled distance of 104.9km)
Final results according to trip computer yielded 7.1l/100km for the new Mazda3 over 102.0km, while the predecessor gathered 9.7l/100km over the course of 104.9km. That works out to be savings of $6.60 a day over an estimated 100km covered a day. Based on a five-day week, we are looking at savings of $132 a month ' more than sufficient spare cash to cure your hunger pangs.

PHOTOS Aaron Hia