Our Mazda2 long-termer has been turning heads – and that’s not purely down to its striking green exterior.

A neighbour was so taken by the supermini that she booked a test drive with the local dealer.

She was looking for an economical car to drive about town and the Mazda2’s sporty looks had caught her eye.

And she’s not the only one.

Last month the Japanese brand announced that the 2 was its best-selling model in history. It notched up 17,011 registrations in 2009.

Delve a little deeper into those registration figures though and it transpires that only 2,446 were fleet – or 14.4%.

The trouble is that the car which the Mazda2 shares its underpinnings with – the Ford Fiesta – is the bigger fleet player.

But there are still reasons for fleet operators to consider the Mazda2.

As highlighted in our last report (January 7), our 1.3-litre petrol TS2 does well on running costs.

It’s low on emissions too (125g/km), while the two diesel models in the range each emit only 107g/km, qualifying them for £35 VED and 13% benefit-in-kind tax.

Fuel economy has been a plus too. Official figures boast 54.3mpg and our long termer has been achieving in the region of 48mpg.

So it’s ‘green’ in more ways than one.