There are a few things going on with insured values. The first is that insurance companies will – generally – do everything they can to pay out as little as possible against a claim. That means, they will usually take the lower number from a range of values, and that appears to be exactly what has happened here. If you take a look at the classifieds right now, you’ll see 2015 Mazda 3 Maxxes priced anywhere from $12,000 to the low-20s. Clearly, your insurance company has adopted the lower of those values as the one that represents market value for your car. Don’t forget, either, that the asking price in the advert is not always the actual price that will be paid.

There can be other influences, too. What condition was your car in before the crash that wrote it off? If it had existing damage or wear, that could have led your insurer to adjust downwards the pay-out price it was offering. And what about kilometres travelled? Generally speaking, every extra thousand kilometres over the average for that make and model reduces its value in the eyes of insurance companies.

As for a replacement vehicle, I’d be looking at some of the South Korean (Hyundai and Kia) offerings. These brands now have a jump on some of the opposition when it comes to technology and standard safety equipment. They also represent solid engineering and reliability, not to mention terrific factory warranties.

Ford changed from the LW model to the LZ in 2015. The LW had a dual-clutch automatic, which was very problematic and should be avoided; the later LZ had a regular automatic transmission and has none of the problems that beset the LW. In short the LZ is worth buying, and can be compared to the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla for reliability.

They are of a similar age, so there shouldn’t be much between them in terms of accumulated mileage. The SP25 is better equipped and sportier model, but I would still go for the Maxx being newer and a little cheaper.