Great car for the cash
I've had my 3 for about 3 months and have logged 5000 miles. This is the most fun and precise machine I've piloted that comes in the under 20K range.The steering is tight and the body roll is slim.The suspension allows if not encourages spirited runs through the twisties and the engine delivers good power and torque.The transmission operates smoothly and the shifter has that "snick-snick" feel like a well-built Euro machine.Everything about the car in my opinion is outstanding except the carpet.The leather seats are attractive and supportive,what went wrong when Mazda was picking the carpet?
Fun to drive and WOW the power !!
This is my fourth Mazda so it goes without saying that I enjoy the reliability of them. This; however, is the most fun car I've ever driven, ok so it's tied with my RX7. The sport package (2.3) is worth the extra money and the look of this car gets really turns heads.
Great little car
I've had the car for a little over a week so I can't really rate the reliability, but this is a great little car to drive. Looks awesome and rides even better. Mazda has a winner with the 3...I'm zoomin.
Nothing like it until BMW 1-series
I was wishy washy on my new car purchase for over 8 months i couldn't decide. When i saw the 3 hatch with the xenon & leather i said: all this for under 20K? Ride is fun, but no so fun to get into too much trouble if you know what I mean. Didn't test an auto, but the manual tranny is sweeet.
My Ride
I have this car and out of all the cars in theis class that I test drove this one not only looked the best but handloed better than any of the others such as, Acura RSX, For Focus, Honda Civic, and the Voltswagon Golf.