I purchased this car as I have an MX5 and really wanted something that would handle as wonderfully as it does. It seemed logical to go for the Mazda 3.
Things to love:
Keyless entry and push start! What a timesaver, it's great
The steering is wonderful and responsive, smallish turning circle, a nice firmish ride but absorbs the road bumps, not sloppy round corners, holds the road great, comfortable inside
bose stereo with 6 cd autochanger, bluetooth handsfree, cruise control, auto lights and wipers, anti-glare rear view mirror, heated front windscreen and wing mirrors (retractable)
drives well in the snow, the car defrosts very very quickly

things I don't love:
It feels like it could be doing with a 6th gear, it is a bit (only slightly) sluggish trying to get up to 70, if you are in 4th gear - seems you need to drop a gear to maintain the speed/power. Once at 70 in 5th you can get a wee bitty more out of it.
There is not overly much leg room in the back, the boot is not that large - can fit in my baby's pushchair and a few bags, but not much room for i.e a food shopping at the same time
I have driven around 7k miles so far and I can't get more than 34.5 MPG. I don't rely on the onboard computer to tell me this - I frequently brim the tank, drive 300ish miles then brim the tank to find out how much fuel I have used. I don't drive that hard, and combined between probably 60/40 town to motorway - I don't think 34.5 MPG is good for a 1.6 engine.

I hear the diesel owners don't get much better. This is a real disappointment to me, it's a wonderful car despite these little niggles. I honestly can't find another car with all this spec for the money in a diesel. I would recommend this car if you can afford the petrol. Sounds silly but previous diesels have wasted me for going back to a petrol :(

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2.0 Sport 5dr Hatchback

reviewed by misar on 10 June 2010