I haven't owned a 4 cylinder in a long time. I had a turbo 5 Volvo, a 6 cylinder accord, and a Mercedes c300 6 as my last three cars, then before that I owned a last model year RSX (2006, I wouldn't count the new ones) for a long time so that's the closest comparison to this. I think the RSX felt a bit more sporty (I didn't have the Type S), but as for power they're a pretty close match, and I bet the Mazda 3 would smoke it off the line with it's torque heavy engine. I think the RSX looked more sporty too, it had probably a more mature styling to it that I appreciate now even more than I did when I owned one, but I will say every time I look at my Mazda 3 I like it more and more. I've seen a thousand of these on the road and never had a strong opinion on them, but my girl in red keeps growing on me, and when I take the dog out for walks I circle the car and look it over and understand it more and more. I have a 2018 fully loaded GT, and the interior is mostly it's strongest positive. The facelifted w204 is easily the nicest looking interior I've ever been in, and the accord maybe the most comfortable, but this is incredibly close to the accord in terms of comfort and only lacking in slightly worse seats and less room. The seats are great though, but the 2012 accords were some of the best I've say in. The fake leather has a great balance of firm and give to it, and what's even better is the whole interior is wrapped in a similar nice synthetic material that's a joy to be wrapped in. I've never owned a car where my arms are supported on both sides in such a comfortable manner. I'm 6'1 so I keep my seat low but I feel like I have a good deal of room, in fact, I test drove a 2023 (gen 4) Mazda 3 that was an incredible price, about $800 off from my 2018 and even less miles but the new interior design is nowhere close to as good as what we get in the gen 3. You have almost no room to spread your legs out in the newer models and that's a deal breaker for me. The one major weakness of the 2018's interior is the tablet on top of the dash looks hideous. I think I mentioned earlier my model is fully loaded, and I mean it. But what's that mean, a premium sound system, some exterior trim pieces tacked on? Nope, here we have some genuinely cool features. Adaptive headlights that turn with the wheel, a heads up display that's projected on a piece of clear plastic that raises up when you start the engine and can show speed, road signs, blind spot info, next GPS heading, etc. We have automatic windshield wipers, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, a great Bose sound system, paddle shifters. My car has more bells and whistles than my wife's high trim 2023 Tuscon. I really love my little Mazda, and I'm hoping to take it down some back roads to see if I can enjoy the driving part as much as some others do, as I've mostly spent time on the highway or in stop and go so far. This was a purchase I was unsure of 3 days ago when I made it, but every couple waking hours something pulls me to that car, whether to drive it or just to sit in it. I know now I've made a great choice.

I bought my Mazda 3 new in 2018. I am now moving on after only putting 17,000 miles on it. At the time, I bought it not looking for a Mazda at all. However, when I saw it, and the price was right, I said what the xxxx. Well, for me, it was ok at best. The car is way too rigid for my liking. I felt every single little road imperfection there was. It also made a super irritating rattling type noice when hitting said imperfections. It was louder than I thought on the highway and the power is mediocre. When you’re up to speed, it rides smooth and steady. But getting up to speed can be challenging. Also at times there seemed to be a lag or a sudden spike in rpm’s when on secondary roads. But, if you like a small, sporty car that has excellent handling, then this car fits the bill. I’m also 6’0” and it was pretty tough getting in and out. The build quality and style are definite pro’s. But I’m done with 4 cylinder engines. On to a 6 for me!

but I loved this 2018 Mazda 3 HB so much, I kept it for myself! We needed a hatchback with good mileage & reasonable insurance rates for our college bound daughter. We drove just about every low - mid range hatchback out there: Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra GT, VW Golf etc. The Mazda 3 was not even on our radar. We just happened to see one at a car lot while test driving a Honda Fit. We really liked the look, so we took it for a spin. It was fabulous! Now to be clear, I'm NOT your typical small car guy. I've been driving a Suburban & Ford Flex Limited for the past 20 years. But this little car blew me away. Much more comfortable than any of the others we'd driven. It seemed to have more power/speed. It handled like a dream. The brakes were super. The interior was so much nicer than the others & it was loaded with option like heated seats, BLIS, power leather driver seat, moonroof, back up cam, navigation and a crisp & loud Bose sound system. The road noise was minimal. We bought it on the spot & plan to buy another one - for her -soon. Absolutely love this car. I didn't care for the radio controls (by shifter) at first - but now I don't think I'd have it any other way. Just a great little car! Averaging 32mpg combined.