I've had my Mazda 3 for 7+ years now and it's still going strong. With 160,000+ miles, the only mechanical work I've had to do is just routine maintenance. The car has been very reliable for my daily commute and long road trips. The reason I love this car is the same reason I initially bought it. It just has more get up and go than your run of the mill compact car. The specs on the engine may not reflect this, but it can easily out accelerate any other car in its class. The interior is spacious enough as to not feel cramped even with 4 passengers. The build quality of the interior is perhaps my only complaint: the plastic panels on the driver's side door have sustained some damage just from everyday use. Between the trunk and the back seat, there's plenty of room for storage. However, the doors are not very wide, so don't count on squeezing a large box or anything else through (TV, etc). Also was able to easily modify the existing stereo to add an auxiliary input line, which is a big plus for listening to music via my smartphone. All in all, a great little car that gets great gas mileage while not feeling sluggish. Would certainly recommend to anyone else.

After doing a lot of research, I purchased my first Mazda3 because it is a good car. It was well-ranked by consumer reports, and I did my research. It was a fairly new model when I bought it. The payment plan was not bad. I only had one problem with the car - I had to pay one hundred dollars for a diagnosis.