2008 Mazda Mazda3 Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: Owner Pros and Cons by sthomasdakota

Handling

Excellent steering & responsive handling in everyday driving situations

Interior styling

A little too gee-whiz (would prefer blue/green to orange instrument illumination), but otherwise a notch or two above the norm for this type of small car.

Materials & workmanship

Interior materials (incl. leather upholstery) significantly better than average for this market segment.

Fuel economy

I can get 27 mpmg in my daily city & highway commute with 5-spd manual and 2.3 engine.

Exterior styling

"Interesting" -- not unmistakably beautiful but distinctive. Still appealing after more than a year of everyday use.

Quietness

Inherent in a small 4-cyl car -- high rpm and rel. low weight mean road/wind noise & vibration are always evident at highway speed.

Cargo capacity

Again, inherent in this market segment -- limited size & 4-cyl engine means low capacity in this respect.

Ride smoothness

Any car this size with good handling will have compromises on ride quality. If anything, this car is better than average, but there are necessary limits for any car of this type.

Rear seat room & comfort

0

Powertrain performance

Any normally aspirated 4-cyl will have limited torque and hp. This car is no exception. Probably better than average. Good 5-spd manual transaxle.