 I am a 50 year old driver and have owned several cars for 12+ years so I was looking for a practical & reliable car.  Boring right?  Well, the Mazda 3i is all about practical & reliable...but the cool factor is off the chart too.  I compared sevaral cars in the class for the following features: independent suspension & abs disk brakes on all 4 wheels, twin cam 4 cylinder, alloys, 4 doors, timing chain (not belt), cruise, curtain airbags, nice sounding sound system.  I got all this and lots more at a much better price than I thought possible with the 3i value package.  The 3 is assembled in japan which, in my experience, means very high quality.  This car rocks.