 I purchased my Mazda3 in Dec 2009, but ended up selling it just 6 months later. While the Mazda3 was absolutely a blast to drive, I never did fall in love with the goofy "smile" on the front end. The seats were tight and uncomfortable for any trip more than 20 minutes, and the interior styling was just too much black. But the kicker was the terrible fuel economy: I averaged just 25 mpg after putting 12,000 miles on the car. I sold the Mazda and got a Civic. Yeah, the Mazda was far more powerful, but the Civic gets 37 mpg on average, is more comfortable and is overall a wiser choice. Shame on Mazda for poor gas mileage!