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"    MORE BREAKING NEWS FROM THE 2008 L.A. AUTO SHOW \u2022 2008 LA AUTO SHOW: All of Our Updates and Analysis in One Place    LOS ANGELES \u2014 Mazda&amp;#039;s compact car, the Mazda 3, has always been a favorite. It&amp;#039;s great fun to drive and was the first of the genre to offer big-car luxury items like leather seats and a full-screen navigation system. Even though the 3 is in its fifth year of production, the car still feels better than its rivals.   The new version, which will go on sale early next year, isn&amp;#039;t a complete makeover, rather a major restyling with subtle mechanical tweaks. The goal, says Mazda was to make the 3 the compact car that&amp;#039;s the &amp;quot;closest thing to a sports car.&amp;quot; Let&amp;#039;s see if it is. \u2014Larry Webster  The Specs  The nose it what you notice first. A blacked-out five-pointed smile spans nearly the width of the front end and it visually brings the 3 closer to the RX-8 sports car. Flanking this wide mouth are a pair of mini grills that look like brake ducts but are in fact housings for auxiliary lights.   That aggressive front sets the tone for the rest of the car. Subtle creases fan out from the front of the hood to the windshield and the headlights flow organically across the corners of the car. Two more gentle, bodyside creases travel rearward from the front fenders. The car appears to lean forward, like it&amp;#039;s ready to go. There&amp;#039;s more presence to the car even though dimensionally it&amp;#039;s about the same as the old model. Overall, it&amp;#039;s a handsome design that&amp;#039;s functional too. Airflow tweaking via flat underbody panels, less engine-bay airflow, and smoother glass mounts has dropped the drag coefficient to 0.29 from 0.31.   Underneath the new skin, engineers doubled the percentage by weight of high-strength steel. That lowered the structure&amp;#039;s weight by 24 pounds and increased bending rigidity by seven percent. The suspension is mostly carryover, but the steering rack is stiffer and held by a third support. The four-wheel disc brakes are unchanged.   Engine-wise, two four bangers return for duty. The 2.0-liter of the base &amp;quot;I&amp;quot; model retains its 148-hp, while the 2.3-liter engine of the &amp;quot;S&amp;quot; model received a 1.5-millimeter bore increase that bumped displacement to 2.5 liters. The bigger motor now makes 167 hp, up from 156 and torque rises to 168 pound-feet from 150. Manual transmissions, a five-speed for the 2.0-liter and a six-speed for the 2.5 are standard and a five-speed automatic is optional. Fuel-economy ratings have not been released, but Mazda expects a 10 percent improvement.   While the new car retains the side and curtain airbags, there are several new optional features. Buyers can choose adaptive front lights that swivel 15 degrees, Bluetooth connectivity, a power seat with memory, and a 10-speaker BOSE stereo.  The Drive  The interior of any car is as much a part of the driving experience as the tires. And inside, Mazda designers crafted a flowing, driver-centric cockpit. In addition to the barrel gauges, there&amp;#039;s a curved indent on the top of the dash that houses the trip computer and a small navigation screen. The soft-touch plastic feels high grade and a telescoping/tilting steering wheel make getting comfortable a cinch.   We first sampled a base model equipped with a five-speed manual gearbox. It&amp;#039;s a refined piece with an eager engine song, silky, easy-effort clutch, and a delightfully accurate shifter. The chassis absorbed bumps with a relaxed and muted firmness and the brakes were easy to modulate. The little Mazda attacked curves with surprising tenacity, hanging on long past the point where we expected it to drift. The best part was that the car felt as nimble and agile as its 2900-pound curb weight suggests it should. It&amp;#039;s a fun car.   The bigger engine version is much the same except it gets everywhere quicker. For a rather large four banger, the 2.5-liter is remarkably smooth and it sounds good too. We also liked the steering, which provides plenty of feedback without resorting to a heavy effort.   Our notes were peppered with the word &amp;quot;refinement&amp;quot; because the cabin is so quiet and all the controls have such a natural feel. The suspension is a big contributor since it minimizes large body movements and has a similar feel to many BMWs. The tires always behave liked they&amp;#039;re securely on the road. You can push this car without ever feeling like you&amp;#039;re taking a big risk.  The Bottom Line  Pricing is still undecided, but expect the base car to start at about 16 grand and a fully loaded version to run in the low 20s. While we only drove 4-door models, the practical 5-door will also be available.   For the money, the Mazda 3 offers everything its competition does, but is the most entertaining to drive and now has excellent refinement to match the driving dynamics. In fact, it feels like a mini BMW, and it is the sports car of subcompacts.   CONTINUED&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; 2010 Lexus RX 350 and 450h   RELATED STORIES \u2022 PLUS: Mazda 3 S Touring vs. Volvo C30 1.0M Road Test  \u2022 EARLIER: Facebook Challenge to Design 2018 Mazda 3 Concept  \u2022 GALLERY: 10 Fun, MPG-Friendly Cars You Can&amp;#039;t Buy In U.S.  \u2022 2008 LA AUTO SHOW: All of Our Updates and Analysis in One Place    2010 Mazda 3 2010 Mazda 3 2010 Mazda 3 2010 Mazda 3 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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