Now have had the car roughly 1.5 years and it gets better. For example:
* The tires never lose air and I do mean never. Came from the factory with 27 psi and have kept that pressure since. Some set of tires!
* Got 31 mpg in the city last fill up and I just rolled 9,000 miles on the odometer. Costs me $30 to fill it up once a month whether or not it needs it.
* Still tight as a tick. No squeaks or rattles.
* Added a permanent air filter and anti sway bar. Filter added a little pep and the bar keeps the rear end from forgetting where it belongs and keeps the front end from washing out in turns.
* Still get compliments!

On the downside:

* Dashboard still washes out in direct sunlight. Contacted Mazda but they won't do anything until a sufficient number of complaints exist to warrant action. Dealer told me it would cost around $600 to replace the orange display with the standard white one. What a bummer.

On a separate note, it appears the price has gone up a tick on these cars. I got mine for $17,000 after rebate and you can't touch the base car for this now (mine has the sunroof, power pack, dual tranny, 6 CD changer, etc).

Got my Mazda 3 2.3 S two months ago when Mazda first released the 07 series. The only difference between 06 and 07 are slight variations, none of which I've really been able to find. They had no 07 versions on the lot with the 2.0 so I settled on the 2.3 because it had some options I wanted.

Dealer told me to expect 25 in the city and 30 on the highway. No matter what I do or how much I run the air, it still gets close to 30 in the city. Haven't had it on the highway yet so it should average 35 there.

Love the twin stick because I can shift over to manual from automatic and use the torque band to its fullest. Mind you, the auto is no slouch in this category but you do have to watch out for torque steer. Had an incident where I punched the gas a little to hard on a left turn and nearly lost the rear end.

Using the a/c improperly will have you hanging meat in the front seat. It will get you cold quickly. Just tinted the windows so now it cools even quicker.

Overall, an excellent vehicle with surprising gas mileage. Of course, just my luck I buy it when gas is $3 a gallon and now it's back down to almost $2 in my area. Good thing I didn't get that VW diesel, because that fuel is still around $2.75 a gallon.

The Mazda 3 2.3 S is an awesome car. It's is my first car and I love it. I had test drove a lot of cars before it but as soon as I got into this one and I test drove this one I loved t and I bought it. We got more than our moneys worth from this car

After I test drove this Mazda3 sedan, I was comparing every other test drive to it; this is what eventually convinced me to buy it. The shape of the body is sleek and impressive unlike it's Protege forrunners. The acceleration and shifting are smooth whether in auto or manual mode. The standard 16 inch alloys, that come with the 2.3 S version, really hug the road well. It corners decisively and negotiates potholes with comfort to the passengers. I like the wide wheel base, but also the slightly higher ground clearance compared to it's competetors. The interior components are top of the line, as you can verify with JD Power and Associates. Stereo controls and cruise control on the steering wheel are not add-ons as with other manufacturers. The glove box is the conversation piece, believe it or not, because it's the depth of my entire forearm (about 17 inches)! The color of the gauges is red, but with a blue background when the headlights are on. The 3s comes with fog lamps. The cloth seats are firm and sporty feeling (winning blue comes with blue-black seats). There is also adjustable lumbar support for your lower back. There is plenty of room in back for kids, but it would be pretty cramped with 3 adults back there. I averaged 29 miles per gallon on my first tank of gas, which is regular unleaded. The warranty could be a little more inclusive like BMW & Mitsubishi's free maintenance.
Overall, I am very pleased with this car.