Mazda 3 2.0 Sport

My last car was a 2 litre Renault Megane Dynamique, which has a very similar spec at a similar price.

I love this concept, a medium size car, with high spec. For example, the Mazda 3 Sport has:

Leather seats*

Cruise control*

SatNav*

keyless entry + push button start

auto on/off headlamps and wipers

AirCon (dual zone on the Mazda)

Rear parking sensor*

Electric Adjusting front seats*

Heated front seats*

6 forward gears

Traction Control/ABS

* = On the Mazda but not on the Renault

Compared to the Renault Megane, it is QUICK. Away from the lights, it is much faster from 0 to 20 in 1st. It is also very comfortable, with dual zone A/C and heated seats. There is a lot of adjustment to the seat and seating wheel position, and a memory to store 4 seat positions if several people drive the car.

The negatives: Service intervals are shorter than on the Megane (12,000 miles not 18,000), and the keyless entry seemed better thought through on the Megane (It beeps for a few seconds if you try to lock the car with a key inside, even if you've got another key outside the car. Very annoying when the wife has left her handbag in the car). The built in SatNav doesn't have "traffic" option like my old TomTom, but having it wired in is great compared to having to stick it to the window.

Over all, I am very happy with the car.

Superb and comfortable drive. Cruise control is easy to operate. Air con is always welcome. It is a lazy drivers car. Switch to cruise control, set the air con, look at your rear view mirror to see whos got the seat belts on. Electric windows back and front. Lights and wipers can be set to automatic. Change the times of your wipers. Easy to drive for the tall person. Remote alarm and central locking. With a nice size boot for all that shopping at the weekends. This car is a dream. Get one if you can.