I have the i touring edition, not the "value" edition (for some reason I couldn't find the standard touring version on the site.)

This car has the smoothest engine of anything I have had. When you get in it you can tell it's a solid car. Unfortunately, it's also very heavy for its size (over 3800 lb.), and as such I am only getting about 19-20 mpg overall (I don't do much highway driving).

I agree with the earlier reviewers who didn't like the all-black interior. The seats are firm, but not as hard as I thought at first; this would be good for long trips. It has a nice ride, but I can't help but think it would be better with standard-size tires.

The AC is the least impressive of anything I have had. It also has both the smallest trunk, and the smallest trunk opening, of any car I've had. On cars with automatic like mine has, I'd also like to see overdrive, with a button for manually engaging and disengaging it. I haven't had any problems and don't really expect to; I wonder if some of the other reviewers may have just gotten lemons.

One sample problem I did run into: three of the four tires were way over-inflated.

I'm a college student who drives 70+ miles a day. I looked for about a year before I bought my mazda and did alot of research. I've had him for about 2 months. I couldn't be happier. The manual is a blast and easy to drive. I love the handling, interior styling, and amazing fuel ecomony. I used to drive a 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee and was getting 15 mpg. I was paying $55-60 a tank. My mazda gets 25-35 mpg and is only $40-45 a tank. I will never own another car. I absolutely love it. My boyfriend likes it so much, he's getting his own. Its the best choice for under $20k, hands down. Mazda did a great job.

I'm in my upper 40's and have owned quite a few cars in my life. My 3 is by a wide margin the best I've ever had. I was looking for a car that looked good, was solidly built, had good MPG, could carry some cargo, and drove nicely. The 3 kills on all counts.

Often after you buy a car and think about how much it sets you back financially, there's a bit of buyer's remorse. It's happened to me more than once. With this 3, two and a half years after the fact, I still consider every dime that went into it well spent.

this car has been nothing but good to me. I drive 150 miles round trip to work 5 to 6 days a week and the only thing I have done to the car is change the oil every 6000 miles, get new tires at 35000 mi(original set of toyo's were the worst tires I have ever had) and some brake work. I average 33 mpg and that is driving at 80 mph on the NYS thurway. The car handles well in the snow now that i got the good year assurence triple tread tiresI will say that the AC went on me after only one year but that is the only thing that I can complain about. the style of the car is great and different from other car in its class. I would recommend this car to any one.

The CD player is very temperamental - it began skipping and rejecting CD's within the first 500 miles. At 1500 miles the left bass speaker has begun to rattle. The upholstery has begun to get fuzzy from regular use after less than 2000 miles. Otherwise, fun to drive and responsive handling. The 2.0l engine isn't quite as zippy as I'd like - go with the 2.3l

I've had my 2008 Mazda 3s Touring for about 7 months now. Great car, very sporty and powerful, handling is perfect. No real complaints until the radio worked only sporadically. A trip to the dealer fixed that, but should not be a problem in a brand new car. I also found that the fuel economy with the 2.3 liter engine is not great. I do a lot of city driving during the week with a lot of highway on the weekends. Either way, I only get about 23mpg. City/Highway advertized is 22mpg/29mpg. So disappointing on the fuel economy front. Handles perfectly in snow. I purchased in November and had a bit of a snowy winter. I had no problems with the handling. It hugs corners and purrs like a kitten! Overall, a great car; however, if you're purchasing based on fuel economy, definitely watch out!

I've had my 08.5 for 3 months now. The leather heated seats are nice, the power and steering feel are real nice too. I bought the top of the line car with the Bose stereo which has a problem between volume level 34-35. 35 sounds great if a little loud, 34 sounds like it has a muffler on it. When I took it to the dealer the Technician said I shouldn't have it so loud and shouldn't complain since I bought it at another dealership.

All in all a nice car. I've owned several Dodge's recently and NEVER had a single problem so this radio problem is disappointing but hopefully Mazda will fix it.

I take buying a car VERY seriously. I've driven for 21 years and this is only my third car. I bough an '07, 5 door GT over one (trouble free) year ago. I researched for months and test-drove the Civic (more rear leg room but e-brake handle hit my knee) and Corolla (just sad) but the 3's handling and features hooked me. Today, it's as fun to drive as ever. Yesterday I drove 130 miles of twisty mountain roads to buy a soda (that's my excuse). I fueled it up last night and calculated 34.55 MPG (this is the larger 2.3 liter engine w/manual transmission). It's done 32.5 MPG @ 80 MPH (comfortable all day long). The lowest I've gotten is 24 MPG. It's fuel-efficient and the handling is AMAZING. It sticks to the road so well, I couldn't determine if it has an over or under steering tendency so I pushed the limits. I got it to under steer in edge gravel when I mashed the brakes and got very slight over steering at 6 degrees F. ambient @ 75 MPH (tight corner). Both times the DSC light illuminated on the dash and I was back in control. Outside of those extremes it just sticks. It's very well tuned for the perfect balance. It seems this exceptional handling must have been a trade off at the expense of winter handling. In snow, the tires pack and the TCS struggles with ice. I got through a Colorado winter just fine but couldn't safely enjoy the fun factor that this car demonstrates the rest of the year. The one thing (that can't be modified) that the competition has on the Mazda3 is rear legroom. The seats are all comfortable and there's plenty of head (5 door has more), shoulder and hip room but the front seats need to be forward a few positions for adult rear seat passengers (in my opinion). My 6-month-old son's rear facing car seat requires the front seat forward too. I think this car is as close to perfect for me as any. I have no regrets.

I've bought my 2008 Mazda 3i Touring in April and so far I'm very satisfied with car. It has enough power and handles very good. I got myself black one with manual transmission (more fun =)))). To give it little bit sportier look I got rear wing spoiler and fuel door pearl satin cover. For better protection I have fog lights, mud guards and door edge guards. And all that for $18300 (included taxes and all fees). Mileage on this car is amazing. It gives me around 29-30 MPG in city. On combined, 50%city and 50% highway it gave me more than 32MPG. I love this car. And I really recommend this car to everybody who wants looks, performance, comfort and MPG all in one car.

No car can beat the drive and handling of this car. 0-60 mph in this car is amazing. I am always well ahead of other cars when the signal turns green. This car is so much fun to drive. If you want to enjoy your drive, I think this is the best bet in its segment (Civic, Corolla, Sentra)