Great car with lots of power! I've had the car for a week now, and I enjoy driving to and from work much more than I did before. The controls are intuitive, the seats are comfortable, it looks great, and drives great. The only feature that is missing is a door auto-lock when the car is running. I don't know if the auto transmission 3's have this or not, but my 2000 Celica GT-S had it, and it also had a 6-speed manual transmission. It's not a problem, but just seems like an odd thing to be missing on an otherwise fully loaded vehicle. Love the Xenon headlights too!

Just purchased a 2008.5 Mazdaspeed 3 GT, and it's been great so far. I love the crisp handling, brisk acceleration, and secure braking. What makes all of this feel even better is the amazing value - if you buy cars for their fun-to-drive quotient, it's hard to beat the MS3 for the price. Where can you find a 4-door car that accelerates to 60 in less than 6 seconds and handles like it's on rails, all while riding on 18" wheels and entertaining you with a Bose stereo -- all for around $24K? In addition, it's got a unique look (aggressive without being "boy-racerish") and you don't see a bunch of them on the road, which I like. Another reviewer said the shifter was vague and the ride was harsh, but I haven't found that to be the case at all.

Recently test drove GT version and really liked it. It comes with lots of good equipment standard. It is fast with lots of torque and accelerates amaizingly. Braking is also awesome supported by big break rotors for powerful braking.
Clutch and bearbox was ok but sometimes shifting was not precise and had a hard time putting it into fifth. Handling was also very good but car felt little rough on the bumps and uneven road. Road noise on the other hand was too high and felt quite uncomfortrable. Interior quality was ok too but sunvisors were really cheap made from plastic and roof material was not up to standard. Seats and steering wheel were nice. Overall car is worth every penny if you like speed and good handling plus lots of goodies in the car standard. I would advise this car to someone who needs 4 door and big back space but still wants to go fast.