I've had a Mazda 3 GT (all except sport pack and leather) for just over a year now. Before that we had a '96 protege and then a 2000 protege. While the protege were fun little cars to drive the Mazda 3 blows them completely out of the water. Fun to drive, responsive etc. etc. etc. Be warned though you do feel the road with these cars but I personally like that.
They've changed the engine options since they first came out from what I understand. The first few months of production you could get the same engine that is in the Mazda 6 (which is the engine we have). It is very nearly over-powered but damn does the car go! They've brought the horsepower down a bit since the initial production runs (according to our salesman).
As has been mentioned by some already the European Focus base is completely different from the north american one. And the European Focus is supposed to be one of the better cars around.
From the '96 protege (4 years), 2000 protege (5 years) and this car we have had no major problems with any of the cars (other than a few sensor calibrations the first month or so....sometimes the dealership forgets to set them for the local environment). Nor have we had any problems with Mazda service in three different North American cities. I believe the '96 and 2000 proteges have some of the best service histories for that class of car. We also had no problem finding several options for winter tires in this maritime climate.
The Mazda 3 is not really an entry level car anymore. They've brought it a step above the other cars commonly in that category...the price and I think quality reflects that.
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