[Dave L]

I have a Protege5 with 195,000KM on it now and am very happy with it. It serves as my work car and gets decent gas mileage is somewhat sporty and is very very cheap to own. I have had very few issues with it and my only real complaint is about a few spots of rust that have surfaced. I am sure this is more due to my location but I am still perturbed.

I also have a Mazda3, the 3 is smoother (less stiff) and quieter and I like it too. At the time we bought the 3 we looked at the Corolla / Matrix and hated them both, nearly fell asleep on the test drive and the Civic with its weird dash board that I think will be viewed as one of those "what were they thinking" ideas a few years from now.