Road Test - 2010 Mazda 3

I get to rent a lot of different vehicles when I travel, and I try to rent a different car every time just for the fun of it. It kind of takes care of that nagging desire to go out and buy a brand new car every six months.

I arrived in Ottawa in a blinding snowstorm and was offered a rear-wheel drive Dodge Charger (cool car, heavy on gas, last time I rented one was in the dead heat of summer), a Honda Civic (pretty nice little car) or a Mazda 3. I've never driven a Mazda before and I didn't feel like the inevitable snowstuck / sidespin driving style of the Charger, not that the old "motorboat method" of driving wouldn't have come back to me. But since I was already booked into a Holiday Inn that hadn't been renovated since the 70's, one trip in the Wayback Machine was all I needed on this visit to Ottawa.

So I chose the Mazda. Here's my review:

Great?

• Gas mileage
• Gas filler access on the right - a safety feature so you don't get clipped by passing traffic when you fill from a gascan if you run out of gas on the side of the highway
• It's a tank in the snow (I parked in unplowed spots and didn't have to worry about getting out)
• Manual shift feature on automatic transmission (great in blizzard and snow)
• It's peppy

Good?

• I like the "hello" feature on the readout when you turn on the ignition
• Well laid out dashboard, cupholders, radio controls
• Split folding rear seats
• Locking fuel filler door
• Info on dash like outside temp, date, time
• Trunk room
• Interior room

Growth? (room for improvement)

• There was no light in the trunk
• Turn signal stalk was a bit touchy and I tended to turn on high beams when reaching to signal
• Would have like remote entry and corresponding security / alarm (probably available on upgrade)

Overall - a pretty cool little car. I'd buy one if a cool little foreign car was what I was in the market for.