mazdas have been looking pretty nice lately

 

indeed they have. i been wanting to test drive one lately.

 

How is the quality of the products Mazda has been putting out lately? I know their cars in the early/mid 90s were nothing to write home about....only slightly more reliable/better quality than their domestic counterparts.

 

The 3 is definitely nice and has lots of features. Drives pretty nicely too. I think the Si feels better to drive but it's ugly and doesn't have the nice doodads the 3 can be equipped with like xenon headlights. If you leave out the leather and navigation it's about the same price as an Si but has the xenons, tire pressure monitor, 6-disc in dash changer, and side curtain air bags which are all nonexistant on the Si. But umm...the only way to get the 3 up to $21k is to order the navigation system. I still might even pick the Si over the 3 because it does drive better in spite of the extra features the 3 has.

 

me and my dad went looking for one for my sister after her 4 door integra was rear ended then she hit the car in front of her. All the dealer said was that it was selling but we should look at a focus. They didn't even have one to look at. He said would it make you feel better if you knew ford owned mazda. I was thinking not really.

 

Sounds like an idiot salesman. The 3 is built on the Ford global C1 platform which underpins the Volvo S40 and the European-spec 2005 Focus (the US-spec is going to stay on its current platform through at least 2006 with an update for 2005). The hard parts like floorpans, suspensions and such are shared but each company uses its own body panels, interiors, motors, etc.

 

it handles rather well too

 

yeah, i would want the navigation. i've thought about the new si, but i like having 4 doors. and last time i drove the si, i didn't like it as much. maybe i'll have to go test it out again.

yeah, i definitely liked how it felt in the corners.

 

If I was going to buy a new car around $20k I would get a SRT-4 no doubt. h:

 

One difference I noticed when driving the 3 (I drove a 4-door) and the Si almost back-to-back is that you sit a lot closer to the front axle in the Mazda. It kind of gives the sensation that it's going to roll over its front tires a bit more in cornering, and this is just driving a bit aggressively around town. The Si puts you further back from the front wheels and has suspension settings that do a better job of controlling body roll. Plus the pedals, shifter and steering of the Si are the typical perfect Honda stuff while the 3 isn't quite as nice. Interior finish is a bit nicer in the Si as well. Like, the material the dash is made out of and the leather on the steering wheel are a bit nicer. The Si has better seats and better visibility. The design of the 3's interior is nice but some of the materials look a bit cheap compared to the Si. Since the price and performance are nearly identical it mainly comes down to whether you want the ugly car with less features that drives better, or if you want the nice lookin car with more features that still drives alright but not quite as nicely.