But these are my only complaints in an interior that should otherwise make some premium brands slither away in embarrassment. After all, with a base price of $16,195 the 3 shouldn't be this well put together. It shouldn't feature high-end plastics,

With a base price of $16,195, the Mazda3's interior should make some premium brands slither away in embarrassment. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

cool backlit orange buttons and trim, one of the best integrated audio system interfaces on the planet or its motorcycle-style tri-binnacle gauge cluster. My $23,000-something tester featured better-than-average quality leather seats and trim, high-tech aluminum accents, plus a sweet looking faux-carbon-fiber dash insert. I'd say it's the BMW of economy cars, but Mazda's 3 goes further than the Bavarian by offering a dash-mounted 6-disc CD changer in anything over the base model. What's more, the tilt and telescoping steering wheel features audio/cruise buttons on its spokes.

The Mazda3 4-door turned heads constantly, especially from the young import-tuner target market. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

As for styling it's an exciting design. The 3 4-door turned heads constantly, especially from the young import-tuner target market. The rear end is especially attractive, with its RX-8 influenced taillights and trendy door cutouts jutting into the C-pillar. As for the front, well it looks good but unfortunately a lot like the recently restyled Honda Civic. Let me explain. I had a 2004 Honda parked next to it in the garage for a couple of days, which is why I noticed the incredible similarity in headlight lens and front fascia design. It's not like Mazda copied Honda, or vice-versa, as both models were being designed simultaneously, it's just uncanny that the two brands, which have run into recognition problems for adhering to a nearly identical five-sided grille in the past, are still faced with such problems. Is it another deal breaker? Not in the slightest, as the car is way too impressive for such minute discretions to affect my overall opinion.