Yea it's kind of weird, I drove a rental Mazda3 Skyactiv and it had 6 gears, a great transmission, great power for what it was, but people still buy Corollas even though up until the latest refresh they were using dinosaur everything. Do people just go "oh, I need a car, guess I'll get a Corolla!"? That's so weird, I would look into the market if I were to spend 15k on something.

I don't like the new Kodo design as much as the Nagare. But it's mostly small parts that need tweaking, like that rear spoiler and the front plate.

The 198lb weight loss is for the Skyactiv-Diesel, which used to weigh 3200lbs. I don't know what that means for the 2.0L Skyactiv-G but at least they're getting the new headers so should be some gain there.

I love 5 door hatches and this looks really nice. If I needed a more practical car at a reasonable price, this would be at the top of the list.

http://images.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/m...e/mz3_img7.jpg

I think it looks pretty good. It's a design that kinda grows on you even if don't like it.

Would love to see a speed3 :)

Looks great, 185hp SkyActiv 2.5 sounds great, and should be lighter, the new 6 is 31xx lb. We looked at 2.0 and 2.5 2013 models and I was so underwhelmed we refurbished the wife's '05 2.3 instead. But we might have to get one of these if it drives as good as it looks...

I'd love the 2014 3 if it comes with the low-comp diesel. I want 200+ ft/lbs of torque, long gears and 45+mpg on the freeway.

One nice thing about these Skyactive-G (gasoline) engines is that they can run 87 octane! F' yeah.

Honestly, with the CX-5, 6 and now the new 3... I'm pretty sure the next new car in the house is going to be a Mazda. If the next Miata is Skyactiv regarding weight, has DI, runs on 87 octane and takes styling from the new 6 and 3 then who knows, I might have to trade in the FRS for a Miata.

Oh Gawd, I can't believe I just said that!

No more stupid happy face...its about time.

I had a Mazda 3 as a rental years ago, and for being a compact economy car it was fun.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...52868825_n.jpg

Especially one with the AutoExe front end.

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims...1372443837.jpg
MS3 possible rendering.

Not a fan of the car... but I do like the upgraded interior :)

I just hope it doesn't grow in size too much.....

It's getting smaller...