Quote Originally Posted by Chester_Lampwick View Post
Mazda 3 Sport - well equiped, Japanese build quality, stylish
VW Golf - too much money for a poorly Mexican-built car
Subaru Impreza - all wheel drive is worth the extra $2000, but the fuel economy sucks. I'm scared of the overly complicated boxer engine. Repairs could be big bucks.
Honda Civic - styling of a pink pearl eraser, and a disconnected driving feel
+1 for all of the above. In particular, VW may be marketed as German engineering, but that POS is put together in Mexico. Not to mention that VWs are electrical problems waiting to happen. Subaru has really cheap feeling door handles and interior materials, that stuff just gets on your nerves after a while, the fuzzy roof feels like cardboard that's been sprayed with leftover paper fibres. The symmetrical AWD system supposedly costs big bucks to repair, and they're supposedly more prone to malfunction.

The Civic's styling isn't that horrible, I think, the coupe is very sexy looking, while the sedan isn't too bad. You can't fault the Civic's fuel economy though, I think only the Corolla can match it or beat it.

Still, what it all boils down to is that the Mazda 3 has THE most bang for the buck compared to every other car on your list, plus it has a 2.5L hatchback trim - and believe me, that 5th door on the hatchback quickly becomes an essential feature if you've never had one before. I won't go back to a sedan after my hatchback.