 I had owned one of the first 2006 redesigned Honda Civic Coupes - a car I instantly fell in love with. But I soon fell out of love with my Civic EX and decided to trade the car in. I have to say I didn't have the same passion when I first got my Mazda 3 but nearly a year later I am sold on Mazda. The Mazda has great handling and suspension. And for the price the build quality is an incredible value - Mazda has to be losing money on this. The power is definitely better than the Honda or Toyota. I do think the design is kind of boring. Oh the 2.0 should come standard with more than 4 gears