Very nice! Congrats, and Zoom Zoom Zoom!
It really drives great. I've always liked Mazda's and the way they drive, and this one is no exception. Compared to the 2012 Honda Civic, it's got a much nicer interior, is a lot quieter, and drives a lot nicer. When we were driving the 2012 Civic, my wife commented that it felt almost identical to our old 2008 Civic. The Mazda was an obvious upgrade, and was part of what swayed her to the manual.
We also brought my daughter along (like me, she loved the car-buying process, btw), and even though she's only eight, my wife counted her vote as well, which was for the Mazda. I had already made up MY mind, but I was willing to take all the help in convincing Mrs GBA.
Couple of weird things about the car: It has a smart key with push button start, but no way to unlock the doors without taking the key out of your pocket and pressing the unlock button on the fob. Weird.
The infotainment will take some getting used to. It's a touch-screen, but can't be used as a touchscreen while the car is in motion. You're forced to use the little BMW i-drive like knob behind the shifter, which I actually find to be MORE distracting. The radio controls are kinda buried, too. YOu need to flip through some menus just to change from one station preset to another. I haven't discovered if you can achieve this by simple steering wheel controls yet.
The instrument cluster is cool. It's got a physical speedometer front and center, with two monochromatic LCD screens flanking it. The one on the left shows a little tachometer, along with a shift indicator tuned for fuel economy. The one on the right is a multi-information display that shows fuel economy and trip data. I haven't found an engine temp gauge yet, which I find to be an odd omission. Maybe it's buried in a menu somewhere.
No matter, though. Of all the sensible compact cars, THIS one is the driver's car.
