SVT in for service, and the rental is...
 

a Mazda 3 5-door. :lol: My wife really liked the 3 over the Focus...I'd like to see her reaction when she comes home today.

A thorough review will come after I give it a shakedown tomorrow. For now, I must admit that it looks pretty cute sitting in the parking lot.

I rented one of those once. Loved it.

I test drove one before I eventually settled on the SVTF. Liked it then, but naturally didn't get the best drive. It should be interesting to get some extended seat time (although, at 2-3 days, we're really not talking about a whole ton of time) after owning my Focus for a while.

They gave u a manual 3?

No. :cry: It's their manumatic, which confirms my disdain for slushies and even more disdain for manumatics. It gives the totally wrong impression of what a stick should be. One of my friends recently bought a low power RX-8; she said, "well, it's an automatic, but it had that thingy where you can shift gears manually if you want to." :wutblau:

Anyway, no. It's a slushie. I don't even think rental companies buy sticks these days.

I was very impressed with the Mazda3 I drove a few months ago. Very impressed.

If I needed cargo space, it would be very high on my list.

But if I could get a similar 1, it would beat it for the RWD factor. Same with a 318ti and an E30 wagon.

:cool:

I want.

Problem with the 1-series: Price. Problem with E30 wagon: Availability, and therefore price and maintenance.

Problem with the Mazda 3 (which some people on Mazda forums call the M3, lol): Well, not any real "problems," per se. It's a solid car, no doubt. More on that tomorrow.

i like the mazda 6 wagon (5sp).

but, as 'gal pointed out, it would be nice to have a RWD wagon.

'guess the IS300 (weird thing) is out, too.

am still thinking like the "lowly subie" WRX is still a great buy --as more time goes by, seems to have few weak points as a pre-owned or new vehicle. most issues seem to be with young ones and the idiocy of youth.