The rear fenders are aggressively defined over the wheels. There's a big notch in the rear bumper, under the hatchback's liftgate, to clear the back of your hand when you grab the latch. We thought the design was a bit exaggerated until we used it the first time and appreciated its excellent function.

The taillights chase after the twentysomething sport-compact set. The glass is clear, and inside there are three bulbs: amber turn signal, white backup, and red brake. It's a style that has gone more or less mainstream, with manufacturers trying to appeal to trends that began with aftermarket and the young.

It's especially nice that there's no chrome trim. Black around the windows, body colored everywhere else.

Mazda3 is a global car, sharing technology and components with the Volvo S40 (and the European-market Ford Focus). It's like a talent co-op. People say component sharing makes cars all the same but it's not so. Mazda developed the engines and transmissions, Volvo did the chassis and safety, and Ford of Europe did the basic suspension design. The tuning of the suspension was in Mazda's hands, worked out at its Hiroshima test track. Each manufacturer did what it does best, and the result is the best of three worlds.

A lot of work went into the rigid unibody chassis. In a head-on collision the front of the chassis is designed to redirect energy to the outside rails, and not down the center toward the front seats. The steering column is crushable and the pedals are designed to retract away from the driver's feet.

Interior Features

The Mazda3s interior is sturdy blue or red-check cloth. The optional leather seating surfaces are smooth and black and priced well compared to other cars.

The seats are great, with adequate bolstering. The 3s has adjustable lumbar support, and the hip position is elevated, reducing front legroom a touch, but providing excellent forward visibility as well as a very tidy relationship with the pedals and especially the short shift lever. There's no dead pedal, but the outside of the driver's right shin rests comfortably on the edge of the center stack.

The three-spoke steering wheel, leather-wrapped in the 3s, feels great in the hands, and the control buttons (cruise control, sound system) have a positive feel. There's an attractive faux carbon-fiber strip on the instrument panel, while the dashboard shelf is golf-ball grainy, not unlike the new Cadillacs though Mazda says it was the Porsche Boxster they were trying to copy.

Three big gauges are dead ahead for the driver, but they're down in tunnels where they effectively hide from the glare of the sun. They are electroluminescent, which means day or night the numbers are lit in reddish-orange. Even without the color, the 140-mph speedometer would be awfully busy, with hash marks for miles and a smaller kilometer measure with more hash marks inside the mph numbers. The dash panel looks better at night than during the day, with the reddish-orange lighting having its chance to be seen. There are glowing rings around most of the dials including the cigarette lighter, in kind of a dull maroon.

The glovebox is not only huge (9 quarts), but the door is dampened and the compartment has its own light. There's a deep but not long console under the driver's right elbow, and between the seats are two built-in cupholders with a neatly hinged cover in black plastic. The cupholders have a canal between them so other things such as a cellphone can be stored and easily reached there. The window switch for the driver is illuminated at night, a very useful feature.

The back seats in the five-door hatchback are surprisingly roomy and supportive, even when relatively tall people are sitting in front. There's acres of rear headroom and decent legroom with room for big feet to slide under the front seats. The rear door opening is a bit narrow, though.

Cargo space in the five-door with the seats folded flat in is 31.2 cubic feet. We came out of an Ikea store with an unassembled table in a flat box measuring 48 inches long and 30 inches wide, and it slid neatly into the back. Flipping the seats down is easy. We reached in from behind, pressed down on one small square button on each side, and an easy shove forward dropped each seat flat. A separate compartment is hidden under the floor. Fold the seats back up into their passenger-friendly position, and there's still 17.1 cubic feet of cargo room, a fair amount for a compact car. The Mazda3 can't carry as much cargo as a Toyota Matrix, but it's a lot more fun to drive.

The sedan has a more average-size 11.4 cubic-foot trunk, but its rear seats still fold 60/40 for carrying long objects.

Visibility is limited in the rearview mirror of the five-door by the two rear headrests and the center brake light, which intrude a little into window space.