Mazda3 pummels Civic, Elantra, Sentra, and Cruze in Car&Driver comparison

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San Diego, CA
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2014 Mazda3 S GT auto, 2008 MX5 6-speed
Source: Car & Driver magazine's July 2016 issue

Despite having a 3 year-old design, the Mazda3 I Grand Touring defeated 4 newly-designed sedans in grueling test of handling, sped, braking, and ride comparison. CD wrote,
There's no compact car that corners as naturally and as fluidly as the Mazda 3; it is improbably neutral for a nose-heavy front-drive car. Where competitors reach their limits and wash out into understeer, the Mazda's front and rear ends reach peak grip simultaneously. The 3's tail changes directions as willingly as its nose and pays dividends in the slalom (and on back roads) where, despite the lowest-in-test lateral grip, the 3 snakes through the bends with the highest speeds. Predictability begets confidence, which means you'll ask the Mazda to do things that you wouldn't ask of any other small car.

Final results:
1 Mazda3
2 Honda Civic
3 Chevy Cruze
4 Hyundai Elantra Limited
5 Nissan Sentra SL

Congrats to not only the 3, but to the CX3, CX5, and Mazda6 for trouncing all the competition in recent comparison tests. It goes to show that if you buy based on popularity only, you are missing out!
 
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Agreed. Sadly, the
"Follow the crowd."
"If it's not broken, why fix it?"
"I was the best in the 90s, so stick with it!"
are very prevalent when it comes to choosing a car, cell phone, computer, etc.
 
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