2005 Mazda3 s 5-Door

The logbook is swelling with cheerful comments about the long-term tester that continues to impress: "Probably the best small car on the market" and "What a great car for under $20,000." Along with "a guy approached me over the weekend asking how I liked the Mazda3. I raved about it, I couldn't help it--it's so likable." And those are just the first three entries in the log. Unfortunately, one of the million new potholes in Los Angeles (thanks to more than our share of recent rainfall) claimed the right-front tire. We were able to find a replacement for the sizeable sum of $172.98.

Since the 3 was near its 5000-mile-service mark, the techs also rotated the tires. We're happy to report that Davis Bros., on La Cienega Boulevard near our offices, knows to put the new tires on the rear--something we'd covered, and they'd read about, in our tire-testing article (May 2004). When we got to the dealer, all that was left was the oil/filter/visual inspection portion of the service at just $26.50. No problems to report. The Mazda3 is now heading cross-country to Florida for summer vacation.