I haven't driven the new Mazda 3 but the old Mazda 3 had excellent steering feedback. All other economy cars have horrible feedback.
I test drove the current gen twice (in winter 2010 and winter 2011) and at first I thought it was nice, and the steering is sharp, but you don't get that much feedback, I feel more connected to the road with the Honda fit, for example, even if we still don't get so much feedback.
Anyway, I'd wait for the Yaris 3. Also, nobody talked about the new Versa :trollface:
honestly , ur looking for sub 30k . why does it have to be new ? just get a 2-3 year old cooper s and call it a day . after i drove 1, i bought 1. nothing i have ever driven drives like it , it is not a fast car by any standard but its a quick city car and its handles like its on rails , only down side i can see other people may not like is that it is a rought ride but other than that there is simply nothing sub 30k thats a better buy in the small car catagory
I test drove a first gen cooper S once and it was a deception, my expectations were too high maybe... I guess that the mk2 has significant improvements.
However, it has by far best driving position and seats (lots of front legroom, height adjustment, good shape).
"fun to drive/connected to the road"
You'll never find anything that fits that comment more than a real Mini (the classic).
there's one for every budget, parts are easy to find, the mini community is great and helpful (no trolls!), they're cheap to race, easy to repare, and they actually gain value over time if well maintained.
I will consider one some day if it's comfortable for tall people (apparently it's okay), this or a Honda City Turbo II. There are so many nice little cars from Japan and Europe.
Au moins, va essayer la TC.... tu en tireras tes propres conclusions plutot que de te baser sur une vague idée pré-concue! lol Ah; si au moins elle serait propulsion... on en verrait beaucoup plus sur les routes.
Pour moi les turn off c'est le moteur de Camry et la finition très cheap. Un 1.8l de série conviendrait aux besoins de plusieurs, même avec 140hp.
C'est le coupé le plus spacieux pour 4 personnes aussi je trouve, hatchback en plus. Bref, l'aspect pratique n'est pas négligé malgré le look de coupé et pour ça, je salue Toyota. Pour le reste, autant acheter une Corolla en promotion à 13 000$....
En fait je serais curieux d'essayer une Corolla 2009+ avec la direction électrique, j'aime beaucoup celle de la yaris (pour un char non sportif), je ne sais pas si celle de la Corolla est aussi bien.