Well, I went and drove a 3, 5, 30 and 50. They seem just fine. My wife liked all of them. For me they lack the power of our current 2.0 Malibu but that is not important to the wife. I felt like the 3 was pretty Malibuesque as far as sedans go. It felt similar just updated a bit. We both like the 30 and the 50. It did like the 5 but did not find it as visually appealing as the other Mazda offerings. That is certainly not deal breaker.
Since my daughter passed the written driver's exam today, we are one step closer. She takes here driving test next month and if she passes, she will get her license in May. So, it is going to happen here shortly.
Any of those cars will certainly be on the short list.
She wants to look at a Camry...help me lordt, I don't need that bringing down my property values. Plus, the Trans Am and Caprice want none of it.
She also wants to look at a CT4, CT5 and a XT4. VW is out, the one we had was not very good and the wife will not entertain it. The Hondas are out I had one that was not great and looks like the ones I was looking at had a CVT. Still may go drive an Accord. Not a huge fan of the new Malibu, but we may look at a Blazer and a few Buicks if I can get them with the 2.0 LTG.