The Mazda 3 is a fun little car that doesn’t have quite enough leg room for me. I personally like the 3.0 Mazda6, with a 6 speed auto + sport-shift. If you want a manual trans, you might want to check out the Mazdaspeed 6 AWD model.
I agree about the Mazda 6. A year or 2 ago my Protege was in the shop and I got a Mazda 6 for a couple of days. My condo neighbor saw me and said “nice car”. I said thanks but had to admit it was just a loaner.