Mazda3 5-door: A Miata with 4 doors and a dog compartment.

The Mazda3 is winning every car mag's award for best small car. Is the adoration deserved? Yes.

This is the best small, affordable car for driving enthusiasts: the people who would drive a Miata if only they didn't have a kid / dog / carpool / sane spouse...the people who would drive a BMW 3-series if only they didn't hate the poseurs they see driving BMWs (or, let's face it, if only they had the dough).

Sound like you? Then let's tour the car I bought: the Mazda3 Touring 5-door. Aimed at driving enthusiasts, the 5-doors all come with the big 2.3 liter engine and the big 17" wheels (both optional on the sedans).

In the driveway, you notice that the styling is bold, the interior materials are rich, the shutlines are tight, the idle is silent, the drivers seat and steering wheel feel good and adjust to fit anyone...in short, the car feels expensive.

On the road, you find the handling is delightful, the ride is firm but comfortable, acceleration is entertaining (with a sporty exhaust note), and controls are light and precise (the clutch and shifter are especially joyful). You also find that bottom-end torque should be better and/or second gear should be shorter, if you happen to live in the hills.

400 miles later, still on the road, you find that road noise is more than expected, the engine note gets a bit tiresome at a steady 80 mph, and it would be nice if the front of the seat tilted up and/or offered a longer cushion. You also find that the headlights are great, the brakes (big ol' 4-wheel ABS disks with EBD) are powerful and easy to modulate, and the radio inexplicably has no iPod input (hello, it's 2006).

On the practical side... The car's emissions are low (if ordered with the PZEV emissions package, it's cleaner than your neighbor's SULEV-rated Prius), its gas consumption is modest, and it burns the cheap 87-octane stuff. It's roomy beyond its size: you can throw grown-ups comfortably into the back seat, and you can throw loads of gear or a good-sized dog into the back, even without folding the seat.

What else might you shop? I considered the other affordable sportwagons (Toyota Matrix, Scion xB, Ford Focus ZX5, Chrysler PT Cruiser), and the not-even-close-to-affordable sportwagons (BMW 3 series wagon, Audi A3 and A4 wagon, and Volvo V50 wagon). This car combines their best attributes: the Toyota's reliability, the BMW's personality, the Audi A3's packaging, the Volvo's solidity (it's actually built on the same platform as the V50!)...and puts them all together for under 20 grand.

To consider when shopping: There are no rebates or incentives on this car, so it costs what it costs (less your haggling). If you want an automatic and the dealer tries to sell you an '05, keep in mind the '05s had a slow 4-speed automatic, not the zippy 5-speed automatic as in the '06s. Crash test scores are good in every area except side impact, so make SURE you order the Touring or Grand Touring model, which correct that problem by adding side and head curtain air bags.