My daily driver is an MX-5 actually, not a 3. My idea was to trade in the i30 we have at home (brilliant little car, by the way) for something which would be frugal and quiet (none which are the Mazda or the Hyundai). I have in the end decided against it mainly because investing 10 grand in what basically is an American appliance with a diesel engine is a bit steep for now. Maybe in a couple of months I'll go mad again. I can't stay with a car for too long, in the end driving the same car over and over again bores me (usually)...
Nevertheless it seems like I have done the right thing. Is it really that unreliable, or just a fair share of problems all cars currently have? I mean, I was under the impression that all modern cars are (mostly) reliable, and that while some individual units can have problems these are for the most part restricted to individual cases. Am I wrong?
On the other hand, the cheapness must come from somewhere, and while it didn't seem apparent while driving, maybe they have saved money on the quality of some component and this will actually affect the car on the long run.
As for interior quality, I thought it was fine (for a 15 grand car). Yes there were no noble materials, like leather or wood, and the plastics weren't all soft-touching and nice, but our 12 grand Hyundai has a plastic steering wheel and blue electroluminescent display which seems to have come from an 80's Casio factory.