I have the 2007 mazda3 hatch and I love it. I test drove the civic too and it was so slow. I felt like I was driving something made for a grandma. The steering was not very responsive and there wasn’t much “pep” to the engine. I love honda’s and they are great cars, I just felt the civic was boring…reliable and quality, but boring. If you go with the civic, I would get the Si. Also, don’t forget about the Mazdaspeed3, I can’t remember what the HP and TQ figures are, but it is a quick car, and not too much more expensive. You should look into it.