Should i get a mazda 3i or 3s, for a couple thousand bucks more it makes sense for the "S" but it only has 12 more horsepower. Is it worth it? yet the standards are apples and oranges, plus i perfer the black grill than the colored sports grill on the s, is there anyway to switch the grills or go and grab an after market grill?? Also ive noticed not a lot of mods for this car, a couple of CAI i was comparing but how much of a difference do you think a generic CAI is compared to like, an AEM CAI. This is acualy my first owned car and i don't wanna regret it!!

 

Get the S. The fog lights are nice.

 

Don't just get an S if you want fog light b.c you can get the I with foglights it is just an option i just got my 2005 3i today and i just told them i wanted foglights and i got them. so i would get the I not only b.c it is cheaper but it also gets better gas mileage and thats important with the gas prices going up everyday. goodluck choosing

 

i like my S alot. Everywhere i go i get compliments on it. I got the S hatchback with leather, sun roof, 17" alloy rims, and its a manual. There are mods out there you just have to look for them and you will find them. Most of what i've found has been from this site. Let us know what you decided.

 

get the one with the clear tail lights. I got the one with a red one and it doesnt look as good. Mine is the ts2.

 

Honestly it is up to you. My 2004 type i is a great car. and ITS MY FIRST OWNED CAR ALSO!
Good decision I think and other people think so too. Good car, good rep. and nice lines on the body style. I however think if you don't want to spend the extra $$ on the s compared to the i... then don't! There are so many things you can do to the s already. Yes you can get black grilles and whatever you want for the 3 on ebay etc. I know if I really wanted to, I can get everything the type "s" has on my type "i".... so its really your decision. I don;t think i'd spend the extra thousand, UNLESS YOU REALLY REALLY WANT TO...

 

This past Saturday my wife and I just purchased an '05 Mazda 3i. The major differences of course are the fog lights, rims, different tail lights & of course all the power options, but we went with the i based on the fact that we live in AZ & the black interior @ 100+ degrees isnt so good

 

I went with the i, but with all of the options except navigation (including moonroof and 16 inch wheels). That way, I got the best optional features of the i and better gas mileagethen the s. If I need to add fog lights or the different grill, I can do that later through the dealer. That was my compromise between price and aesthetics. In my opinion, there is no difference between 148 and 160 hp in the car, I test drove both and had no noticeable difference.

 

Get the i-trim.. it's less expensive and it sounds as great as the s as you can get many additional options as well.. plus, you didn't have to sentence an animal to a lifetime of suffering.