I guess you can tell I am not a Honda fan. Honda Civic is appealing if you like the Honda badge and VTEC turbo engine apart from slightly higher resale value. But go into the interior quality and the Civic's interior quality looks cheap like a Proton with quirky design. The new Mazda 3's interior particularly the dashboard design looks much classier and elegant and looks more premium. Exterior looks is subjective though the back of the Civic looks like a robot, looks more like for those race-heads or teenagers. The Mazda 3 looks more matured, elegant and classier. The new Mazda 3's handbrake area looks like a BMW with all the round-looking knob controls which adds a bit of class to the car as well. I noticed the Mazda logo at the front was pushed further down into the grille area which looks a bit better than the previous model. Not sure about the changes to the rear of the car. You can always visit the showroom to check it out since the new Mazda 3 is in your shortlist.

If you value money and want to maximise your purchase and not following your heart in what you want, the safe choices are Honda and Toyota (Civic and Altis) as you will get more money for your pocket when you sell your car next time. Even though you don't enjoy the car. A lot of people don't car as a car is to drive from point A to point B and all they want is reliable and high resale. However, there will be others who don't mind the lower resale, to purchase a car that his heart and mind desire, the car that he actually wants to own.