I know Kia's haven't established themselves yet, but I've had mine for 4 years and still love it. We drove only Toyotas before that and we had so many problems with all of them. Plus, the Kia gives a 10 year warranty - can't beat that. And, they do very well on their safety testing. If you get past the price thing and look at what you actually are getting, Kia has a lot to offer. I just wanted to give you the perspective of a Kia owner.
Having said that, I still think you might be happier with the Mazda. Like I said before, we loved ours and plan on buying another one.
