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One of the few things the Mazda3 does not do as well as I would like is quiet highway/interstate/motorway/autobahn/whatever cruising. It is quieter than a 240 but not as quiet as most newer cars.
OK, you have alot more potential options in Europe for my type of car. Depending on how new you want to go:
The BMW 5- and 3-series wagons (estates) are quiet, fun to drive and until you get in the absolute newest models (I think 2005 was the tipping point) pretty easy to work on. The seperate openning glass on the hatch is a HUGE feature not offered by hardly anyone.
Volvo has offered the V60 in Europe for a while and it is a good spiritual successor to the 2/7/9-series wagons even if it is front wheel drive. Lot of space on the inside for the outside dimensions. The first gen V70 did it even better but that is not too modern anymore.
There are a slew of Volkswagen Golf variants to choose from including the those from Skoda and the other two off-brands I cannot remember. All of them I have rented where well built, quiet (Audi's A3 being the quitest and the Skoda being the loudest) even at full throttle ont he autobahn, and offered in every engine and transmission variant possible from tiny turbo diesels with an automatic transmission to 200+ HP turbo gas motors with 6-speed manuals...and at least 4 sizes in between.
I am a huge fan of the "people movers" as Jeremy Clarkson calls them...especially the smaller ones like I just bought my wife. She is the proud owner of a Ford C-Max hybrid for a number of reasons but one of the biggest is the convenience features (one-touch folding rear seats, high seating position without the SUV gas hog penalty, electric rear hatch). She is only 4'10" (147 cm) tall so all these things are factor. Couple that with the 25% increase in fuel economy over her Focus (she drives about 15-20K miles per year so the payoff for the hybrid is about 3.5 years) and the fact that it is almost silent cruising the highway.
Speaking of the Focus, the wagon version of the Focus ST is something I would kill for over here.
Still not sure how new/fancy/etc you want and what the car's primary use would be so I am shooting in the dark here. Really I am just talking about the vehicles I like which lean heavily toward wagons for the utility factor.
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