Yeah an Innova is incredibly boring but as a first car and for a large family, it is a better choice than the Mazda 3.

High ground clearance and jeepney technology suspension means it's well-suited for the bad Philippine roads, plus the parts are cheap. And Toyota is quite reliable.

I don't know if this is a true story or not. On my 2007 Mazda 3 the shocks got busted at 20,000 km. They are NOT warranty items (Mazda considers them wear-and-tear) so had to replace them on my dime. The guy at Speedyfix (I did not have Mazda repair it kasi ubod ng mahal sa casa and hindi naman siya warranty item anyway) told me that Toyota warranties their suspension (i.e. kung masira shocks mo papalitan ni Toyota if within warranty).

That definitely tells you something about Mazda suspensions..

Our Mazda 3 is now at 33,000 km and needs new shocks (again). But I hardly ever drive it anymore (out of the country). Am now driving a (used) Mazda 6.. guess what, it needs new shocks :-P