Great analogy, horrible example in the analogy heh. (Hate to nitpick)

Of the two, Mazda3 would be the "less frills, cheaper, works", especially in 2025.

I also don't recall a period of lack of trust for corolla due to design/repair ability; My great uncle always talks about his "first real, new car" being a 69 corolla that was a workhorse. That paved the way for the JP takeover by the late 80s.