Thank you for the informative post. I never thought that (in the long term) hybrids would merely be petrol cars with a heavy battery to lug around because of battery wear & tear. I have seen many Auris HSD with over 120K miles and I don't think there are many reports of Prius batteries being 'dead'. This is important as I want to buy at about 30K miles and own to about 100K miles over 7 years.
The additional servicing for a hybrid would be off-set by the £0 VED. But I am loathe to go to the dealer for servicing/tyres etc. I am not that well off.
Your point about a Mazda 3 is good, I like the looks and I bet it's a fab drive with 6sp TC auto Are Mazda as reliable as the other two ?
Not quite as much, but still very good in petrol form - my 1.6 N/A petrol Mazda3 is now 12.5 years old and going generally very well. Like the Honda, keep an eye on the brakes if you don't use the car that much as they can stick and/or warp if left sitting on the drive for several days on a regular basis - fine if used for work 5 days a week though.
The Honda and Toyota will likely be better on corrosion resistance (Mazda have improved, but not to the level of these rivals yet) and, if you do need to use a dealership, better on customer service - Mazda dealers can vary quite a bit in quality - normally fine as regards sales, more so on after-sales.
The Mazda will be a much better drive if you like a good handling car, although the Honda 1.8 petrol is quite nippy and better than the de-rated (standard model) 120PS Mazda 2.0 petrol, which is fine for anyone just wanting reasonable performance. The 6 speed TC auto box in the Mazda is very smooth but does sap some performance (manual: 0-60 in 8.9sec, auto in 10.3 sec).
One point though that may be of importance - make sure that the comfort and ride quality are to your liking for whichever of the three (or any others suggested) you look at - get the seating and steering wheel position to the optimum and take them for at least an hour test drive on a wide range of road types, especially those you often use, but including faster, twisty roads and those that are poorly surfaced and/or have speed bumps.
The reason being is that many potential buyers are put off by the overly firm ride on some cars/specific models, whether due to a general firm ride across a range or specific sub-models that come with larger wheels and wide, low profile tyres and perhaps stiffer suspension as standard. Some don't mind it - I didn't get on with the Mazda3 in Sport form with 18in rims and low profile tyres, better on the 'standard' 16in rims and 60 profile tyres. The Civic (last gen) seems to be a bit of a 'marmite car' - some people love them and the ride, others the opposite and find they are way too firm.
Note that some cars nowadays come on unusual size tyres (e.g. the Mazda's 205/60 R16) that are significantly more expensive (25-50% more in some cases and less choice) to replace than more common ones, like my 3's OEM size of 205/55 R16 which is common across many makes of C-sector car when it was built.
I'd go for a middle or upper-middle spec car to a) avoid the expensive, firm riding 'Sport' models and b) that would get the best value-for-money as many have a decent spec for most people and avoid the plethora of electronic toys that either we don't actually need and/or are more likely to go wrong.
The main thing in the Mazda's favour, other than its great handling advantage over the other two, is that its far cheaper to buy for the same spec (talking more about the Auris 1.2T than the hybrid) and thus you may be able to source a much newer car that may even be still under the manufacturer's warranty. Hondas aren't cheap to buy and parts are expensive, but, like the Toyota, are very reliable if properly looked after.
Probably best to make a list of all the things you want and score each car accordingly, including making allowances for the importance of each aspect. Have a look at the Review section here for all of them (they'll be under the 'Used Reviews' below the newest models for each make) and the road tests to get more info. The 'Good and Bad' section is useful to document possible problems that may arise, but bear in mind that they are individual document cases, not a list of 'inherrant' porbelems every owner will face.
Best of luck.
PS. You may also wish to consider a Hyundai or KIA given the have longer warranties, and like the Mazda, may get you a newer car for your money, although to get that benefit you'd need to service any car at the manufacturer main dealership.
|
