It is now time for a change. We've had our Mazda5 for 18 months now and feel we would now like to get back to a normal / hatchback type car. We do around 7-10K miles a year, made up of the school run and commuting a short distance during the week with longer trips 150-200 miles/day at the weekend (seaside etc). I've narrowed it down to a choice of 2 new cars and a "wildcard" 2nd hand choice:
1. Mazda 6 2.0 petrol Katano - New (£14995 otr)
the Mazda drives well, has loads of kit and the cost to change is £5110.
2. Toyota Avensis 2.0 D4D Colour collection - New (£14685 otr)
the toyota is a lot softer than the mazda, but is easy enough to drive. It has less kit than the mazda but promises around 10 mpg better. Cost to change is £5500.
3. Honda Accord 2.0 Sport - Second hand (2005 55 plate), £11995.
Saw this on the way home from the toyota garage. Very nice build quality, quite quick, cheaper than the new cars. Cost to change around £3.5.
Our Mazda5 is a 2005 55 plate 1.8TS in silver with 15K on the clock. The Glass's guide trade price this month is £9675. I've had it advertised for a few weeks now at £9995, but have not had a single call.
I've previously owned a Mondeo and Vectra and would not consider either again. I've also looked at a new Octavia, but wasn't keen on the deal offered. I've also looked at Peugeot, Citroen and Renault but aren't keen on any of them.
I probably prefer a petrol engine, but the toyota D4D is very quiet and is a least as quick as the Mazda 2.0 petrol. The toyota diesel is only £650 more than the 1.8 petrol, but appears to have much stronger residuals.
Any thoughts anyone ?
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>>>1. Mazda 6 2.0 petrol Katano - New (£14995 otr)
the Mazda drives well, has loads of kit and the cost to change is £5110.
Someone posted recently that the Mazda6 is due for replacement later this year. I've had one for a a few years now - nice car.
Clk Sec
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Honda for me I would say.
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I went back to the mazda dealer this afternoon and was told the car "was not due to be replaced in the near future". I understand however that it is due to be replaced this year by a model based on the new mondeo.
I've looked on the Mazda website but can find no confirmation that the Mazda6 is about to be replaced.
any ideas anyone ??
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I'd take the Honda - I love the understated styling of the Accords and having owned a Honda before I'm ever so slightly biased!
I wouldn't be surprised if the Mazda was to be replaced by a new version quite soon as it's been around for about 6 years now I think
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Saw a newish Accord today, nice car. Little bumper sticker read "my other car is a bike" somehow I think that may be a Honda as well !
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after driving all three choices back to back this morning we went for the cheapest option - the second hand accord. I pick it up on Wendesday.
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Accord is a beauty. I was going to buy one used, but for some reason all the ones I saw (about 3 years old) either had a couple of rust spots on the bonnet, had massive mileages, or were too expensive.
Ended up with the S80 which is a higher class of car but the Accord is to my eyes is a prettier car.
£12k is a bit over the odds I think though, you should be getting the Executive spec for that.
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We went to look at the Mazda5 and Mazda6 recently, decided the 6 was better and talked to the salesman who was very honest (he kept telling us how honest he was....) anyway he said the Mazda6 was to be replaced next year and that may have a bearing on us buying a 6 now.
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The slight OTT screen price was somewhat offset by the cost to change price we negotiated. I did try to sell my part ex (Mazda5) for several weeks at "trade book" price + £200 (ie £1K under retail), but had no takers, hence the eventual part ex.
The Mazda5 had been a good car, but the problems I suffered with the suspension, brakes and tyre wear had soured the ownership experience somewhat. Also Mazda's initial unwillingness to even acknowledge a problem with the car let alone offer a solution has probably put me off the brand for a while.
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HJs new gadget for the website...
Hi, I have just made up a grid of your preferred two new cars.
honestjohn.dealdna.com/grid.cfm?gridkey=9cc3c0a4
Jerry
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I myself am thinking of buying a Mazda 5. Apart from the tyre/brake/suspension problems how do you rate the car?
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I think you made the right choice seant and will be pleased with your purchase.
HJ himself stated that
"So Honda can tick all the boxes. With the new Accord they?ve got out of the mass-market D sector and back to where the Accord used to be. The engines are good to drive and environmentally friendly. The controls are light. The handling is excellent. Noise levels are low. And everyone is well protected. Not bad at all."
On top of that you have bullet proof reliability and durability.
I doubt you will be disappointed.
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>>HJs new gadget for the website...
Hi, I have just made up a grid of your preferred two new cars.<<
I accept that I may be biased towards Jap cars because reliability is my number 1 requirement when buying a car but I have just been looking at the new web site gadget above and selected family cars. The vast majority of cars provided were French - most of which I see reports of reliability problems on this site and others. Indeed my sister in law was left by the side of a dual carriage way recently with her 2 children as a result of their megane scenic breaking down.
Can you really justify such relatively problematic & unreliable cars for use with families. I would have thought the last thing you want is a problematic car when carrying children about.
Shouldn't realiability be the number one priority instead of the family 'lifestyle' type when choosing a car.
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