Help me choose between Ford, Mazda, Honda

regedit

In Jan 2010, i am planning to get a 2009 (or late 2008) car in the North or mainland UK. After careful review, I have shortlisted my choices:
1. Mazda6 2.2 Sport trim (diesel hatchback)
2. Ford Mondeo 2.0-2.2 (Diesel hatchback) or
3. Honda Accord 2.0-2.2 (Diesel saloon)

The new upgrade of Mazda6 has the 2.2 engine and seems to have great reviews (aside the fact that Jeremy Clarkson couldn't be bothered to test drive it as he thought it was ugly and when he drove it eventually, he did not love it. It has a 3 year warranty (I assume pan European) which is 1 year longer than Ford. The reason I like it is I think it looks nice, there are not that many of them on road and I think Mazda is just as reliable as any of the two other listed competitors.

Ford Mondeo seems to be a brilliant car to drive also and not that expensive in UK. Possibly due to the fact that dealers are flooded with them from fleet companies. To the best of my knowledge, it has 2 years warranty.

Hinda Accord is also a very good choice (I am even hoping that in Jan 2010, they might have the 2009 model at probably the same price as the 2009 model of Mazda 6.
My budget is roughly 22.000 Euros and that would include buying the car and paying the VRT here.
I am 6.4 tall and have a wife and two kids so this is meant to be our family car for longer journeys and the car I will drive to work every day (110 km a day).
Your thoughts please.

EPM

Mondeo's are everywhere but still nice. The new accord is very nice but if you could find a 185 brake 2.2 Mazda it would have a significant power advantage on the other two as well as being slightly different from the norm

regedit

Honest John also recommends the 2.2 Sport (185 PS). The current price in the UK for this particuar one (May 2009) is between 17-19 K pounds. I would hope that in Jan 2010, this could be bought for 15-16K

fifth

If you manage to get an 09 model of the Accord then go for that. If anything it'll look well for a few years longer than the other two.

regedit

funkyflea wrote: »

If you manage to get an 09 model of the Accord then go for that. If anything it'll look well for a few years longer than the other two.

I sat in the new Accord. While there was surplus space for the driver once the seat was pushed all the way back, there was not much space left for the back passenger. It may be a subjective remark so it would be nice is someone who owns the car comments on the rear space

Lex Luthor

I'd have the Accord. Mondeos everywhere and the 6 interior is cheap looking.

Funkyflea, nice car you have there. Someone I know just bought a 06 SType with 40k miles on it for the same money as yours. Also from a dealer with 18 months warranty. You might want to drop the price a bit to start getting interest...

fifth

regedit wrote: »

I sat in the new Accord. While there was surplus space for the driver once the seat was pushed all the way back, there was not much space left for the back passenger. It may be a subjective remark so it would be nice is someone who owns the car comments on the rear space

Yeah I do find that, I changed from a Civic to an Accord and when I have people who are tallish in the back they find it a little cramped alright (mines not the newest model though so can't comment on it).

Lex Luthor wrote: »

I'd have the Accord. Mondeos everywhere and the 6 interior is cheap looking.

Funkyflea, nice car you have there. Someone I know just bought a 06 SType with 40k miles on it for the same money as yours. Also from a dealer with 18 months warranty. You might want to drop the price a bit to start getting interest...

Thanks Lex, I had it on carzone for €12,000 for a while to see if I would get any interest in it but very little going. I've €12,500 on my loan still to pay off.
My only reason for selling was because I wasn't sure if I'd be in a job come December but that's changed now.

Now that I don't need to sell it anymore I put the price back up rather than remove the ad completely, I'm still open to offers. But I really can't afford to take a big loss on the car, I'd sooner keep it and get some value out of it.

Anyway OP sorry to sidetrack there. My opinion would still be the accord but the Mazda isn't a bad looker either. Any of them would be pretty good for reliability also, think you'll be happy which ever way you go.

Lex Luthor

Just to throw one in the mix...how about the Subaru Legacy 2.0 Boxer Diesel. I was looking for the last 6 months at all the estate options out there and the 3 you have listed above were on the list.

But for the combination of price, quality and engine, there was nothing that could match the Legacy. Ok the Legacy saloon is not as good looking as the 3 you have above but worth looking at anyway. And the spec on the basic R model in the UK has a lot on board. Re spec gets leather, however I actually found it cheaper to buy one here due to the big discounts being offered on them new at the moment

regedit

Lex Luthor wrote: »

Just to throw one in the mix...how about the Subaru Legacy 2.0 Boxer Diesel. I was looking for the last 6 months at all the estate options out there and the 3 you have listed above were on the list.

But for the combination of price, quality and engine, there was nothing that could match the Legacy. Ok the Legacy saloon is not as good looking as the 3 you have above but worth looking at anyway. And the spec on the basic R model in the UK has a lot on board. Re spec gets leather, however I actually found it cheaper to buy one here due to the big discounts being offered on them new at the moment

Someone working beside me got the Subaru Legacy estate. He went over to UK and up the North but said that he got a betetr deal here. he got a demo model and said that the price was good so he went for it.
I will have a look at the Subaru UK website just to see what the prices are etc.

Allegedly the new Avensis has a good ride etc but the looks kill it totally, especially the front of the car is a total mistake. having sat on the Accord, I must say that the intyerior is very good. Nevertheless, the Mazda 2.2 Sport offers quite a few new things compared to the 2.0.
To name a few
-18" wheels
-Half leather seats
-Heated adjustable front seats (low and high)
-BOSE audio system including 8 speakers
-Bi-Xenon headlights with active front lighting
-Smart keyless entry
-Start/Stop button
-Tyre pressure monitoring system
-Blackout meter set
-Sports Appearance Pack - Front and rear bumpers, side skirts, rear spoiler, alloy pedal set, privacy glass in rear and side windows


-Two rear-facing radar units on the car that detect and warn the driver of an approaching vehicle before he or she has a chance to move across into a busy lane by mistake

Biro

The 185bhp Mazda would be a decent car, from a driving point of view it would be the best of the three. The interior lets it down, but if you can live with that then it's a good choice. I like the new Accord the most from an asthetic point of view, both inside and outside it looks very good. The Mondeo is good but not a great looking car which will date. I'd actually choose an Insignia over it, and I'm not an Opel fan. You should look at the Insignia, there's a 185bhp diesel version due out later this year, and the Elite spec has a fantastic interior.

Rylan

Would have to say the accord all the way. Absolutely beautiful car to look at and well designed inside. Would love one myself. I think the Mondeo and 6 are already starting to look dated.

bgo1

My dad has recently asked me to look into a similar scenario as his retirement present to himself in Jan 2010.

Mondeo - looks far too american and quite simply boring...rep mobile all the way.

Accord - Updated version now out so wont be long before whole new one out and killing your resale value though is always voted top of reliabilty surveys in the uk and no body can doubt it is good but the looks are a personal thing.

Mazda - Brand new model, which in the right colour is a stunner, has been critically aclaimed as setting a higher standard and the interior really cant be said to be bad, has anyone sat in it? it is quite pricey brand new but both the petrol and diesel are meant to be good proformers as they deliberately tryed to lighten the weight of the car. Definently my choice.

Lex Luthor

bgo1 wrote: »

Mazda - Brand new model, which in the right colour is a stunner, has been critically aclaimed as setting a higher standard and the interior really cant be said to be bad, has anyone sat in it?

ya I sat in one a while back and wasn't overly impressed...felt it was a bit plasticy and the buttons were a bit flimsy

maidhc

bgo1 wrote: »

My dad has recently asked me to look into a similar scenario as his retirement present to himself in Jan 2010.

Mondeo - looks far too american and quite simply boring...rep mobile all the way.

Accord - Updated version now out so wont be long before whole new one out and killing your resale value though is always voted top of reliabilty surveys in the uk and no body can doubt it is good but the looks are a personal thing.

Mazda - Brand new model, which in the right colour is a stunner, has been critically aclaimed as setting a higher standard and the interior really cant be said to be bad, has anyone sat in it? it is quite pricey brand new but both the petrol and diesel are meant to be good proformers as they deliberately tryed to lighten the weight of the car. Definently my choice.

The Mondeo is built on the Ford EUCD platform which is supposedly tuned to European tastes. The Mazda 6 is based on the Ford CD3 platform, which is shares with a great many American cars, the the Mazda is by far the more "american" of the two! The Mazda also looks similar to the mondeo to be honest.

Also, the Accord out now is a new model, and it looks quite well.

The Accord would be my No.1, followed closely by the Mondeo and the Mazda away down the back.

galwaytt

Here's why you don't want anything with the word 'diesel' and 'mazda' on it.

Here's the other reason you don't want it......

I don't care how much they say it's 'new' or 'improved' - it's still only fit for an anchor.

Which leaves the Ford or the Honda. Honda poss better car, Ford better value and, imho, nicer looking - esp in a nice spec.

JHMEG

funkyflea wrote: »

If you manage to get an 09 model of the Accord then go for that. If anything it'll look well for a few years longer than the other two.

Which is actually the 08 model as it came out in early 08 in the UK, and as such there is a good supply of 2nd hand ones. The introduction was delayed here to clear the backlog of the older model.

JHMEG

Benefit of course to the 08 model is the new i-DTEC engine, which is a major improvement over the older diesel, which was also a class leader in its day.

bazz26

galwaytt wrote: »

Here's why you don't want anything with the word 'diesel' and 'mazda' on it.

Here's the other reason you don't want it......

I don't care how much they say it's 'new' or 'improved' - it's still only fit for an anchor.

Which leaves the Ford or the Honda. Honda poss better car, Ford better value and, imho, nicer looking - esp in a nice spec.

The Mazda 2.2 litre engine has received some good reviews so far but it needs a bit of time to prove it's reliablity.

Remember BMW had well documented expensive turbo failures on their 2.0 litre diesel engine a few years back. Doesn't mean today's engine should be avoided like the plague though.

regedit

JHMEG wrote: »

Which is actually the 08 model as it came out in early 08 in the UK, and as such there is a good supply of 2nd hand ones. The introduction was delayed here to clear the backlog of the older model.

+1

The Mazda 2.2 litre engine has received some good reviews so far but it needs a bit of time to prove it's reliablity.

Remember BMW had well documented expensive turbo failures on their 2.0 litre diesel engine a few years back. Doesn't mean today's engine should be avoided like the plague though.

+1

pburns

It'd be between the Mazda and Honda for me. Is the 2.2 6 finally available in Sport spec? If so I'd go for that I think but i haven't seen the new Accord up close.

I would not touch the Ford at all, despite what the road testers say. Current model a step backwards IMO - too barge like and they're just common rep-mobiles. The other two are a bit more distinctive.

galwattt I know you've been burned but damning the new Mazda diesel is a bit OTT. The 2.0d engine had problems but it was very much the exception to the rule for Mazdas.

regedit

pburns wrote: »

It'd be between the Mazda and Honda for me. Is the 2.2 6 finally available in Sport spec? If so I'd go for that I think but i haven't seen the new Accord up close.

I would not touch the Ford at all, despite what the road testers say. Current model a step backwards IMO - too barge like and they're just common rep-mobiles. The other two are a bit more distinctive.

galwattt I know you've been burned but damning the new Mazda diesel is a bit OTT. The 2.0d engine had problems but it was very much the exception to the rule for Mazdas.

I emailed Mazda Ireland some time ago and this was their response in relation to the 2.2 model.

Thank you for your enquiry with regards the Mazda6. The new 2.2l diesel engine will be available in three power outputs the 125ps, 163ps and 185ps. Two of these power outputs (163ps and 185ps) are now available via our dealer network with prices starting from €31,145 for the Mazda6 2.2 (163PS) 4dr Sport model. The 125ps will be introduced later in the year and will be a direct replacement for the 2.0l 140ps engine currently available (pricing and performance will be almost identical).



Mazda Motor Ireland

In relation to the Mondeo, I can see that a one year old Mondeo, Titanium X trim (very few of those here)can be got in the UK for roughly 15K pounds so it is slightly cheaper than the Mazda 2.2.
A one year old Honda (the new model) 2.2 EX trim is roughly 17K