Help me choose a car for the Mrs

amiable

Hi all, i'm not brilliant with cars and the mrs needs to change the car so just looking for help.
The choice of cars i've narrowed it down to is

05 Mazda 3. 1.6litre petrol. 55k miles. Silver.
05 VW Passat. 1.6litre petrol. 65k miles. Silver
06 Opel Vectra. 1.6 Petrol. 55k miles. Metallic Wine

All cars in and around same price range.
All help appreciated.
Thanks in advance and feel free to ask any questions to get more info from me

rai555

as you are in vladivostok, mazda would be No. 1 for servicing and parts, btw it's 7 seater and others only 5

amiable

rai555 wrote: »

as you are in vladivostok, mazda would be No. 1 for servicing and parts, btw it's 7 seater and others only 5

Sorry mate, Mazda was a typo. Its actually a Mazda 3. I do apologise.
The Mrs is in Galway. I tend to be all around the place with work

coylemj

The wine coloured Vectra would probably be easier to find if there's a blizzard and you have to abandon the car at the side of the road! :cool:

Stheno

amiable wrote: »

Hi all, i'm not brilliant with cars and the mrs needs to change the car so just looking for help.
The choice of cars i've narrowed it down to is

05 Mazda 3. 1.6litre petrol. 55k miles. Silver.
05 VW Passat. 1.6litre petrol. 65k miles. Silver
06 Opel Vectra. 1.6 Petrol. 55k miles. Metallic Wine

All cars in and around same price range.
All help appreciated.
Thanks in advance and feel free to ask any questions to get more info from me

If you do a search on here, there is a fair bit of information on the 05 Passat, is it the new Passat from that year?

amiable

Stheno wrote: »

If you do a search on here, there is a fair bit of information on the 05 Passat, is it the new Passat from that year?

No its the old model for a 05

amiable

By the way she wouldn't do enough miles to justify a diesel hence why they are all petrol

anewme

What does "the Mrs" think?

Does she not want to choose her own car?

Glowing

Probably best to 'let' her drive a few and make her decision that way ..

amiable

anewme wrote: »

What does "the Mrs" think?

Does she not want to choose her own car?

Its a joint decision. She's sitting next to me now.
We can't make up our minds tbh.

amiable

Glowing wrote: »

Probably best to 'let' her drive a few and make her decision that way ..

What are you implying with your inverted commas?
I came here for advice

alexmcred

What about an Octavia (not serious) shocked it has not been mentioned yet.:pac:

The three is a class down for the other two but if your happy with the space in it a Focus might come into the picture.

I would say a 1.6 in the VW and the Opel would be farily laboured to pull a car that big and would look for a 1.8 min

A Mazda 6 might be worth a look as well

amiable

alexmcred wrote: »

What about an Octavia (not serious) shocked it has not been mentioned yet.:pac:

I would say a 1.6 in the VW and the Opel would be farily laboured to pull a car that big and would look for a 1.8 min

Thanks Alex, these are the cars we've found near enough to us within a 2hour drive. We considered the Octavia but couldn't find a suitable one in our price bracket.
We're not keen on the 1.8 as the cost of fuel, tax and insurance would go up and trying to keep the costs down.
The Mazda being a smaller body might be better in your opinion so?

amiable

We really like the Mazda 6 but it would be too expensive to run imo.
Loverly looking car

rusty_racer94

Have a look at some Vauxhall/Opel Zafira's. I (17) will be getting one myself in a month.

alexmcred

A 1.6 engine in a car the size and weight of a Passat would probably not deliver the fuel economy you think it will and can be a false economy as it has to be worked that bit harder.

To be honest if I were you I'd test drive both cars (both of you) and go from there the data on the 1.6 engine is not on Parkers (prob due to it being a paddy spec engine) so can't be any more help in that sense.

As I said if the Mazda 3 fulfills your space requirement then I would look at other cars in the class to be honest.

amiable

alexmcred wrote: »

A 1.6 engine in a car the size and weight of a Passat would probably not deliver the fuel economy you think it will and can be a false economy as it has to be worked that bit harder.

To be honest if I were you I'd test drive both cars (both of you) and go from there the data on the 1.6 engine is not on Parkers (prob due to it being a paddy spec engine) so can't be any more help in that sense.

As I said if the Mazda 3 fulfills your space requirement then I would look at other cars in the class to be honest.

Thanks alex, you've been a good help

-Corkie-

The Passat 1.6 is a ball of dung OP. Those earlier Passats gave serious trouble and that engine is useless. Mazda 3 is a very good car.

amiable

-Corkie- wrote: »

The Passat 1.6 is a ball of dung OP. Those earlier Passats gave serious trouble and that engine is useless. Mazda 3 is a very good car.

Thanks Corkie, We're leaning towards the Mazda3 tbh.
There would only be about 10,000 miles per year done in it doing school runs and around town.
Maybe one big journey per week

-Corkie-

amiable wrote: »

Thanks Corkie, We're leaning towards the Mazda3 tbh.
There would only be about 10,000 miles per year done in it doing school runs and around town.
Maybe one big journey per week

I seen a silver one for sale for 5k the other day. I see your post about the Mazda 6. Dont buy the diesel one as they give a lot of problems. My friend has a Mazda 3 he says it is a very good car with no problems.:)

The Gride

My sis has the Mazda. Got in brand new in 05. To date she has not spent one cent on it apart from normal servicing. I wis I could say the same about my own car. Hope this is helpful.

amiable

-Corkie- wrote: »

I seen a silver one for sale for 5k the other day. I see your post about the Mazda 6. Dont buy the diesel one as they give a lot of problems. My friend has a Mazda 3 he says it is a very good car with no problems.:)

Was actually talking to a bloke i know last week and he owns a pretty big dealership and he told me the Mazda 6 diesel is a terrible car.
We're pretty set on the Mazda 3 now i think. The one we're looking at is around same price bracket as you've mentioned.