Mazda 6, Avensis or Volvo s40?

fonecrusher1

Hi Folks,

Been a while since I posted. Need opinions.

So its time to change car. Looking at the following:

2008 / 2009 Mazda 6 1.8 petrol
2009 Toyota Avensis 1.6 petrol (newer shape)
2009 Volvo S40 1.8 petrol / 1.6 petrol.

I don't do a lot of driving, maybe 6000 / 7000 miles per year mostly in the city with weekend spins to the country. Obviously reliability is important.

I like all of the above but i'm drawn to the Mazda for the nice driving experience, lovely grip on the road. The Avensis has the lowest annual tax and is more efficient than the others (& slightly quicker) but the Volvo is more comfortable. The Volvo is also cheaper to buy. But its supposed to be quite thirsty and the 1.6 is meant to be quite sluggish.

Overall what is the best car out of this three?

Thanks,
Fonecrusher

colm_mcm

The S40 will be smaller than your Civic inside. I think I'd get the Mazda out of the three listed as you can get serious bargains with them, The Avensis might be in with a shout, but they're not that nice to drive and the handbrake on them is a terrible design.

Would you not look out for a facelift 2.0 petrol Accord?

fonecrusher1

colm_mcm wrote: »

Would you not look out for a facelift 2.0 petrol Accord?

I looked! And they are a fine car. But they're few and far between. There's literally a few 2008+ petrol Accords on the market.

Yeah the Mazda is winning at the moment. The Avensis appeals to me but in a completely different way, its cheaper on the juice and cheaper to tax but it is kind of dull.

Leonard Hofstadter

I think those Mazdas can be fond of some oil? Weren't they still using the same engine as the Mk3 Mondeo, which was renowned for oil usage (certainly on the earlier cars)?

The 09 onwards Avensis is not a very nice car at all and the electric parking brake is awful to use in them but they are much more tax friendly than the older Avensis (€750 a year even for the 1.6 if you're on the CO2 system) and the engine is ultra reliable in them. I haven't tried a Valvematic Avensis but in the Auris the 1.6 is very lively for that size engine so I'd say it's probably fine in the Avensis - no rocket but it will do the job just fine.

Not sure about the S40s and Wikipedia is most unhelpful (there's a surprise) but I think for the second generation car the 1.6 is the same as the engine used in a Focus and the 1.8 is from the Mondeo - the 1.6 definitely doesn't have problems with oil burning but if the 1.8 is off a Mondeo (and hence the same engine as in a Mazda 6) then chances are it could use oil.

If the oil burning problem has been solved by 2009 then the 1.8 would definitely get my vote, we used to have a first generation 1.8 S40 and that car really did need the 1.8, it was a bit slow even with that engine actually.

flamegrilled

I have a 2010 Mazda 6 petrol that burns some oil. Needs a top up every few weeks. Other than that it has been reliable in the 2 years I have had it.
I have the sport model with 18 inch wheels, I find it quite harsh on the road. If you prefer a smoother drive consider the executive model - has smaller wheels I believe.

maidhc

The Volvo is just a Mk2 Focus Saloon really; very small compared to the others.

JohnBoy26

Id get the avensis. It will be the easiest to live with and the valvematic is a lovely engine.