Alak

iTrader: (9)

Mazda 6's have such nice interiors. It feels like your driving a benz when your in a top trim 6. Theres just so much it seems you get with the car. Power is good, price it good, space is good.


My buddy has an 2004ish Audi A4 2.8L. Would be a great car if the trim on the bottom of the car wasnt falling off. Otherwise its a really nice car.

coldfire

iTrader: (1)

Nick, i'll agree on all your points except #4. or at least, to some extent (they probably don't want anything you mentioned, but a nice interior is one something they do). the reason my parents were looking at the Mazda 6, is what Alak just mentioned above. my dad went to see one at the dealership, a GT, and seemed to like the interior, etc.
yes, it is replacing a civic, but they want to step up a bit

the Mazda3 would be a little small. the Imprezza is small also, but it's got AWD. when my parents rent cars for business or trips, they usually get a bigger car like a Camry.

we will be looking/testing cars tommorow. it looks like the subaru is a really recommended choice. only thing is they might not have as good of financing as Mazda.
for sure we will stop by a dealership.

coldfire

iTrader: (1)

oh, i should also mention:
- my dad is in a carpool for work, so 5 people, driving once a week
- the Odyssey's gas consumption SUCKS. nice big engine but it drinks lots of gas, so they were kind of hoping to start using it less

Cheers!

WTF? THose are the buicks of Japanese cars. They are so boring and bland!

Sports Sedans:
Subaru 2.5GT (the new turbo ones)
Mazdaspeed 6
BMW 3 series
Lexus IS300s
Lexus IS250/350
A4s
C class merc
Volvo S60
Saab 93
Jag S-type
G35 sedan
Acura TSX
VW passat (not sure if it is really that sporty)

Those are the only that come to mind. Unfortunately sport sedan usually means entry level luxury which mean you will be paying $

Black91n/a

VW's suck. They routinely rank last or near last in quality studies. They have LOTS of electrical gremlins along with fit and finish issues. Many of the older (late 90's early 00's) Jettas even have the windows fall out of the tracks, dropping into the door, leaving the car open to the elements and theives. My boss's ~99 Jetta just had this happen this past week. My sister's ex's mom has had 2 Jettas, the first had lots of electical problems (broken window switches for example) when she sold it when it was only a few years old with under 100K AFIK. Apparently most/all of the German offerings of late are suffering similiar quality problems. They've slipped well below the Japanese and are on par with or below the American stuff according to the reliability rankings. The BMW Car Club of America magazine is filled with letters from pissed off owners because their expensive new cars are suffering from numerous reliability issues.

Nick86

iTrader: (1)

If you are car pooling, the Imprezza is too small - same with the 3. We came to the same conclusion last week so we didn't buy one. The only car in the next price braket with AWD is the Legacy. So with that being said, a FWD sedan like a 6, accord or camry will be your next choice.

Subaru's financing is at 2.9% right now.
Mazda is 0.9, 1.9, and 2.9. depending on car and financing term.
All good rates.

Just drive everything, and you'll love the V6 Mazda.
Oh, and don't be tempted to buy a US car!

Terrh

iTrader: (7)

g35's are poo IMO.

mazda 6 = nice
what about a BMW?

96-02? 03? 5 series are nice and pretty cheap.

Terrh

iTrader: (7)

also I can't believe how many of you can't spell Impreza. wow.

the subaru is probably a pretty nice option as well!

What about a charger? They're damn nice cars, pretty cheap and have mercedes quality.
The fusion is pretty nice too, actually. But a bit less "sport" and more "sedan" in terms of feel.

newer vw's are ****.

Snrub

iTrader: (1)

Have them look at a Ford Fusion. Seriously. They are based on the Mazda 6 platform (same design double wishbone front /w Aluminum lower control arm and multilink rear) and have the same engines. The suspension is slightly softer than the 6 and the vehicle is slightly larger. Read the reviews. It will be much less expensive to buy or lease than the ones mentioned so far. They are very responsive for a midsized sedan. IMO it looks better than most of the cars it competes against.

The steering has a nice weight to it, a very direct and nice feel. The suspension is very responsive and the limits of cornering and responsiveness a lot higher than you would expect.

Right now Ford Family Plan pricing is on. That means anyone can buy a vehicle for what a Ford employee normally does. In case you are wondering, that's 2% under dealer invoice. The financing and lease numbers are extremely low. A mid range Civic isn't all that different in price from an entry level Fusion SE. The standard level of equipment is quiet good compared to its direct competitors.

Consumer's reports ranks the Fusion SEL V6 1 point behind the BMW 325i and it costs a lot less. JD Power and associates ranked it the most appealing mid-sized sedan.

doridori-rx7

iTrader: (3)

if car pooling then my vote goes to the mazda 6 or the legacy (GT maybe ?) after that your paying for glamour and interior crap that, with car pooling eventually gets broken..

Acura sedans suck ***.

c_akira

iTrader: (1)

I have an '01 A4 (2.8 V6) and I can verify that the maintenance costs are quite high. + $1K for timing belt & water pump & tensioner. + $1K for A/C compressor. If you want to know the other problem areas for these cars check out www.audiworld.com
Not as reliable as a Toyota but it's definately a lot more refined. After driving the 7 and jumping into the A4 everything feels ultra silky smooth. Handling in the rain or snow is much better then any FWD car... but you gotta pay to play.

Having said that ... I was recently in a car accident when my brother's 02 A4 (1.8 T) was hit nearly head on by a large Ford pickup. The car's front was completely demolished but we walked away with just a few bruises. I'm definately glad we were in an Audi that day.

Nick86

iTrader: (1)

Well.... how did the test drives go?


Snrub, it's funny you mention the Fusion. I recently had one for a week's rental and was impressed by some of its features / ride / handling. However there were a lot of things on the car that made you remember it wasn't built to be the best. Stupid things like the choice of materials for the analog clock and the guage surrounds would have been more at home on a Fisher Price play set. $0.05 a car could have fixed that, but they just didn't go that extra step.

I was also apalled by it's turning circle. It seems when they stretched the Mazda 6's chassis they mangled the front suspension geometry or something, as U turns were near impossible.

All in all though it is leagues better than the taurus and a step in the right direction for Ford. I was pleasantly Surprised.

coldfire

iTrader: (1)

short summary (we only got around to two dealerships so far):

- We went to see the Subaru dealership first. The Impreza is a nice car. My mom seemed to like it, although my dad thought it was a bit small. However, our experience at the dealership was less than enjoyable. First, the dealer wasn't very enthusiastic about answering our questions. We went into his office, which was covered wall to wall with WRX/rally posters. the two main problems were, 1) he didn't seem interested in giving us a test drive (he said to schedule one when we were close to making a decision), and 2) apparently they are pretty much sold out of Impreza 2.5 sedans, so there was only one colour to choose from. when we told him we were also looking at the Mazda, he went so far as to suggest we go visit the Mazda dealership. i have no clue how he makes any business, except to maybe wrx fan-boys.....

- we then went to the Nissan dealership. what a difference. a hostess gave us a brochure and directed a salesperson to us. honestly, the guy almost made us buy a car based on his enthusiasm, haha. anyways, the Altima seemed like a really good car. the salesman took us for a drive and even let us all take a turn at the wheel. it was the i-4 engine, but still felt smooth. the ride is soft, which i think my parents like. my only real issue is that there is no traction control on the i-4 model, so it might be a bit slippy in the winter, and also it doesn't feel as driver-centric as the subaru. and my mom was not very impressed by the interior. the V6 had a much nicer interior, but is a little pricey.
another positive, is that it seems we will be able to drop the price quite a bit with the Nissan. the Subaru dealer wasn't so cooperative on the price...

the Mazda 6 my dad and i have actually already driven, when he rented one a few weeks back. i wasn't overly impressed by the base model, but it's fine, especially with some extra options.

we have kind of narrowed it down to these three cars. the Imprezza is small and not too expensive for what you get, which my mom likes, but the Altima is bigger, which my dad likes. the Mazda 6 might actually be a good middle ground, heh...

Snrub

iTrader: (1)

The Altima works out quiet expensive compared to the others in its class. They will try to compete by going longer on term or with larger downpayments because their interest rates are high. The Mazda 6 has much better suspension, as does the Fusion. I've driven the later back to back on an autoX course as well as an Accord. The Altima has a lot of body roll although it digs in better than the roll would suggest.

If you don't like your sales guy, get a different one. Don't judge a dealership based on the sales guy. At the same dealership you may find one guy who is the biggest jerk out there, another who is completely disinterested in you and another who might be the most helpful possible. If you really want to show them who's in control, switch sales people. Don't be a jerk about it, but don't ask for them if you go back.

Any sales person who won't give you a test drive is an utter idiot. They have about a 1% chance of getting you to buy without a test drive. Statistically speaking anyone who doesn't try to get you to drive and buy the first time in is also an idiot. If they say there is no inventory, ask about dealer trade availability or 2007s.

I don't know about Imprezas, but the mid-sized sedan segment has very low margins for dealers.

Nick, it sounds like you drove a Fusion SEL, probably 4-cyl manual? None of the vehicles at that price point are much better in terms of interior fit and finish. I have the C&D review (vs. accord, camry, sononta) in my lap and they made favorable about the interior appearance. The Fusion is a couple of inches longer and wider than the 6, which isn't a ton, it just results in more room. The turning radius is exactly the same between the Fusion, 6 and Accord (I looked it up).

If your parents are concerned about winter driving, snow tires make a larger difference than anything else they can get. (particularly when you live in Ottawa!)

Nick86

iTrader: (1)

Nope, full load top of the line auto V6. The fact that it was a rental may have contributed to some of the car's interior issues, but the major one (now I am nitpicking here so take it with a grain of salt) was the clock and instrument bezels. The clock had a very nice chromed plastic surround, but the hands and "numbers" were made of a dull non uniform flat gray plastic that looked like it was off a toy watch from the dollar store. Why did they not spend the extra $.10 per car and use the same chromed plastic as the surround? And to make it worse, the same cheap gray plastic was put around the guages as well. Sure it's minor but it made me think "What else have they cheaped out on?"

As for the turning radius - I am shocked to hear that it is the same as the 6 and accord. Without lieing, the 6 felt like its turning radius was 3/4 of the Fusion's. Maybe it was due to the steering feel or somethig. I don't know.

I totally agree about the salesman - no excuse for that. The first thing to do is tell the sales manager how upset you are, and suddenly they will open up. We showed up at Mazda and drove 6 cars without any hastle whatsoever: A 3 GT, a 5, a 4cyl 6, a V6 wagon and a CX7. They were happy to let us drive anything. The Subaru guy let us take out 3 cars and the the Mitsubishi guy actualy asked us to drive more than one for comparison.

Snrub

iTrader: (1)

The sales manager may bend over backwards if you complain, but you create a confrontational environment if you do it.

One trick that usually works is to call up and ask the receptionist/greater/etc. at a given dealership who their favorite sales person is. You might want to explain that you've had some bad experiences and then ask for their recommendation. Then ask to speak with that person and make an appointment. Sales people like it when they get appointments with no effort involved on their part and it will start things off on a positive foot.