Best bang for your bucks small car under 25 grand poll

[mowog]

Originally Posted by photn

yet you still insist that small cars are shopping trolley's??

what makes them a shopping trolley?

I Just finished a road trip with 2 of my cars.

The Territory and 1 of the Barina SRi's... We were always stopping to put fuel in the Barina because of the 45l tank (same as the Fiesta). The Barina did the trip ok but it is realy just a city car when you compare it to likes of a good large sedan. They just dont suit traveling vast distances like we have in Oz.

I wouldnt take my Corolla on a long trip because its just to noisy and firm in the suspension. But I have no problem taking it to the shops or an interesting day drive on some good driving roads.

I have the income where I can afford a diiferent cars for different needs. If you can only afford to finance 1 car and its you whole world then I see why your defensive about it being called a shopping car. But I can tell you I would take the Territory over a small car any day on long trip. But when it comes to shopping then its one of the other toys.

[Boss 290]

who cares how many cars you have.....the thing about the focus and the fiesta is that they can be taken on long trips because they feel smooth and are comfortable with 4 people....i think your a little peevd that the barina was forgoten in this poll....any car can be called a name its how you veiw it....people say the gt is a family car....yes it can cary a family comfortable but does it make it a family car? no i call it a 4 door performance car....you can say the fiesta is a shopping car but others may say it is a teenager car with great economy...not to mention great handling and looks....i think mowog you should leave the insults out of this....not everyone car afford the cars you have but then again you cant afford a ford gt so i guess you wouldnt like your cars being called budget cars by those rich people, would you?

[mowog]

Originally Posted by Boss 290

who cares how many cars you have.....the thing about the focus and the fiesta is that they can be taken on long trips because they feel smooth and are comfortable with 4 people....i think your a little peevd that the barina was forgoten in this poll....any car can be called a name its how you veiw it....people say the gt is a family car....yes it can cary a family comfortable but does it make it a family car? no i call it a 4 door performance car....you can say the fiesta is a shopping car but others may say it is a teenager car with great economy...not to mention great handling and looks....i think mowog you should leave the insults out of this....not everyone car afford the cars you have but then again you cant afford a ford gt so i guess you wouldnt like your cars being called budget cars by those rich people, would you?

I am not peeved about anything I am just trying to show that there is a Ford Bias in this poll. Go do the same poll on a Toyota or Holden site and see what happens.

I only used the Barina as an example. What I can or cant afford well that you dont know but I do. Would I buy a GT nope nice car but not what I want.

I didnt say you couldnt take a shopping car for an extended road trip I said I would prefer my Territory for that. After 1600klm in one day I think I know which car I would rather be in.

[Boss 290]

if you would buy i corolla i cant see why you wouldnt like a ford gt...i should try this poll on a car site with no specific brand. i bet the focus might scrape through

[Boss 290]

the mazda 3 may win it has a great price and looks great but i have never driven one and i cant see it being smoother then the focus

[9lives]

my 2 cents... sportivo 141kw but crappy torque.

Renault Clio 182 cup brilliant

[9lives]

oh **** under 25k new prob impreza...

[mowog]

Originally Posted by 9lives

my 2 cents... sportivo 141kw but crappy torque.

Renault Clio 182 cup brilliant

oh my standard arguement look back about 100 posts...

[mowog]

Originally Posted by Boss 290

if you would buy i corolla i cant see why you wouldnt like a ford gt...i should try this poll on a car site with no specific brand. i bet the focus might scrape through

I didnt say that I didnt like the GT I just said I wouldnt buy one big difference.

The Corolla well thats been done to death..

Post the poll on another forum and let us all know where it is. But this time if its new cars make it clear and dont include superceeded cars like the pulsar.

[mowog]

Originally Posted by Boss 290

the mazda 3 may win it has a great price and looks great but i have never driven one and i cant see it being smoother then the focus

If you havent driven it then you cant say...

[Boss 290]

[QUOTE=mowog]If you havent driven it then you cant say..

i think the mazda 3 looks like a great car but from what i know about the focus i cant see it getting any smoother then that...no 1 on this forum has test drove all these cars so expect people to vote on how they feel about the car and what they know....i do like the mazda 3 it looks great and is pretty torquey from what ive heard but does anyone know if it would be smoother then the focus? im comparing the focus to the cars i have driven and the focus won in my eyes. the mazda 3 may drive better but im not prepaired to go and drive every car on the poll to find the answer...the poll is on what people think and if you think your corolla is great then thats what you think

[9lives]

Originally Posted by mowog

oh my standard arguement look back about 100 posts...

looks like im a sheep hey... toolbag

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by colossus

Where do you get this stuff from? In my experience Honda's have always had extremley good build quality - every comparo I have read praises the Jazz, and has it winning. Granted I don't like the styling of the Jazz but apart from that I think its a worthy competitor in this segment.

If I was the OP and was in the market I'd be buying a Mazda 3 (does everything well, and has good resale) or the Honda Civic (again good resale, but its something a little different in terms of styling, technology ect).

Honda's and extremley good build quality don't go together in the same sentance. Unless you're comparing opposites.

Every single person I know with a Honda older then ~3 years says its a heap (and it is). My first cousin (daughter of my mother's elder sister) has a '93 Civic. It replaced an S13 Silvia which was destroyed in a car accident. It is such a heap of ****, I can't believe she payed so much money for that POS. The body panels are paper thin, you can coax the door into caving in with your index finger. The power windows are horrible... they smash and bash around, they're very noisy and don't do a good job of shutting the window properly. The interior is falling to pieces. Not much of the inside works properly.... the engine, its done less then 100,000km, but sounds and goes like its done 700,000km or more. A horror story.

A good family friend had a new Accord, and after about 4 years, similar horror story. My dad's girlfriend used to have a Prelude a long time ago, that boxy shape, a worse heap then my cousin's Civic.

And the Jazz when we test drove it shopping for my mate's car, well, I can't say I've ever been in a brand new car that felt like it had done 250,000km+ of abused ownership before. The Jazz did.

Magazine reviews can't tell you what a car's like to live with. In fact, they can't tell you much at all except what the person who drove the car thought of it, but then you have to realise that they're going to be biased themselves. I remember laughing at someone who was trying to tell me the Bugatti EB 16/4 Veyron wasn't a good car, based on an article by Gordon Murray - the man who made the McLaren F1. And you know why it was so funny? The whole article was him trying to find a petty way to make his nearly 2 decade older car compare to the Bugatti. Except it doesn't, in any way shape or form. But that's bias.

[Steffo]

[QUOTE=Boss 290]

Originally Posted by mowog

If you havent driven it then you cant say..

i think the mazda 3 looks like a great car but from what i know about the focus i cant see it getting any smoother then that...no 1 on this forum has test drove all these cars so expect people to vote on how they feel about the car and what they know....i do like the mazda 3 it looks great and is pretty torquey from what ive heard but does anyone know if it would be smoother then the focus? im comparing the focus to the cars i have driven and the focus won in my eyes. the mazda 3 may drive better but im not prepaired to go and drive every car on the poll to find the answer...the poll is on what people think and if you think your corolla is great then thats what you think

Under the skin they're identical. Same chassis, engine, suspension, brakes, wheel size, tyre size (probably the same tyre), gearbox etc etc. I'd be surprised if they felt any different to each other.

[mowog]

Originally Posted by 9lives

looks like im a sheep hey... toolbag

You are something thats for sure... :lookedat:

[Boss 290]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Under the skin they're identical. Same chassis, engine, suspension, brakes, wheel size, tyre size (probably the same tyre), gearbox etc etc. I'd be surprised if they felt any different to each other.

so the mada 3 is the same as a focus? how can this be? do ford own mazda?

[Bucket]

Originally Posted by Boss 290

so the mada 3 is the same as a focus? how can this be? do ford own mazda?

Yes, the Ford Premier Auto Group own Mazda, Aston Martin, Jaguar Lincoln and Volvo (just to name a few) i think there are one or two more.

The Mazdsa 3 and the (i think) S40 are both on the same platform as the Focus

[Boss 290]

so why do they allow the mazda sp23 to have the fastest frontwheel car....why not make the xr5t faster? wouldnt they want the ford name to rule the roost?

[mowog]

An interesting review on some of the class of car being talked about in this thread.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...ID=19019&vf=15

Verdict

Comparison tests are by their nature ruthless affairs. The weak are quickly exposed and dispatched, so you might like to send the kiddies out while we do the initial axe work.

Despite significant improvements, it's difficult to find a compelling reason to consider the Proton.

If you just want reliable, honest A-to-B transport at the lowest possible price, with minimal regular costs, the Getz and the Rio will do the job. However, for not much more money you can get a more contemporary, enjoyable and better built car.

Now the culling process becomes more difficult, because the cars themselves are quite different and have individual attributes that will appeal to different buyers.

The Polo is safe and solid, but relatively expensive, underpowered and under-equipped in this company. If you can justify the premium price and aren't looking for a rocket ship, you'd be happy in one of these.

The Fiesta, like the Polo, requires premium unleaded but you get no tangible performance benefit compared with others that run on regular. It's also likely to have higher maintenance costs. Otherwise, the Fiesta is a good thing and much better value than when it was launched.

The made-in-Japan Colt has the longest warranty and a frugal thirst. It has a relatively roomy cabin but a small boot. The Mazda 2 has also been freshened up and it too exemplifies Japanese quality and attention to detail in a spacious, comfortable package. But it's noisy by class standards and that can become irritating after a while.

Third place goes to the Suzuki Swift. It's well equipped for the money and drives sweetly; on the debit side, occupant space is tight. It slips from its former No. 1 spot because of a stronger performance from the Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris than for any significant weaknesses on its part.

The big price reduction on the Jazz lifts its value-for-money quotient to give it second place. Its space efficiency, comfort and brilliant interior design give you big-car versatility with small-car economy from the high-tech 1.3-litre engine and CVT drivetrain.

Since our comparison last October, in which the Yaris came second, it has achieved five stars out of five (with side airbags) in Euro NCAP tests. In a small car, you need all the crash protection you can get, so this is decisive.

The four members of the Drive team who went around (and around) our test loop in every car rated the Yaris an exceptionally comfortable and refined device. Performance, dynamics and fuel efficiency are exemplary. Its interior design is practical, innovative and impossibly cute.

Factor in the Toyota trifecta of quality, reliability and durability, and the Yaris clinches the top slot.

[Boss 290]

ok the results are in...and the winner is the focus and followed closely by the mazda 3. great result for the mazda, especially being on the ford site

[Bucket]

Focus is my Choice too mate...I'll be putting an order on a 2007 Model Focus Zetec in Black Sapphire for Pick up in February this December.. Can't wait

[Rev28K]

You forgot to add the Renault Clio to your poll. The runout models would be good value…

[Kardae]

Originally Posted by Bucket

Focus is my Choice too mate...I'll be putting an order on a 2007 Model Focus Zetec in Black Sapphire for Pick up in February this December.. Can't wait

Is 2007 Model any different? Juz curious as I am about to get one myself...

[merlin]

Meh = Focus look great, but they are underpowered in this segment IMO. Mazda 3 has better drivability, resale and reliability. Don't know why you would go the Focus.

[photn]

think about it this way. if you have a car that is good at everything, has everything that will ever want and does everything the Best.......who will buy the other cars????

if the focus was the best and had the best of the best stuff no one would buy mazda.....by splitting the options and so on they keep interest in both manufacturers......

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by merlin

Meh = Focus look great, but they are underpowered in this segment IMO. Mazda 3 has better drivability, resale and reliability. Don't know why you would go the Focus.

I find this interesting. How can it have better reliability when they are the exact same car? The same 2.0 Duratec 4cyl, the same chassis, the same manual and automatic gearboxes, the same suspension, the same brakes, hell, the wheels & tyres are even the same specification. And on that note, how can the driveability be better - when its the exact same car?

Oh and as for being underpowered, there's a 1kW difference between the current Mazda 3 (108kW) and the Focus (107kW), and the pre-minor update Mazda 3's had 104kW. Though it is the exact same 2.0 Duratec engine, with an ECU tweak here or there.

[merlin]

Originally Posted by Steffo

I find this interesting. How can it have better reliability when they are the exact same car? The same 2.0 Duratec 4cyl, the same chassis, the same manual and automatic gearboxes, the same suspension, the same brakes, hell, the wheels & tyres are even the same specification. And on that note, how can the driveability be better - when its the exact same car?

Oh and as for being underpowered, there's a 1kW difference between the current Mazda 3 (108kW) and the Focus (107kW), and the pre-minor update Mazda 3's had 104kW. Though it is the exact same 2.0 Duratec engine, with an ECU tweak here or there.

They may share a lot of components but they are far from being exactly the same car in the way they are set-up and drive. Not that I have anything in paticular against the Focus I just think the 3 is a better buy.

My experience at the motor show only confiremed this further for me when I sat in all grades of the Focus and Mazda 3 - all I can say is that the Focus interior is appaling - grey plastic, giant grey radio that looks like it is from an '80s Corolla, unsupportive flat shopping trolley seats. Compared to even the base model Mazda 3 Neo the Neo had very nice looking tacho, speedo set-up, futuristic/stylish black centre console with digital readouts in the upper dash ect., storage bins everywhere - just looked so far ahead in every way. You had to step up to the Focus Ghia to get any sort of decent interior (which by the way was really just white leather seats) and by then you were looking at low $30k's for a small hatch and still couldnt shake that 1980's centre radio.

The Focus XR5T had a pretty nice interior though but that was $35K and way out of budget of what the OP wants.

PS - Speaking of dodgy boring grey plastic interiors with 1980's radios can anyone say VW Golf GTI - yuck...I dont know how it gets so much praise and is popular - its not even quick by hot hatch standards...a big meh from me!

[1TUFFUTE]

who the hell picked the lancer

[#Russ#Es#]

Originally Posted by merlin

grey plastic, giant grey radio that looks like it is from an '80s Corolla

Thats an easy fix...who keeps the standard factory headunit anyway? Oh sorry, BA/BF owners :

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by merlin

PS - Speaking of dodgy boring grey plastic interiors with 1980's radios can anyone say VW Golf GTI - yuck...I dont know how it gets so much praise and is popular - its not even quick by hot hatch standards...a big meh from me!

How can anyone not like the feel of a Golf interior? All it takes to notice the difference (re - world benchmark quality) is to sit in the GTI then its competitors (XR5 Turbo, Megane 225 etc). I was at the motorshow today, and well, I was unimpressed by the XR5's interior. In all seriousness, my WP Fiesta Zetec feels like a more expensive car inside, and its often complained about seats are way better. The stupid XR5 seat is very narrow, one of the bolster things is directly under my thigh/bottom. Have to sit all weird in it to get anything remotely comfortable. The leather on the wheel felt like it was plastic and the dash was pretty bad feeling.

The Golf... it doesn't feel like a $39,990 car. It feels like a $139,990 car. They're not praied without reason. And then there's also the fact that the interior... stays together (so does the whole car but...). After a decade everything will still work, and still feel like it did when it was new. Few cars can lay claim to that, even some that are supposedly world-leading (try a 10+ yr old Lexus out and prepare to be unimpressed at the leather that's gone hard and started cracking, rattles, squeaks, and little switches that don't work properly anymore).