Hello all,
Lurker from the other side, first time poster and hope you knowledgeable can help my decision making process!
I am soon to be father of twins and having done my research trying out various MPV's and estates, the cars which tick the most boxes are a Vauxhall Zafira or Mazda 5. Looking at 3 years old/ 30,000 miles ish and no more than £7k.
The car will do around 10k a year tops so my maths says petrol is most economical.
Having visited the forecourts the M5 feels better built and looks more individual. I feel I might find it Tesco car park amongst tens of Zafiras!
Getting to the point, my questions are:-
i) Are Mazdas relatively cheap to service, they are part Ford aren't they, so thinking they should be?
ii) I have read the diesels can be troublesome, what are petrols like, less feedback on them.
iii) Like for like the Mazda seem to cost around £500 more is it worth it?
In all honesty I am bias towards the Mazda at the moment but want my thought process rationilised.
Cheers in advance
Bartlejo
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Congratulations!
Most people I know that have owned mazdas do rate them. Diesel owners excepted :-)
The whole petrol range from Mazda is a bit thirstier than alternatives, and I think they end up with slightly higher road tax.
Only other thing I can think of is the ford equiv, the c max? Might beat it on parts costs.
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Mazdas are going to be cheaper to buy I would guess as they are perceived as being less desirable. My wife has owned 3 MX5s - totally dependable well made cars.
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At the risk of appearing to be Humph in disguise, have you considered estate cars?
There seems to be a growing number of people who think there is something of the emperor's new clothes about MPVs, particularly of the size you are considering.
The Telegraph once tested a Focus estate against a C-Max and decided the Focus estate was the roomier and more useful car.
Part of the problem with MPVs is much of the room you are paying for is above your head and not usable.
How often do you pack a luggage bay from floor to roof?
The argument, I think, is there is more room in the estate to shoulder level because the luggage bay has a greater floor area.
That aside, I don't think you'll go far wrong with a petrol Mazda.
Last edited by: Iffy on Sun 9 Jan 11 at 18:21
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>> At the risk of appearing to be Humph in disguise, have you considered estate cars?
>>
>> There seems to be a growing number of people who think there is something of
>> the emperor's new clothes about MPVs, particularly of the size you are considering.
>>
No. With new twins the OP will want the raised height of an MPV to preserve his/her back.
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>No. With new twins the OP will want the raised height of an MPV to preserve his/her back.
Very wise words - changing from an estate to an MPV was certainly good news for my back.
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What do you currently have? Just that some MPVs can be quite disappointing to drive after a "normal" car. I might widen the net a bit to include estates. They drive just like their hatch/saloon equivalents while providing the extra loadspace ( and indeed some would argue look better too ! )
At one time or another I've had both MPVs and estates and to me there's no contest. Having said that I gather the S-Max is a very pleasing thing. C-Max is alleged to be very good too. Pal of mine has a Vectra estate and a Zafira on his drive. He much prefers the estate car. I've had a Galaxy, an Espace and my wife had an A-Class. Only one I could say was a good drive was the Galaxy. The others propelled you about but that was about all. In the case of the Espace it didn't even do that very efficiently unless it was on the back of a recovery vehicle.
Welcome ! ( by the way )
:-)
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I would recommend thinking about estates too, my daughter had a Picasso, great if you habitually wear top hats, but a Focus sized estate car has more usable room.
Welcome to the forum, ignoring the advice given is totally acceptable. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 9 Jan 11 at 19:12
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Mazda every time in this case.
Just wondered if you had looked at the Kia Sedona? I had a customer with one of these and she swore by the thing as a family car. Hers was an '07 mind you.
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Thanks everyone for your replies, very helpful and some more things to consider.
We did consider estates but found the boots to be "deeper" on the Mazda 5 and Vauxhall Zafira. When we tried the new double buggy in a Vectra/Passatt boot, (it is chunky, very chunky), the cots would start filling up over the back seats, meaning some guard would be required to keep it in place. Is a Mondeo estate boot deeper? I am also tall so higher roof line a small advantage for me.
We are replacing a Polo, and reading elsewhere the Mazda / C Max floor plan are the best driver's MPV if that is possible?! Will find out when we book a test drive. I will also take a look at a Sedona though initial thoughts are it looks like a mini van!! Though having twins life's expectations are somewhat revised.
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If this is on a Mazda forecourt the warranties are bomb proof.
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...the Mazda / C Max floor plan are the best driver's MPV if that is possible?!...
Most people agree the C-Max drives a treat by any standards, and amazingly well for a glass van.
However, there might be some quality control concerns in a C-Max at your budget.
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>> I will also take a look at a Sedona though initial thoughts
>> are it looks like a mini van!!>>
That what the folks across the pond call them.
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>> I will also take a look at a Sedona though initial thoughts are it looks like a mini van!! <<
A quick look shows that 2007 was the year of the newer model, which is the one Im familiar with. Seems they start at £6500 upwards so just in your budget.
Im afraid most MPVs look like 'minivans', they are all that shape with little variation overall.
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Big benefit of the Mazda would be the sliding rear door I would think. Other than that I'd take the Mazda because they look better in my opinion and I've never driven either so haven't much else to go on!
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Look at a CRV II - exceptionally reliable, comfortable to load kids without putting your back out, and a 580 litre boot that easily gobbles up a double buggy and a week's worth of holiday clobber.
We ran a petrol auto for 50k miles and it was flawless.
Child number 3 meant trying to get 3 child seats across the back which was far too tight so we've now got an FRV.
With Michelin Latitude tyres the CRV drives very well on dry, wet, and snow conditions.
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I wholeheartedly agree with your choice of an MPV. Having got three children I can state with certainty that you back will prefer the raised height of the MPV over an estate car and you will also find three separate seats far better to handle child seats than a bench.
I have driven rental Mazda5s on holiday over thousands of miles and had no problems at all. Friends have Zafiras at home and have kept them along time. Assuming you will be doing short journeys, petrol is the way to go. The Mazda has the significant advantage of sliding rear side doors, which makes access as the children get older much better. The Vauxhall is likely to have lower running daily costs, but is perhaps more likely to have a fault.
Do you really need a seven seater? Would a five seater MPV do you just as well?
Alternatives are the Ford C-Max, Renault Scenic and Citroen Picasso and C4 Picasso. For seven seats are the Grands, Scenic and C4 Picasso.
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A colleague has just bought a '5' after a '3' (which he was happy with) for the same reason as you. He did comment that parts can be expensive on Mazdas which surprised me because of the Ford connection but that said he still bought another Mazda.
We have got an original Zafira and frankly with kids from 4 days to fourteen they really do swallow up all the gubbins be it prams or Mountain bikes ! We have bought a new house in the last year and with all the work we are doing it has been brilliant, to and from the DIY store or the tip !
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I have a Mazda6 diesel and I like the Mazda itself but I am not sure I'd want to personally have a diesel - this is a company car. There are real DPF issues which if you don't check oil levels can lead to problems. Go petrol if your mileage is not high.
The major service on the Mazda6 diesel is very expensive (75000 miles?) so I'd ask about that for the Mazda5. Well expensive from what I spotted on the wall of the service area a few years back - it was something of the order £800pm.
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i have had a petrol mazda 5 and a citroen c4 picasso and i thought the c4 was a better put together car with nice sure handling. some people think the citroen is a soft suspension but i could throw it into corners no very little body roll
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Just wanted to say thanks for the responses and give an update.
Ended up buying a Zafira, after running the numbers it made more financial sense, given when the duo arrive will be skint.
Managed to pick up one from auction, ex-motorbility. 57 plate, 20k miles, FSH, for £4.6k Had it checked out at local garage all good. Some scratches where stuff dragged out of boot. Inside nice and tidy.
Driving it not bad, but very boring, probably a good thing with the cargo on board.
Fingers crossed for trouble free motoring.
Cheers
Bartlejo
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Roll back 34 yrs and we had twins (+ older brother) - managed in a Cavalier and Cortina Estate for the first 5 years on twindom - what's all this large MPVs and sliding doors!
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Its the modern way, FB, the Marketing People have convinced the majority that they need something bigger than they actually do and the ones that gain are the Manufacturers... We had two toddlers and a Nova saloon at one point... but not for very long thank goodness... But now they want acres of space, the "commanding" (!) driving position, etc. Looking at some of the monstrosities they call buggies these days they need the space, compactness doesn't enter into their design! I deliberately went "smaller" several years ago and both saved money and found I could cope ok... But good luck to them, I say, its their money
One thing I have noticed is that these MPVs are like 4x4s in the way they add money to your fuel bill compared with an estate, especially when driving at any decent speed on a motorway...
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>> Roll back 34 yrs and we had twins (+ older brother) - managed in a
>> Cavalier and Cortina Estate for the first 5 years on twindom - what's all this
>> large MPVs and sliding doors!
>>
And presumably your Cavalier and Cortina had no rear seat belts, let alone booster seats? Cortina Estates were roomy internally for their external size, but all modern cars have thicker doors, pillars etc. for safety and are less space efficient.
Times change, standards change.
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>> are less space efficient.
Some are, some aren't... Ones where the "stylist" has free reign are usually rubbish space-wise, but then people don't buy those cars for interior space, just looks (MINI Clubman being the best example), but there are many practical cars out there, and not all of them are MPVs or large!
Last edited by: hobby on Fri 4 Feb 11 at 10:18
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we had an old ambulance
my youngest brother was tied down in the stretcher on long journeys so he couldnt pull faces at passing traffic
only kidding......
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My Parents had no car at all until I was 13 and my sister was 8.
They then bought a Rover Metro, and I had to sit sideways as I could not fit in behind the seats.
Oh how I dreamed of the luxury of that little bit extra leg room
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could you not just push your feet through the floor and put segs on your boots?
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>> could you not just push your feet through the floor
Could of done, and increased the power on that lowley 1.1 Rover engine.
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>> Oh how I dreamed of the luxury of that little bit extra leg room
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IMHO one of the big advantages of the Zafira, and most other midi MPVs for that matter, is that the rear seats slide backwards and forwards, unlike an estate car. It's easy to create a foot or more of rear seat legroom in the Zafira by sliding the seats back, and still have a decent luggage compartment.
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Yes, and some - although not the Zafira or the 5 - also give you three independently staggerable seats there, so three adults, or three boosters, can fit laterally without having to compete for the same hip or shoulder width.
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Mazda Mazda 5 7-str - Mazda 5 and or Vauxhall Zafira ? - Skoda
